• 2013

China In-country Work

News and events

  • Publication
  • Feb. 5, 2024
Conveyor system transports biomass to pyrolysis reactor for biochar production

Exploring negative emission potential of biochar to achieve carbon neutrality goal in China

The study evaluates the feasibility and impact of large-scale biochar deployment, examining its ability to sequester carbon and contribute to emission reduction. The results indicate that integrating biochar…

Exploring negative emission potential of biochar to achieve carbon neutrality goal in China

  • China

The latest study published in Nature Climate Change explores the significant methane mitigation potential achievable through the strategic closure of gas-rich coal mines in China. By constructing a detailed and dynamic coal mine database, they estimate that China’s coal methane emissions have been largely underestimated. The findings suggest that adopting a closure strategy prioritizing high-gas-content mines, as opposed to the current scale-based approach, could reduce cumulative methane emissions by 67 Tg (26%) by 2050, potentially reaching a reduction of 100 Tg (39%) with improved methane recovery practices. This targeted approach presents a promising strategy for aligning coal phase-out policies with enhanced methane emission mitigation.

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  • Publication
  • Apr. 26, 2024
Heap of coal in a mine Industrial coal mining

Large methane mitigation potential through prioritized closure of gas-rich coal mines

This study published in Nature Climate Change explores the significant methane mitigation potential achievable through the strategic closure of gas-rich coal mines in China…

Large methane mitigation potential through prioritized closure of gas-rich coal mines

  • China

The latest study published in Nature Climate Change explores the significant methane mitigation potential achievable through the strategic closure of gas-rich coal mines in China. By constructing a detailed and dynamic coal mine database, they estimate that China’s coal methane emissions have been largely underestimated. The findings suggest that adopting a closure strategy prioritizing high-gas-content mines, as opposed to the current scale-based approach, could reduce cumulative methane emissions by 67 Tg (26%) by 2050, potentially reaching a reduction of 100 Tg (39%) with improved methane recovery practices. This targeted approach presents a promising strategy for aligning coal phase-out policies with enhanced methane emission mitigation.

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In-country work since

2013 (start of DDPP)

Key areas of work

  • Net Zero & long-term planning
  • Clean power and energy systems
  • National systemic transformations
  • Just Transitions & socio-economic implications of the transitions
  • Development & climate interface
  • International climate collaborations
  • Governance & public policy
  • Coal transitions
  • Methane and non-CO2 mitigation

Key in-country partners

Teng
Fei Teng
Professor and Deputy Director of the Institute of Energy, Environment and Economy
Tsinghua University

Teng Fei is a Professor and Deputy Director of the Institute of Energy, Environment and Economy, Tsinghua University. He holds B.E., M.S. and PhD in Management Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University.
He is the Secretary General of the Energy Systems Engineering Committee of the China Energy Research Society, a member of the Energy Economy Committee of the Chinese Electrical Engineering Society, a member of the Committee on Climate Change and Low Carbon Development of the Chinese Meteorological Society, a member of the China National Committee of the Future Earth Initiative, and a member of the China Forum Expert Group. He is the lead author of the Fifth and Sixth Climate Change Assessment Reports of the IPCC. He has published nearly 100 papers in Science, Nature Climate Change and other academic journals, with more than 2000 citations. From 2007 to 2017, he was a member of China’s negotiation team on climate change. His main research interests include integrated assessment modelling, energy system analysis, global and domestic climate policy and governance.

Institute of Energy, Environment and Economy, Tsinghua University

More details …

Latest DDP Scenario

IMAGINE:

  • Reference scenario
  • CO2 neutrality scenario
  • GHG neutrality scenario

Contributions to policy processes:

  • DDP China team has contributed to:
  • China’s carbon peaking target announced in 2014
  • China’s carbon neutrality target announced in 2020
  • China’s methane mitigation action plan announced in 2023

Key projects

  • Imagine
  • NDC Aspects

Key in-country collaborations

Past and ongoing projects

  1. Report (September 2021): Analysis of current ambition level in China
  2. Dubash, Navroz K., Aditya Valiathan Pillai, Christian Flachsland, Kathryn Harrison, Kathryn Hochstetler, Matthew Lockwood, Robert MacNeil, et al. “National Climate Institutions Complement Targets and Policies Institutions Can Affect Coordination, Consensus, and Strategy.” Science (New York, N.Y.) 374, no. 6568 (November 5, 2021): 690–93. https://doi.org/10.1126/SCIENCE.ABM1157.
  3. He, JK, Z Li, XL Zhang, HL Wang, WJ Dong, ES Du, SY Chang, et al. “Towards Carbon Neutrality: A Study on China’s Long-Term Low-Carbon Transition Pathways and Strategies.” ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND ECOTECHNOLOGY 9 (January 2022). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ese.2021.100134.
  4. Liu, Qiang, Xu Deng, Bowen Wang, and Fei Teng. “An Evaluation of the Priority Mitigation Technology Needs of Belt and Road Initiative Developing Countries.” Ecosystem Health and Sustainability 9 (January 2023): 0026. https://doi.org/10.34133/ehs.0026.
  5. Pan, Xun-Zhang, Fei Teng, Yann Robiou du Pont, and Hai-Lin Wang. “Understanding Equity–Efficiency Interaction in the Distribution of Global Carbon Budgets.” Advances in Climate Change Research, August 2022, S1674927822000843. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.accre.2022.08.002.
  6. Springer, Cecilia Han, Samuel Evans, and Fei Teng. “An Empirical Analysis of the Environmental Performance of China’s Overseas Coal Plants.” Environmental Research Letters 16, no. 5 (May 1, 2021): 054062. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abf287.
  7. Su, Xin, Frédéric Ghersi, Fei Teng, Gaëlle Le Treut, and Meicong Liang. “The Economic Impact of a Deep Decarbonisation Pathway for China: A Hybrid Model Analysis through Bottom-up and Top-down Linking.” Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change 27, no. 1 (January 2022): 11. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11027-021-09979-w.
  8. Jing Cao, Mun S. Ho, Rong Ma, and Fei Teng. “When Carbon Emission Trading Meets a Regulated Industry: Evidence from the Electricity Sector of China.” Journal of Public Economics 200 (August 2021): 104470. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JPUBECO.2021.104470.
  9. Teng, Fei “Ambitious and Credible Pledges.” Nature Climate Change, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-022-01459-6.
  10. Teng, Fei, and Pu Wang. “The Evolution of Climate Governance in China: Drivers, Features, and Effectiveness.” Environmental Politics, October 7, 2021, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/09644016.2021.1985221.
  11. WANG, Tian-Peng, and Fei TENG. “A Multi-Model Assessment of Climate Change Damage in China and the World.” Advances in Climate Change Research 13, no. 3 (June 2022): 385–96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.accre.2022.04.005.
  12. Wang, Tianpeng, and Fei Teng. “Damage Function Uncertainty Increases the Social Cost of Methane and Nitrous Oxide.” Nature Climate Change, September 14, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-023-01803-4.
  13. Wang, Tianpeng, Fei Teng, Xu Deng, and Jun Xie. “Climate Module Disparities Explain Inconsistent Estimates of the Social Cost of Carbon in Integrated Assessment Models.” One Earth 5, no. 7 (July 2022): 767–78. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.ONEEAR.2022.06.005.
  14. Xie, Jun, Shaojie Zhou, Fei Teng, and Alun Gu. “The Characteristics and Driving Factors of Household CO2 and Non-CO2 Emissions in China.” Ecological Economics 213 (November 2023): 107952. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2023.107952.
  15. Yang, Xi, Jun Pang, Fei Teng, Ruixin Gong, and Cecilia Springer. “The Environmental Co-Benefit and Economic Impact of China’s Low-Carbon Pathways: Evidence from Linking Bottom-up and Top-down Models.” Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 136 (February 2021): 110438. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.RSER.2020.110438.
  16. Zhang, L, MP Chen, F Teng, and J Ewing. “Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emission Mitigation and Ecosystem Adaptation along Belt and Road Initiative.” ECOSYSTEM HEALTH AND SUSTAINABILITY 7, no. 1 (January 1, 2021). https://doi.org/10.1080/20964129.2020.1868272.