China’s enormous automobile industry is on course to reach a peak in climate-warming carbon dioxide emissions by 2027, but on present trends, the country’s 2060 “net zero” objective is unlikely to be met, according to environmental organization Greenpeace.
Greenpeace projected in a study analysis that the sector’s overall carbon emissions would likely level at 1.75 billion tons and then gradually decline by 11% by 2035.
However, if it is to achieve net zero emissions by 2060, it would need to slash emissions by at least 20% by 2035, according to Greenpeace.
According to the environmental organization, China has to increase zero-emission car sales to 63 percent by 2030 and 87 percent by 2035 in order to reach its objectives.
“The ideal approach would be for Chinese automakers to phase out internal combustion engine cars entirely by 2030,” said Bao Hang, project chief for Greenpeace Asia in Beijing.
In late 2020, China said in a 2021-2035 growth strategy for the industry that pure electric cars should account for 20% of sales by 2025 and then become “mainstream” by 2035.
The country’s cabinet said in an action plan last year to reduce emissions to a peak that total new and clean energy vehicle sales should reach roughly 40% of total by 2030.
According to official figures, Chinese sales of battery-powered electric cars, plug-in petrol-electric hybrids, and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles increased 157.5 percent to 3.52 million units in 2021.