European Companies can Help China Accelerate its Carbon Neutrality Drive Go back »

2022-05-25 | All chapters

Beijing, 25^th May 2022 – The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China (European Chamber), in partnership with Roland Berger, today published Carbon Neutrality: The Role of European Companies in China’s Race to 2060. Based on a member survey and extensive interviews, the report identifies areas where EU-China cooperation can be deepened so that China can front load the technologies it needs to accelerate its carbon neutrality drive.

Driven by stringent environmental regulations and consumer demand, and guided by their global corporate carbon neutrality pledges, European businesses are well placed to help China peak carbon emissions before 2030, and push towards carbon neutrality in 2060. The report finds that 67 per cent of European companies operating in China are already pursuing carbon neutrality, and 40 per cent have established China focused decarbonisation teams, many of which report directly to the board.

However, three sets of barriers currently prevent European firms from fully contributing to China’s carbon neutrality drive.

First, more policy guidance at the national-, local- and sectoral-levels is needed to enable businesses to make informed investment decisions today with 2060 in mind. Although China has started rolling out its ‘1+N’ policy framework, it needs to be quickly fleshed out. As it stands, 65 per cent of members report that a lack of industrial guidance and best practice sharing from the government or NGOs could prevent them from achieving their decarbonisation goals.

There is also the need for a more transparent, open and flexible power market. While China leads globally in installing new renewable energy generation capacity, barriers prevent businesses from fully utilising it. This is a serious challenge for 69 per cent of businesses, whose decarbonisation efforts in China could be derailed without sufficient access to renewable energy. China’s emissions trading system will also require reform, to fully incentivise companies to decarbonise their operations.

Finally, the development and roll out of leading green technologies is stifled by a lack of open markets and common standards, as well as limited corporate and consumer awareness. For example, 54 per cent of respondents from the environment sector to the Chamber’s forthcoming Business Confidence Survey 2022 report missing business opportunities because of market access restrictions or regulatory barriers,  and 47 per cent of companies recognise that promoting a low carbon culture will be key to China achieving its carbon neutrality aspirations. Common standards are needed to provide assurance to those looking for truly ‘green’ investments and to eliminate green washing.

“Although China’s 30/60 Goals are extremely ambitious, our members believe they can be achieved provided China leverages all the tools at its disposal, including implementing deep market reforms and utilising proven European technologies,” said Jörg Wuttke, president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China. “Given that European companies have a strong track record of working towards carbon neutrality in their home markets, deepening EU-China cooperation in decarbonisation seems like a logical move.”   

"Improving climate change performance is crucial for China to maintain its competitiveness as a global manufacturing powerhouse,” said Denis Depoux, global managing director of Roland Berger. “Key to this will be swift and pragmatic policy making by central and local governments, and creating medium- to long-term predictability in the business environment so that European companies can fully contribute to China’s carbon neutrality goal through their technology and the experience they have accumulated.”

Download the full report here.

For more information:

Please contact: Ms Charlotte SVENSSON (+86 (10) 6462 2066 ext. 61), policy and communications coordinator, European Union Chamber of Commerce in China.

If you have any question about the methodology of this survey, please contact: Ms Renay Cheng, head of marketing & communication of Roland Berger, China.

欧洲企业可助力中国加快碳中和进程

北京2022年5月25日- 中国欧盟商会联合罗兰贝格今日发布《碳中和：欧洲企业助力中国实现2060愿景》。基于对欧盟商会会员的问卷调查和广泛的访谈，本报告明确了中欧双方可深化合作的领域，助力中国获得先进技术、加快实现碳中和目标。

由于需要遵守欧洲严格的环保法规、满足消费者的需求，以及履行企业的全球碳中和承诺，欧洲企业具备足够能力帮助中国实现2030年碳达峰、2060年碳中和目标。调查表明，在华经营的欧洲企业中，67%的企业已经设立了碳中和目标并开始采取行动，40%的企业已经建立起以中国业务为重点的脱碳团队，其中许多团队直接向董事会汇报。

然而，目前仍存在三大障碍影响欧洲企业全力参与中国的碳中和进程。

首先，政府需要在中央、地方和行业层面给予更多政策指导，帮助企业从现在开始作出合理的投资决策，以顺利实现2060年碳中和目标。虽然中国已在逐步推出“1+N” 政策体系，但该体系有待进一步充实和完善。65%的受访企业表示，由于缺乏来自政府和非政府组织的产业指导及最佳实践分享，企业可能无法实现其脱碳目标。

此外，中国需要建立一个更加透明、开放和灵活的电力市场。虽然中国在可再生能源发电项目建设上处于全球领先地位，但现存的种种障碍使企业无法充分利用资源。69%的受访企业将此视为严峻挑战。难以获取足够的可再生能源电力或将影响企业在中国的脱碳计划。中国的碳排放交易体系也需要不断改进，以充分激励企业进行业务脱碳。 

最后，由于市场开放不充分、标准不统一以及企业和消费者缺乏相关意识，先进的绿色技术在中国的引入和推广受到阻碍。例如，即将发布的《商业信心调查2022》的数据显示，54%的来自环境行业的受访企业反映因市场准入限制或监管障碍而错失商机；47%的受访企业认为，低碳文化的推广将成为中国实现碳中和愿景的关键因素。并且，有必要建立统一的标准，从而为切实开展“绿色”投资的企业提供保障，并消除“漂绿”现象。

"中国设立的‘30·60’目标非常宏伟，但欧盟商会会员相信，只要中国利用好手头的所有工具，包括深化市场改革和采用成熟的欧洲技术，就能实现该愿景，”中国欧盟商会主席伍德克表示，“鉴于欧洲企业已经在欧洲本土市场积累了扎实推进碳中和的丰富经验，深化中欧在脱碳方面的合作是为明智之举。” 

“中国在改善应对气候变化上的表现将对其保持全球制造业强国的竞争力具有重要意义，” 罗兰贝格全球管理委员会联席总裁戴璞先生说道，“关键在于，中央和地方政府需要迅速制定切实可行的政策，并建立起具备中长期可预测性的商业环境，使欧洲企业能够运用其技术和经验，为中国实现碳中和目标做出巨大贡献。”

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更多信息：

请联系中国欧盟商会Charlotte SVENSSON女士, +86 (10) 6462 2066 转分机 61。

如有任何关于此调查报告方法论的问题，请联系罗兰贝格中国区市场部负责人程俊女士。

For more information please contact