Report on 100 Chinese Cities Puts 2024 Low-Carbon Industry Output at RMB 12.56 Trillion

The 2025 City Green Co-Building Index report was released in Beijing on September 10 at the China Clean Air Week forum. Jointly compiled by the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs and the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, the report selects 100 key Chinese cities and identifies and analyzes their green and low-carbon transition performance across four dimensions: environmental improvement, climate action, ecological enhancement and high-quality development.

On climate action, the report summarizes three typical paths. Cities such as Kunming and Chengdu have drawn on hydropower resources to develop green industries, while Yancheng has expanded clean electricity supply through offshore wind and tidal-flat photovoltaic development. Megacities such as Beijing and Shanghai have improved emission-reduction efficiency through policy management, carbon markets and institutional innovation. Old industrial bases including Zhuzhou, Tianjin, Jilin and Deyang have advanced transformation and upgrading through industrial restructuring and the development of green high-end equipment manufacturing.

Since the 12th Five-Year Plan period, the national annual target for reducing carbon emission intensity has been about 17% to 20%. Sichuan's carbon emission intensity fell by 37% in actual terms during the 12th Five-Year Plan period and by nearly 30% during the 13th Five-Year Plan period, and the province exceeded its target during the 14th Five-Year Plan period. In clean energy production, equipment and applications, the value added of Sichuan's green and low-carbon advantage industries has remained above 10% for four consecutive years, and its installed hydropower capacity has exceeded 100 million kilowatts. Preliminary estimates show that China's low-carbon and green industries contributed RMB 12.56 trillion in 2024, a nominal growth rate of 9.0%, faster than GDP growth in the same period, accounting for 9.3% of GDP and contributing 19.3% of that year's GDP increment.