The Chinese Academy of Sciences has released its China Sustainable Development Strategy Report 2009 in which it sets objectives for China's low-carbon economy development to reduce the carbon dioxide emission element of the unit GDP by about 50% by 2020.
The report points out that as the largest developing country, China is facing both challenges and opportunities in developing a low-carbon economy, and China's low-carbon strategy should mainly focus on four aspects: reducing energy consumption intense activities and carbon emissions intense activities as well as reducing carbon dioxide emissions growth; accelerating the modernization of the heavy chemical industry by taking advantage of the energy and resource conditions both home and abroad; selecting key industries and increasing these sectors' competitiveness; and actively participating in international negotiations on climate change and making low-carbon rules to seek for more allowances for China's industrialization.
The report states that China should make low carbon the strategy for the country's social and economic development. It states that China's low-carbon economic development objectives by 2020 are: unit GDP energy consumption lowered by 40%-60% compared with that of 2005 and unit GDP carbon dioxide emission reduced by 50%.
The report states that China's measures for developing a low carbon economy include making relevant laws and regulations related to climate change, building long term mechanisms for low-carbon development as well as relevant policies, strengthening cooperation and setting up low carbon technology systems, and establishing a cooperation mechanism that involves all stakeholders.