The government of Shandong province, East China’s industrial and petroleum hub, said it would implement stricter requirements to approve new industrial projects. The requirements will include tighter carbon emissions limits for new projects such as oil refineries and aluminum smelters. The policy came as China strived to meet climate goals of becoming a carbon-neutral economy by 2060. Beijing has also urged provinces to step up environmental requirements for emissions-heavy industries.
The provincial government has released a notice saying that companies wishing to add capacity in “polluting sectors” such as coal-fired power, oil refining and coking, cement, steel, and aluminum, have to shut old plants which consume more coal and emit more greenhouse gas than the new project. New cement, oil refining, aluminum, and coal power projects must cut coal consumption by at least 20% from current levels and energy consumption and carbon emission by at least 50%. The statement also said lenders could not provide loans to any projects with “outdated” processes, technologies, and equipment.
Shandong is China’s largest alumina and aluminum producer. It also accounts for about 30% of the country’s oil processing capacity. The Shandong energy administration has targeted to cap the province’s coal use at around 350 million tons and energy consumption at 454 million tons of standard coal equivalent by 2025.
