Inner Mongolia’s Development and Reform Commission held training in late April 2021 on how to coordinate work streams of energy consumption cap, energy intensity control, and carbon emissions peaking in the autonomous region, inviting technical support from Energy Foundation China (EF China). The Hohhot event witnessed the participation of over 2,000 representatives from government agencies and enterprises of major industries across the region. The training program aimed to help Inner Mongolia achieve green, decarbonized development in the long run against the backdrop of China’s carbon peaking and neutrality commitments, and improve the region’s performance in limiting its energy consumption and intensity during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021–2025).

The opening session of the event was presided over by Gong Mingzhu, Director-General of Inner Mongolia’s Development and Reform Commission, with opening remarks from Zhang Shaochun, Executive Vice Governor of the autonomous region. Wen Hua, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Resources Conservation and Environmental Protection at the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), recapped the region’s underwhelming energy performance for the past five years and put forward his expectations for energy and carbon improvements during the 14th Five-Year Plan period in light of China’s new goals of carbon emissions peaking and neutrality. Zou Ji, CEO and President of EF China, called for Inner Mongolia to coordinate carbon and energy targets and upgrade its polluting industries through a new growth model. He also analyzed the opportunities and challenges brought about by China’s carbon goals to key industries across the economy and present his suggestions for how to optimize the region’s energy mix and industrial structure.

As per request from Inner Mongolia, EF China helped invite leading experts and scholars for the training program, including those from NDRC’s Energy Research Institute, the National Center for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation, Tsinghua University, Central University of Finance and Economics, China Electric Power Planning and Engineering Institute, and petro-chemistry, metallurgy, non-ferrous metal, and other industry associations. They analyzed opportunities and challenges for Inner Mongolia to decarbonize its economy, covering topics such as energy-saving potentials of key industries, advantages of renewable energy, and green finance. In view of China’s new carbon pledges, the experts said Inner Mongolia should find a new development pathway, focused on cutting energy consumption and intensity in the immediate term, especially for the 14th Five-Year Plan period, while also connect those short-term actions with longer term plans, such as exploring new growth drivers, optimizing industrial structure, adjusting the energy mix, developing more renewable energy, phasing out coal use, cutting back on high energy-consuming industries, and deploying pricing, taxation, fiscal, and other financial tools during the process. Continuing the region’s crucial role as an energy and strategic resources center for China, Inner Mongolia can also green and decarbonize its economy, the experts argued.

EF China has set up a working group for Inner Mongolia that is composed of the foundation’s Industry, Low Carbon Cities, Clean Power, Environmental Management, Low Carbon Economic Growth, and Strategic Communications programs. We have held expert discussions to understand the realities of the region, taken field trips to Hohhot, Ordos, Baotou, and Ulanqab, and talked with the region’s authorities and enterprises. EF China has produced a work plan for the foundation’s future work in Inner Mongolia based on key findings from the field trips and follow-up research, which we have communicated with the region’s Development and Reform Commission.

Going forward, EF China plans to invite top experts to customize an action plan for decarbonizing Inner Mongolia in the next five years, including organizing high-level forums, designing capacity-building training series, and conducting a host of technical assistance projects. During this training event, EF China and Inner Mongolia also exchanged views on the potential cooperation of the two parties.