China in focus: Carbon output drops 1.4% amid pandemic and real estate policies

RIYADH: Carbon output in China dropped in the first quarter of 2022 amid policies relating to COVID-19 and the property market. 

The government also announced it will expand its range of fiscal tools to facilitate the country’s carbon neutrality journey. 

Meanwhile, the official manufacturing purchasing manager’s index indicates that factories in the country are still struggling yet on the road to recovery. 

In depth

• China’s carbon output fell 1.4 percent in the first quarter of 2022, reflecting a drop for the third quarter in a row, Bloomberg reported. This is mainly attributed to the government’s tightened policies on the real estate sector as well as COVID-19 related controls.
• China’s government has announced that it will make use of fiscal and taxation policies to back the country’s carbon neutrality journey. In line with this, the Asian country aims to create a basic financial policy by 2030 to boost green and low-carbon development. Beijing also plans to focus on mechanisms such as carbon and pollution discharge trading, Reuters reported, citing policy recommendations from the Ministry of Finance.
• China’s official manufacturing purchasing manager’s index in May climbed to 49.6, up from 47.4 in April, Bloomberg reported, citing data from the National Bureau of Statistics. While a reading below 50 still reflects that the factories in the country are struggling, the slower pace of contraction signals that the economy is slowly recovering.