China will implement new incentives to reduce pollution and carbon emissions this year, but the government stated in new documents released in March that flexibility and stability remain the country's top priorities as economic pressures grow.
In a speech in January, President Xi Jinping stated that the country's ambitious low-carbon targets should not come at the expense of energy and food security, as well as regular people's "normal lives."
China's environmental commitments have been scrutinized this year as it strives to boost growth and mitigate the economic and supply chain effects of the COVID-19 control policies.
China's government work report, issued to the annual session of parliament on Saturday by Premier Li Keqiang, stated that stability, domestic demand expansion, and food and energy security would remain top goals in 2022.
Li stated that China would "work harder" to make coal use cleaner and more efficient, modernize coal-fired power facilities to make them more efficient, and increase system capacity to absorb renewable energy.
However, efforts to reduce coal consumption and bring emissions to a halt would be carried out in a "well-ordered way," he added.
China, the world's largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, has vowed to become carbon neutral by 2060, with emissions peaking before 2030.
China will "balance development and emission reductions, as well as current needs and long-term benefits," according to a second report released over the weekend by the official planning agency.
The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) stated that "an appropriate level of flexibility" on energy use is needed to keep the economy stable, and it warned against local governments implementing rules in an "overly simplistic and mechanical" manner.
Environmentalists are concerned that China's economic concerns will cause it to abandon its environmental commitments.
Last year, the world's largest carbon emitter increased its energy and coal consumption at the quickest rate in a decade, and it began to develop huge amounts of new coal-fired power capacity.
In its annual report, the finance ministry stated that the budget for air pollution would be increased by 2.5 billion yuan to 30 billion yuan (US$4.75 billion) this year to facilitate the transition to clean winter heating. The budget for water pollution has also been increased.
The finance ministry also stated that it would reduce corporate income tax rates for third-party firms engaging in pollution reduction, as well as strive to establish a national fund to help the low-carbon transition.
