Climate change: few Chinese manufacturers have plans to curb emissions despite broad carbon footprint awareness
- Only 43 per cent of industrial companies in China have taken action to tackle greenhouse gas emissions, according to a TUV Rheinland survey
- Nearly two thirds of respondents said they were aware of the scale of their emissions and believe China’s carbon neutral goal will impact business
Less than half of industrial companies in China have taken action to cut greenhouse gas emissions, despite most saying the scale of their current emissions will affect business prospects, according to a survey conducted by TUV Rheinland.
While some 72 per cent of 650 respondents said they know the sources and scale of their greenhouse gas emissions, only 43 per cent have either set up a team or worked with third party professionals to tackle the issue, according to the Germany-based industry standards certification provider.
The vast majority of the respondents surveyed in February are manufacturers, mostly of automobiles, electronic and electrical parts, and consumer goods in China’s eastern and southern coastal provinces.
The survey results reflect the lack of a detailed regulatory framework on how China will achieve its ambitious 2060 target, and the time lag between becoming aware of the problem and investing the time and resources to build teams to take action, said Fallight Xu, a TUV regional officer responsible for sustainability services.
“The most significant barrier is the lack of adequate resources and an external driving force – policies and regulations,” he said. “The enterprises need time to design systems and build teams [to] understand the implications of carbon neutrality, set targets, screen pathways and build capacity.”
Many companies are worried about the reputational risks of publishing decarbonisation road maps while detailed industry emission regulations and targets remain absent, he noted.
In Europe, which leads the world on decarbonisation, the European Commission has enacted a climate law with a legally binding target for all member states to enact regulations to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
