China’s big tech vows big carbon cuts with little detail

As China’s government lays out goals to hit carbon neutrality by 2060, Chinese tech companies are pledging to follow Beijing’s lead by drastically reducing their own emissions. 

In the leadup to and aftermath of the annual meeting of China’s national legislature in early March, China’s biggest companies have been making big promises. Alibaba-affiliate Ant Group has vowed to hit carbon net zero by 2030. JD Logistics has pledged to go completely renewable by the same year. Tencent has announced that it has a plan for eventual carbon neutrality, without a timeline. None have laid out exactly how they’ll reach their goals. 

Wind and solar energy sources have reached parity with coal in parts of the country, but China’s companies have so far been slow to increase the share of electricity they get from renewable sources. Tech firms’ growth in carbon emission is eclipsing their growth of renewable energy use. 

What you get

Full access to all premium content and our full archives

Members'-only newsletters

Preferential access and discounts to all TechNode events

Direct access to the TechNode newsroom