China expands green living in Shenzhen and pushes renewable use in industry

Shenzhen, a city of nearly 18 million on China’s southern coast, is making low‑carbon behavior convenient. Its metro network spans over 630 km and links with more than 800 bus routes, serving 95 % of urban areas with minimal transfers. AI‑driven traffic monitoring dispatches fully electric buses according to demand, and officials say the aim is to make commuting “as easy as possible”. Residents can also earn “carbon points” through an app for using public transport, sorting waste or avoiding food waste, which can be exchanged for discounts – exemplified by a citizen noting, “Shenzhen’s public transportation isn’t just developed. It’s extremely convenient.”

At the national level, China’s new five‑year climate plan (2026‑2030) seeks to embed its large renewable power fleet into factories, data centres and transport. The plan emphasizes storage, transmission, electrification, green hydrogen, low‑carbon industrial parks and the inclusion of nuclear power in green‑power trading schemes. While pledging to peak emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, it also calls for low‑carbon retrofits, reduced coal intensity per unit output and gradual substitution of fossil‑based feedstocks with renewable electricity. The strategy unfolds amid an economic slowdown and energy‑security concerns, with coal retained as a system back‑stop.