Wuxi explores a new path to reaching carbon neutrality

The 2021 Carbon Peak and Carbon Neutrality Summit is held in Wuxi on May 19. [Photo/wxrb.com]

The 2021 Carbon Peak and Carbon Neutrality Summit was held in Wuxi on May 19.

The summit aimed to explore ways to achieve high-quality development under the national goal of reducing carbon emissions to zero and achieving carbon neutrality as soon as possible for the whole country and the Yangtze River Delta, while also promoting the economy to make contributions to high-level green development, according to the organizing committee of the summit.

Xie Zhenhua, China's Special Envoy for climate change, and Claire O'Neill, president of the Climate Change Department of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, as well as former Minister of Energy and Clean Development of the United Kingdom, were among the 500 guests that attended the meeting.

Wuxi was once an important cradle of China's national industry and commerce. Today, its per capita GDP still ranks first among all districts and cities in Jiangsu province. However, the highly developed industry has also caused its total carbon emissions to remain high. The high-carbon energy structure is a common problem in the Yangtze River Delta.

Wuxi National Hi-tech District (WND) is a modern industrial hub in Wuxi. The output value of its integrated circuit industry accounts for 11.2 percent of the country's output value. In 2020, WND's total energy consumption was equivalent to 4 million tons of standard coal, of which 1.62 million tons of electricity was consumed. In terms of power consumption, fossil energy power generation accounted for nearly 90 percent.

Data also showed that in 2020, the energy consumption per unit of GDP in the district is only 0.205 tons of standard coal per 10,000 yuan, which is 44.2 percent of the national high-tech zone average and 58.7 percent of the province's average. The number is at the advanced level of industrial zones in developed countries in the world.

WND announced that it will build a zero-carbon technology industrial park in Wuxi. This is another important measure by Wuxi to promote green and low-carbon development. According to the plan, it is estimated that by 2025, clean energy will account for 60 percent of Wuxi's power generation.