China’s President Xi Jinping has called for greater efforts to control carbon emissions, while also stressing the role of fossil fuels in ensuring energy security.
There needs to be better control over energy consumption and a gradual shift toward restricting both the amount and intensity of carbon emissions, Xi said Tuesday at a meeting on deepening reforms, according to a transcript from Xinhua.
China should gradually lower traditional energy’s share on the basis of reliable and safe renewables, and ensure the basic power supply, it was also pointed out at the meeting.
The remarks come before US Climate Envoy John Kerry’s visit to China later this month for talks on global warming ahead of a United Nations climate conference in November.
The shift toward controlling carbon emissions is “highly likely” to be positive for independent renewable power producers, Daiwa Capital Markets said in a note by analysts including Dennis Ip. There will possibly be a value assigned to carbon reduction and it comes amid recent discussions on reviving the stalled offsets market, he said.
Shares of Longi Green Energy Technology Co., the world’s largest solar panel maker, rose as much as 5.2% in Shanghai on Wednesday. Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co., China’s biggest wind turbine manufacturer, climbed as much as 1.1% in Hong Kong.
Read More: The World Needs a Climate Marshall Plan: David Fickling
Xi’s focus on emissions comes even as China has ramped up coal production and imports this year in a bid to minimize blackouts. The country has also made efforts to lift crude oil production over the last few years, and is increasingly focused on deepwater drilling in the South China Sea to boost output.
Read More: The Most Overlooked Oil Production Boom Is in China: Javier Blas
The Chinese leader also stressed at the meeting the need to promote the institutional reform of the oil and gas sector, while ensuring a stable and reliable supply, and accelerate the building of a low-carbon electricity system.
Encouraging domestic oil and gas production was one of the key areas mentioned by Xi, and some of the main beneficiaries of this would be PetroChina Co. and Sinopec, Citigroup Inc. said in a note. National energy security is one of the top development priorities in China, the bank said.
PetroChina shares were up as much as 3.1% in Hong Kong, while Sinopec rose as much 2%.
The Week’s Diary
Wednesday, July 12:
- China’s agriculture ministry (CASDE) releases monthly supply and demand report
Thursday, July 13:
- China’s 1st batch of June trade data, incl. steel, aluminum & rare earth exports; steel, iron ore, copper, soybean, edible oil, rubber, meat & offal, oil, gas and coal imports; oil product imports and exports
Friday, July 14:
- China weekly iron ore port stockpiles
- Shanghai exchange weekly commodities inventory, ~3:30pm local time
On the Wire
Chinese President Xi Jinping called for greater opening up of the world’s second-biggest economy to focus on foreign cooperation in areas including trade and investment.
China is expected to boost fiscal support to the economy with more policy tools, including special local government bonds to fund infrastructure projects, the China Securities Journal said in a front-page report.