China

China’s environmental and climate policies have become increasingly active and ambitious in recent years. Since President Xi Jinping’s announcements at the United Nations General Assembly in December 2020, the country has pursued the goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2060. China has also set itself the target of reaching peak CO₂ emissions before 2030. In the energy sector, the country is witnessing a massive expansion of renewable energy, particularly solar photovoltaics, while new coal-fired power plants continue to be built.

Ahead of COP30 in November 2025, China formally submitted its updated climate targets (Nationally Determined Contribution, NDC) to the UNFCCC. For the first time, these cover the entire economy and all greenhouse gases (GHGs), and include an absolute emissions reduction target: a 7–10% reduction in net GHG emissions by 2035 compared with peak levels. However, the emissions peak itself has still not been quantified. Other new targets include increasing the share of non-fossil energy in total energy consumption to over 30%, achieving a forest stock volume of more than 24 billion m³, and reaching a combined installed capacity of 3,600 GW for wind and solar photovoltaic power.

Since 2015, China has adopted a series of measures to establish a framework for the development of an ‘ecological civilisation’ and the conservation of biodiversity at the highest levels of government. These include action plans for the prevention and control of water, soil and air pollution, as well as national plans for marine functional zoning and for environmental, water and soil protection. Since 2018, the creation of an ‘ecological civilisation’ has been a national priority and has been enshrined in the Constitution.

In June 2022, China published a new strategy for adapting to the impacts of climate change, the National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy 2035.

In the field of biodiversity, China chaired the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The meeting was held virtually in October 2021 and resumed in Montreal, Canada, in December 2022, where a new global biodiversity framework was adopted: the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

China’s National Biodiversity Conservation Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) for 2011–2030 was published in 2010. An updated plan covering the period 2023–2030 was submitted in January 2024.

In March 2026, China also adopted its 15th Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development (2026–2030), which emphasises the role of the green transition and climate policy in the country’s economic development and defines interim targets for achieving its NDC. A series of sectoral and thematic plans for this period provide further detail on the planned developments, including in the areas of climate change mitigation, adaptation and biodiversity.

The task structure of the IKI projects has proactively accompanied the fulfilment of this development of political priorities and framework conditions. The fact that there is no classic IKI call with China is a special feature.

The development and selection of bilateral funding priorities and projects, as well as their protection, take place via the Sino-German Working Group on Environment and Climate Change of the Federal Ministry for the Environment (BMUKN), the Chinese Ministry for Ecology and the Environment (MEE) and other relevant sector ministries, which usually hold an annual meeting. The priority area of bilateral cooperation with China is the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions with a focus on climate policy dialogue and advice.

Regional projects are currently placing exclusive focus on the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions.

In addition, regional and global projects are being carried out with the participation of China that cover the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and, to a lesser extent, the protection of biodiversity.

The German-Chinese cooperation with the IKI

As part of the German-Chinese cooperation, several bilateral IKI projects are supporting China in achieving its climate policy targets and accompany the dialogue in the area of climate protection. The involvement of the municipal and provincal levels in environmental and climate policies should be pointed out here.