China released its 15th Five-Year Plan for Building a Beautiful China, setting binding environmental targets through 2030. The plan targets nine energy-intensive sectors including steel and cement for a three-year energy-saving retrofit campaign. It also sets escalating renewable energy consumption minimums for key industries and promotes green factory construction. Six of 18 indicators are binding, covering carbon emissions, energy intensity, air and water quality. Green industries are already scaling fast. New energy vehicle production hit 16.6 million units in 2025, up 29% year on year. The green and low-carbon market is roughly 11 trillion yuan, shared by over 2 million enterprises. Emerging sub-sectors like green hydrogen, sustainable aviation fuel, and digital-green integration are highlighted as high-growth frontiers. The plan also aims to accelerate the national carbon market and implement dual control over total carbon emissions and intensity.
