Notice on Issuing the “National Carbon Peak Pilot (Huangpu) Implementation Plan”

To all commissions, offices, and bureaus of the district government, and all subdistrict offices:

The “National Carbon Peak Pilot (Huangpu) Implementation Plan” is hereby issued to you. Please implement it conscientiously.

This notice is hereby given.

National Carbon Peak Pilot (Huangpu) Implementation Plan

To thoroughly implement the strategic decisions and deployments of the Central Committee and the State Council regarding carbon peak and carbon neutrality, and in accordance with national and Shanghai’s carbon peak work requirements, this plan is formulated with a focus on building a core leading district of a modern socialist international metropolis with global influence. It prioritizes buildings, centers on carbon efficiency improvement, employs refined and intelligent management, and is supported by technological innovation and green finance. The plan focuses on policy and mechanism innovation, coordinates the application of technology and system construction, and actively promotes green, low-carbon production, lifestyles, and consumption concepts.

I. Pilot Objectives

By 2030, the district’s energy utilization level per unit of GDP will consistently rank first in the city and among the top nationally. The district will be fully established as a national carbon peak demonstration zone, achieving an approximate 3% year-on-year reduction in carbon emissions from existing public buildings. This will provide replicable and scalable experience in green, low-carbon, high-quality development for regions nationwide characterized by high tertiary industry development, mature building economy, and low carbon emissions per unit of GDP.

II. Key Tasks

(I) Low-Carbon Smart Building Construction Initiative

1. Promote Commercial Building Demand Management Demonstration

Implement the nation’s first “Guidelines for Commercial Building Virtual Power Plant Construction and Operation,” promote automated control of key resources and updates to intelligent responsive air conditioning systems, and conduct regular hourly load management and operational energy-saving management. Pilot the application of electricity demand-side management in residential buildings. Rely on demonstration work in areas like building demand-side management to drive the formulation and improvement of relevant local standards.

2. Promote Innovative Application of Virtual Power Plant Platforms

Strengthen load resource certification and performance tuning, focus on application scenarios such as commercial complexes, and support user-side energy storage projects participating in electricity demand response alongside their associated users. Expand the scale of bidirectional charging and discharging (V2G) projects in residential areas and public charging stations, and diversify load resource categories like vehicle-grid interaction.

3. Promote Digital-Green Synergy in Platforms

Continue to deepen the construction of the dual-carbon platform, integrate existing platform resources, and optimize the district’s carbon emission map. Aggregate digital resources from previous years, implement intelligent and refined management of building carbon efficiency, and continuously improve building carbon efficiency levels.

4. Deepen Public Building Energy Efficiency Improvement Demonstration

Continue to advance energy (carbon) audits, expand the coverage of energy-saving and low-carbon retrofits for public buildings, assess the energy efficiency levels of major energy-using systems and equipment, and promote building retrofits and tuning. Establish a linkage mechanism between urban renewal and energy-saving, low-carbon retrofits.

5. Enhance the Green and Low-Carbon Level of New Buildings

Ensure 100% of new buildings meet green building standards, with no less than 70% achieving two-star or higher green building standards. Continuously improve the energy-saving and carbon reduction levels of green buildings, promote the scaled development of ultra-low energy buildings, near-zero energy buildings, and zero-carbon buildings, and achieve an average design energy consumption level for new buildings that is 50% lower than the 2016 national energy-saving design standards.

6. Increase the Electrification Level on the Building Energy Use Side

Promote the shift towards electrification for building heating, domestic hot water, and other energy uses, support the selection of air-source heat pumps and other types to replace gas boilers, and promote the application of heat pump water heaters and other equipment in public buildings. Conduct diagnostics and assessments of old heat pump equipment and actively promote the replacement of inefficient existing heat pump equipment.

7. Expand Distributed Photovoltaic Construction and Piloting

Promote the application of renewable energy technologies based on local conditions, ensuring distributed photovoltaics are installed wherever possible. Strengthen source control during project approval, strictly controlling the installation ratio of rooftop photovoltaics on new buildings. Explore the application of photovoltaic

Huangpu

Huangpu is a district in Shanghai, China, best known as the location of the historic waterfront area called the Bund, which features a striking collection of early 20th-century European architecture. Historically, it was a British concession in the 19th century, becoming the financial and commercial hub of Shanghai. Today, it remains the city’s central business district, symbolizing Shanghai’s blend of colonial history and modern economic power.

National Carbon Peak Pilot

The “National Carbon Peak Pilot” is not a physical place or cultural site, but a strategic government policy initiative in China. It involves selecting specific regions, industrial parks, and enterprises to implement early, practical pathways for reaching peak carbon emissions ahead of the national 2030 target. The program’s history is rooted in China’s 2021 action plan for carbon peaking, using these pilots to test and refine methods for a broader national transition to a low-carbon economy.

Shanghai

Shanghai is a major global financial hub and the most populous city in China, located on the country’s central coast. It grew from a small fishing village into a significant port, with its modern history heavily shaped by its status as a treaty port after the First Opium War, which led to foreign concessions and a unique international character. Today, it is renowned for its iconic skyline featuring the Pudong district with landmarks like the Oriental Pearl Tower and the Shanghai Tower.

Central Committee

The term “Central Committee” most famously refers to the central administrative body of a communist party, such as the Communist Party of the Soviet Union or the Chinese Communist Party. Historically, these committees were the core decision-making organs that implemented party policy and exercised significant political control over the state and society.

State Council

The State Council is the chief administrative authority of China, functioning as the country’s executive body of the Central People’s Government. It was established by the 1954 Constitution, succeeding the former Government Administration Council of the Central People’s Government. Led by the Premier, it is responsible for implementing laws and conducting the day-to-day administrative affairs of the state.

National Carbon Peak Demonstration Zone

The National Carbon Peak Demonstration Zone is a pilot initiative in China designed to test and showcase regional strategies for achieving carbon emission peak targets before the national 2030 deadline. These zones, often established in selected cities or provinces, implement and refine policies related to clean energy, industrial transformation, and low-carbon technologies. Their history is recent, emerging from China’s 14th Five-Year Plan and its dual carbon goals (peak carbon by 2030, carbon neutrality by 2060), with the aim of creating replicable models for the rest of the country.

Guidelines for Commercial Building Virtual Power Plant Construction and Operation

This is not a place or cultural site, but a technical document. It provides a framework for creating and managing virtual power plants (VPPs) that aggregate energy resources from commercial buildings. The guidelines were developed to help integrate distributed energy resources into the grid, promoting energy efficiency and supporting grid stability.

dual-carbon platform

A “dual-carbon platform” is not a specific place or cultural site, but a technological and management system designed to help achieve China’s national goals of carbon peak and carbon neutrality. These digital platforms use data to monitor, manage, and reduce carbon emissions for governments, industries, or enterprises. Their history is recent, emerging in the early 2020s as a key tool in the global effort to combat climate change through data-driven environmental governance.