China has released a new national framework for assessing progress toward its carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals, formalizing what had previously been a policy direction into a structured accountability system for provincial governments.
The “Comprehensive Evaluation and Assessment Measures for Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality” were approved at a meeting of the Politburo Standing Committee on Feb. 26, 2026, issued jointly by the General Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council on April 12, and published in full on April 23.
The measures take effect from the 2026 assessment year and apply to provincial-level Party committees and governments. Implementation will be carried out under centralized party leadership, with the Central Organization Department providing overall coordination and the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) working with relevant agencies on the assessment process. The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission is also tasked with developing a parallel evaluation system for central state-owned enterprises.
At the core of the framework is a “5+9” indicator system. The five binding indicators are total carbon emissions, carbon intensity reduction, total coal consumption, total oil consumption, and the share of non-fossil energy in total energy consumption. These are complemented by nine supporting indicators covering energy conservation, industry, urban and rural construction, transport, public institutions, and carbon trading. According to the NDRC, the structure is intended to support China’s transition from an energy consumption–control approach to a carbon emissions–control system.
The assessment methodology is stricter than previous systems. Rather than a points-based model, it adopts a pass/fail grading approach with three final ratings: excellent, qualified, and unqualified. A province will be rated unqualified if any binding indicator fails to meet its target, or if three or more supporting indicators are missed.
The process includes local self-assessment, departmental review, on-site verification, comprehensive evaluation, and final approval by the Party Central Committee and the State Council, followed by feedback to provincial authorities.
Assessment outcomes will be used as a reference in the performance evaluation, appointment, and supervision of provincial leadership teams and relevant officials. Provinces rated unqualified are required to submit rectification reports within 30 working days. Where issues are not corrected in time, principal officials may be subject to formal interviews. Cases involving serious dereliction of duty, falsification of data, concealment, or tampering will be directly rated unqualified and may trigger disciplinary or legal measures.
The NDRC described the framework as a key institutional component of China’s carbon governance system, integrating dual-carbon targets into the Party’s internal evaluation mechanism. For the energy sector, the policy reinforces long-term prioritization of non-fossil energy development while increasing pressure on coal- and oil-dependent growth pathways. It is also expected to strengthen policy signals for renewables, storage, green power trading, and carbon market development by embedding low-carbon deployment more firmly into provincial governance requirements.
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