China launches three-year industrial energy efficiency and carbon reduction plan for steel, cement, and power sectors

China's top economic planner, the NDRC, has announced a three-year action plan starting in 2026 to cut energy use and carbon emissions across nine heavy industries. The plan targets steel, electrolytic aluminum, cement, flat glass, oil refining, ethylene, synthetic ammonia, methanol, and coal-fired power generation. The goal is to improve energy and carbon efficiency at the enterprise level while supporting the country's target to peak carbon emissions before 2030. The plan includes specific upgrade tasks for each sector and outlines funding mechanisms, price guidance, and policy incentives to drive implementation. It aims to expand effective investment and promote industrial upgrading as part of China's broader green transition. The NDRC will work with other government departments to ensure the plan is carried out and to support the country's dual carbon goals of peaking CO2 by 2030 and reaching carbon neutrality by 2060. This initiative builds on China's existing renewable energy infrastructure, which is already the world's largest and fastest growing. The focus on hard-to-abate industrial sectors signals a shift toward addressing the most emissions-intensive parts of the economy, which will be critical for meeting national climate targets.