Hi readers!

This week I want to highlight events such as Climate Innovation · Fashion Summit. Earlier this year, I visited several textile factories in Guangzhou and was pleased to observe a growing awareness of environmental concerns among industry leaders. It is promising to see this awareness translating into action through these events which marks a significant step forward for the industry's sustainable development.

Climate Innovation · Fashion Summit

From May 30-31, the China National Textile and Apparel Council (CNTAC) hosted the "Climate Innovation · Fashion Summit," emphasizing the urgent need for low-carbon transformation in the textile industry. CNTAC President Sun Ruizhe highlighted that, according to the World Economic Forum, four of the top ten global risks over the next decade are climate-related: extreme weather events, significant changes in the earth system, loss of biodiversity and ecosystem collapse, and natural resource shortages.

China, the world's largest producer and consumer of textiles and apparel, faces considerable environmental challenges. The textile production process generates substantial wastewater and pollutants and relies heavily on direct energy sources such as coal, electricity, oil, and natural gas.

During the summit, the "Fashion Brands 30·60 Carbon Neutral Acceleration Plan" progress report was released, revealing that the Chinese textile and apparel industry emits approximately 230 million tons of greenhouse gases annually. This accounts for about 2% of national and 2.8% of industrial carbon emissions.

Experts at the summit underscored that the industry's green transformation should focus on four key areas:

  • textile fiber raw materials
  • distribution and consumption processes
  • production processes
  • and waste textile processing

Despite progress, the industry grapples with high energy consumption and emissions. Launched by CNTAC in 2021, the "Fashion Climate Innovation 30·60 Carbon Neutral Acceleration Plan" aims to foster value chain cooperation in reducing emissions, developing sustainable products, and sharing environmental performance data.

As of May 30, 23 brands and 42 manufacturing enterprises have joined this initiative, with 83% setting climate goals and over 50% prioritizing "dual carbon" targets.

For instance, Anta Group aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, with interim goals for 2030, including net-zero carbon emissions from its operations, zero use of virgin plastics, and zero landfill waste. Bosideng Group plans to increase the proportion of eco-friendly products by 10-20% annually and has received high ESG ratings.

The industry's transformation is challenged by the prevalence of small and micro enterprises, constituting 99.8% of the 329,000 textile companies in China. Managing such a vast number of participants in the supply chain significantly impacts the efficiency of the industry's transition to greener practices.

Additionally, the summit introduced three new standards in the "dual carbon" field for the textile industry:

  • "Technical Specifications for Creating and Evaluating Carbon Neutral Factories,"
  • "Technical Specifications for Evaluating Carbon Neutral Textiles,"
  • and "Technical Specifications for Carbon Labeling of Textiles."

These standards aim to address existing gaps and initiate pilot projects for carbon-neutral products and factories within the industry.

Read the original news here.

State Council's 2024-2025 Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction Action Plan

On May 30, the State Council issued the "2024-2025 Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction Action Plan," outlining the following key targets:

Targets for 2024:

  • Reduce energy consumption per unit of GDP by approximately 2.5%.
  • Reduce carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by approximately 3.9%.
  • Reduce energy consumption per unit of industrial added value in large-scale industries by approximately 3.5%.
  • Increase the share of non-fossil energy consumption to about 18.9%.
  • Achieve energy savings equivalent to about 50 million tons of standard coal and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 130 million tons through energy conservation and carbon reduction in key sectors and industries.

Targets for 2025:

  • Increase the share of non-fossil energy consumption to about 20%.
  • Continue to achieve energy savings equivalent to about 50 million tons of standard coal and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 130 million tons through ongoing energy conservation and reduction efforts in key sectors and industries.
  • Strive to meet the binding energy conservation and carbon reduction targets set for the "14th Five-Year Plan" period.

By the end of 2025:

  • The share of non-fossil energy in total national electricity generation is expected to reach approximately 39%.
  • Installed pumped and new energy storage capacity should exceed 62 million kilowatts and 40 million kilowatts, respectively.
  • Regional demand response capabilities should generally reach 3%-5% of the maximum electricity load. In regions where the annual maximum electricity load peak-to-valley ratio exceeds 40%, demand response capabilities should exceed 5% of the maximum electricity load.

The plan emphasizes the importance of transitioning to non-fossil energy sources and implementing energy-saving measures across various industries to meet these targets. This comprehensive approach is crucial for China's green transformation and sustainable development goals.

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