From July 7 to July 9, 2022, with the support of Energy Foundation China, Inner Mongolia launched its two-month training for the province’s regulators and entrepreneurs on the topics of carbon peaking and neutrality goals and energy consumption and intensity control targets. Officials from Inner Mongolia’s Development and Reform Commission (DRC), provincial Administration of Energy, and local DRC of the provincial capital Hohhot attended the opening ceremony, along with more than 1000 representatives from local DRCs, as well leading state-owned and private enterprises across the province, who participated on-site or online.

The training, initiated by Inner Mongolia’s provincial DRC, aims to facilitate a smooth transition from energy consumption/intensity control to carbon emissions control, build low carbon capacity for regulators and energy consumers alike, and enhance robust growth of enterprises. In his keynote speech titled “China’s Carbon Policies: Economic Growth, Energy Security, and Low Carbon Targets,” ZOU Ji, CEO and President of Energy Foundation China (EF China), analyzed carbon neutrality strategies of the world’s major economies, elaborated a new growth model powered by renewables, and offered suggestions for the low carbon development and industrial transition of Inner Mongolia.

As a key energy and power production center, Inner Mongolia supplies coal to many places in China. In 2021, it produced 1.06 billion tonnes of coal, exceeding one fourth of China’s total production, of which 580 million tonnes were exported to other provinces. Power generation in Inner Mongolia accounted for 7 percent of China’s total generation; 246.7 TWh were exported, or 15 percent of China’s total inter-regional transmission in 2021. At the same time, Inner Mongolia is one of the provinces with the most abundant renewable energy sources, with a renewable generation capacity of 52.91GW in 2021, the largest in China, or 34.8 percent of the province’s total installed capacity. The successful transition of Inner Mongolia’s energy and economic structures will play a crucial role in putting its economy onto a sustainable development trajectory and helping China achieve its carbon peaking and neutrality goals.

Since March 2021, coordinating with Inner Mongolia’s governmental agencies, EF China has supported research institutions and think tanks in the province to tailor a package of carbon-related studies that covers policy and institutional mechanism design; the low carbon transition of key sectors such as coal power, renewables, grid, industry, buildings, and agriculture; and communications, training, and capacity building. The implementation of these grants is expected to provide technical support, as Inner Mongolia develops science-based policies to achieve carbon and economic goals at the same time.

During his visit in Hohhot, ZOU Ji also met with heads of Inner Mongolia’s provincial DRC and Administration of Energy and talked about potential cooperation opportunities in the future. For the next step, EF China plans to enhance cross-sectoral cooperation with different departments and research institutions in Inner Mongolia, under the supervision of our regulators—the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau and the National Development and Reform Commission. We hope the efforts will help with the strategic analysis on high-quality economic development, low carbon transition, energy structure upgrade, and key technologies for Inner Mongolia’s key sectors and cities.