China's carbon intensity down 4% in 2017

China’s carbon intensity – the level of carbon emissions per unit of economic growth – fell about 4 percent in the first three quarters of 2017, putting the country on track to meet its five-year targets, a senior official said. China vowed to cut 2015 levels of carbon intensity by 18 percent by the end of 2020, part of a longer-term pledge to bring total greenhouse gas emissions to a peak by “around 2030,” according to Reuters. Li Gao, the head of the climate change office at the National Development and Reform Commission, told a conference that China had made clear progress in decoupling economic growth from CO2. According to a report published on the website of China’s National Energy Administration (NEA) late on Thursday, Li said China was also still aiming to complete the launch of a nationwide carbon emissions trading scheme (ETS).