China's Low Carbon Economy Situation and Development Trend

Global climate change has been brought about by anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) and is considered one of the most complex challenges that mankind must face in the twenty-first century. Reducing carbon emissions is now a worldwide task. The concept of the low carbon economy was first put forward in the UK in 2003 in the Energy White Paper titled "Our future energy creating a low carbon economy" (DTI, 2003). The content of the Energy White Paper and its influence on future policy direction has attracted considerable public attention and extensive discussion. More and more countries around the world are making the transition towards becoming low carbon economies, including China. This paper presents analyzed the situation of China's low carbon economy and development trend. China's carton emissions are 5,012,377 in 2009. As a top carbon emitter, China is facing increasing pressure to curb its greenhouse emissions. After the Copenhagen Climate Conference, China submitted the targets of energy-saving and emissions reduction, promised that the carbon emissions will reduce 40 45% out of per GDP till 2020. For China, Opportunities and challenges coexist. We should adjust the industrial structure and the energy structure, in order to realize the green economy.