China's 15th Five-Year Plan: Binding carbon targets and green industrial push through 2030

China has published its 15th Five-Year Plan for Building a Beautiful China, setting binding environmental targets through 2030. The plan focuses on cutting emissions from nine energy-intensive sectors including steel and cement while scaling green industries like new energy vehicles, photovoltaic supply chains, and green hydrogen. Six of the plan's 18 indicators are binding, covering carbon emissions, energy intensity, and air and water quality. The plan also targets green hydrogen demand of 3 million tonnes in 2026 and cumulative demand of 65 million tonnes over five years. Green fuels for aviation and maritime decarbonization are highlighted as investment priorities. The policy framework is designed to reduce uncertainty for capital deployment into green sectors and force transformation through systemic standards. Ecology authorities note that structural environmental pressures remain unresolved and the inflection point from quantitative to qualitative improvement has not yet arrived. The plan frames the next five years as critical for reaching that turning point, with dual control over total carbon emissions and intensity, and expansion of the national carbon market.