China leverages fiscal policies to spur decarbonization

Aerial photo taken on Nov. 3, 2021 shows a wind power field in Luduo Township of Baoying County of Yangzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province. [Xinhua/Li Bo]

BEIJING -- China's Finance Ministry unveiled a guideline on Monday further leveraging the role of fiscal policies to achieve the country's carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals.

By 2030, a fiscal and taxation system that is conducive to green and low-carbon development will be basically established to achieve the goal of peaking carbon emissions, according to the guideline released on the website of the Ministry of Finance.

The system of fiscal policies to support green and low-carbon development will be mature and complete before 2060 to help realize the carbon neutrality goal, the guideline says.

The ministry calls for building a clean, low-carbon, safe and efficient energy system and supporting the green and low-carbon transformation of key sectors, such as the development of new-energy vehicles and the improvement of battery charging and swapping facilities, among other decarbonization efforts.

It will ramp up efforts to coordinate fiscal resources and improve the structure of fiscal expenditure to offer stronger financial support to the work on reducing carbon emissions.

Efforts will be made to study the establishment of national low-carbon transition funds, give full play to the role of existing government investment funds and enable eligible green and low-carbon development projects to be supported by government bonds, according to the guideline.

The guideline also urges implementing preferential tax policies related to energy saving and the comprehensive utilization of resources, as well as improving policies on government procurement of green and low-carbon products.