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China’s 15th Five-Year Climate Response Plan: Strengthening Non-CO₂ Measures Without Adding New Targets

IGSD / 04 August 2026

4 August 2026 - China released the 15th Five-Year National Climate Change Response Plan (the “15th Climate Plan”) on 27 July 2026. Co-issued by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and 18 other national ministries and agencies, the Climate Plan outlines China’s priorities for climate mitigation, adaptation, carbon markets, greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting, and international cooperation through 2030.

The Climate Plan builds on the 15th Five-Year Framework Plan for National Economic and Social Development, the 15th Five-Year Plan for Building a Beautiful China, the 15th Five-Year Carbon-Peaking Action Plan, and earlier national climate policies. For non- CO₂ climate super pollutants, it does not establish any new quantitative national mitigation target or pollutant-specific reduction target. As specified in our briefing below, the Climate Plan reaffirms measures in other plans that address methane, nitrous oxide (N₂O), and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), thereby reinforcing the continuing emphasis on super climate pollutants in China’s five-year planning system.

Reaffirmed Targets

The Climate Plan does not add new targets. However, it reaffirms several previously established targets and institutional objectives:

  • Reduce CO₂ emissions per unit of GDP by 17% from 2025 levels during 2026–2030. This target was established in the 15th Five-Year Framework Plan and reiterated in the Beautiful China Plan.
  • Reduce average CO₂ emissions per unit of product in industries covered by the national emissions trading system by around 3%, compared to 2025 by 2030. This target was set in the Beautiful China Plan.
  • Develop 30 million tonnes of CO₂-equivalent mitigation capacity by 2030 through projects targeting methane, N₂O, and fluorinated gases. This target was established in the 15th Five-Year Framework Plan and further detailed in the Beautiful China Plan.
  • Establish a credible, transparent, methodologically-consistent, and broadly participatory national voluntary GHG emissions-reduction market by 2030 that aligns with international practices. This objective was previously established in the August 2025 Opinions on Promoting the Green and Low-Carbon Transition and Strengthening the National Carbon Market, which also called for the voluntary market to cover all key fields by 2027.
  • Substantially establish a national product carbon footprint management system by 2030, building on provisions in the Framework Plan and the Beautiful China Plan.

Super Climate Pollutant Mitigation Priorities

Methane

The Climate Plan calls for methane controls in coal mining, oil production, agriculture, and waste management. It promotes coal-mine methane utilization and low-concentration methane oxidation, enrichment, and purification technologies, as well as water-saving rice irrigation, improved livestock manure management, landfill remediation, and more efficient wastewater treatment. It also requires strengthening the recovery and use of oilfield-associated gas and vented gas. Local governments are also encouraged to develop specific methane-control actions. The Climate Plan provides more detail on policy priorities, even though it does not establish methane-intensity standards, leak-detection-and-repair requirements, or quantitative methane-reduction targets.

N2O

The Climate Plan identifies adipic acid, nitric acid, and caprolactam production as priority industrial sources of N₂O, calling for catalyst installation, direct-emissions control, and N₂O recovery and utilization at these facilities. On the agricultural side, it promotes improved fertilizer management to reduce N₂O emissions from farming.

Fluorinated Gases

The Plan explicitly addresses HFCs, perfluorocarbons (PFCs), sulphur hexafluoride (SF₆), and nitrogen trifluoride (NF₃) and promotes substitution, recovery, utilization, and end-of-life destruction. It also calls for strict implementation of China’s HFC production and consumption quota system, supporting the country’s compliance with the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.

For SF₆, the Plan requires development and implementation of an SF₆ control plan along with related technical specifications, and promotes recovery and substitution in electrical equipment. The explicit inclusion of PFCs and NF₃ broadens coverage of emissions linked to semiconductor, electronics, aluminum[1], and related industries.

Carbon Markets, Reporting, and Product Carbon Footprint System

The Climate Plan proposes gradually expanding the national emissions trading system to include additional industries and GHG categories, creating a potential pathway for future inclusion of non-CO₂ gases.

For the national voluntary market, it calls for ongoing development of methodologies, full-lifecycle management of projects and credits, enhanced validation and verification capacity, broader use of China Certified Emission Reductions, and deployment of more than 10,000 networked monitoring gateways.

The Plan also calls for reporting and verifying non-CO₂ GHGs, developing provincial GHG inventories, expanding China-specific emissions factors, and improving national GHG monitoring systems. These provisions could support future facility-level standards, permitting requirements, and carbon-market coverage for non-CO2 GHGs.

For the product carbon footprint system, the Plan calls for accounting standards, emissions-limit standards for priority products, a national emissions-factor database, certification and labeling pilots, and greater integration of carbon footprint requirements into procurement, finance, industry, and trade policies.

International Cooperation

The Climate Plan calls for China to actively participate in global climate governance, promotes multilateral and bilateral climate cooperation,[2] South–South cooperation, and green and low-carbon cooperation through the Belt and Road Initiative.

The Plan also promotes international cooperation on carbon markets, GHGs accounting, product carbon footprints, emissions factors, standards, certification, and mutual recognition. For super climate pollutants, these provisions could support cooperation on methane emissions measurement and reduction, HFC alternatives, fluorinated-gas management, industrial N₂O controls, and credible voluntary carbon-market methodologies.

Conclusion

The Climate Plan strengthens China’s institutional framework for reducing super climate pollutant emissions by increasing sector-specific policies. However, it does not yet establish quantitative national mitigation or pollutant-specific reduction targets for non-CO₂ gases. Therefore, although the Climate Plan will reinforce the emphasis of climate super pollutants in China’s five-year planning system, the Plan’s impact will depend on subsequent regulations, standards, methodologies, monitoring rules, and fulfillment of the Plan’s “30 million tonnes of CO₂-equivalent mitigation project capacity by 2030” objective.

Additional IGSD China Resources:

[1] Wei Zhang et al., Reduction of Anode Effect Duration in 400kA Prebake Cells, Light Metals 319:319–23 (Stephen J. Lindsay ed., 2011), https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118061992.ch57.

[2] This emphasis is consistent with the December 2025 China–France joint statement, which reaffirmed both countries’ commitment to multilateral climate and environmental cooperation through established international frameworks. See Joint Statement Between the French Republic and the People’s Republic of China on Cooperation in Addressing Global Climate and Environmental Challenges (5 December 2025), https://www.elysee.fr/en/emmanuel-macron/2025/12/05/joint-statement-between-the-french-republic-and-the-peoples-republic-of-china-on-cooperation-in-addressing-global-climate-and-environmental-challenges.

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