China Energy Zero-Carbon Industrial Parks

Definition & Scale

“Zero-Carbon Park” refers to an industrial area that significantly reduces carbon emissions and aims to achieve carbon neutrality by developing renewable energy, improving energy efficiency, promoting resource recycling, and promoting green building during the planning, construction, and operation of the park. 

China has more than 2,500 national and provincial industrial parks, which cover 80% of the country’s industrial enterprises, contribute over 50% of national GDP, and account for approximately 31% of the country’s CO2 emissions. These parks serve as both vital engines for China’s economy and crucial focal points for reaching peak carbon and carbon neutrality.

In 2025, “Zero-Carbon Park” was included in the Chinese Government Work Report for the first time, outlining China’s plan to achieve the “Dual Carbon Goal”—peaking CO2 emissions before 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality before 2060—through a range of measures, including zero-carbon industrial parks and factories. The market size for Zero-Carbon Park is expected to reach 200 billion RMB (~U.S. $28 billion) in 2025.  Industrial parks are the main battleground for China to achieve its climate goals.

Scope & Potential

The Chinese government’s zero-carbon park initiative focuses on renewable energy, energy conservation, green transportation, sustainable buildings, and integrated waste treatment and resource recycling, which will drive demand for the following solutions:

1. Renewable energy: solar, wind, geothermal, and other low-carbon microgrids, rooftop photovoltaics, distributed wind power, carbon capture and utilization technology, etc.
2. Carbon reduction technologies in the building sector: green building, environmentally friendly building materials and advanced energy-saving technologies.
3. Resource recycling technologies: reuse of industrial waste, reuse of wastewater, comprehensive utilization of surplus energy (heat, cold and pressure), and reduction of material loss.
4. Improvement of energy efficiency through digitalization and intelligent technology: 5G, cloud computing, big data, energy consumption monitoring, and virtual power plants.

Government Initiatives & Regulatory Framework

The concept of “zero-carbon parks” has gained significant national attention following continued endorsements and emphasis from the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

Currently, four local standards for zero-carbon parks have been issued, while the national-level standards are expected to be released in 2025. Four local standards include two provincial standards for Fujian province and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, one for the Xiong’an New Area, and one municipal standard for Yancheng city.

Chinese zero-carbon park standards are drivers of demand and are often referenced now as a technical specification. For example, in the new standard published by the Xiong’an New Area, at least 70% of building materials must now carry a green building material label or bear a verified carbon-footprint tag, which will drive demand for green building certification activities and solutions.

The general guidance follows a “One Park, One Plan” approach, encouraging innovation and flexibility in meeting carbon reduction goals, although some common criteria are likely to emerge.

The following criteria are currently under discussion to qualify as a Zero-Carbon Park:

1. Non-fossil energy consumption exceeds 80%, with energy storage capacity above 10%.
2. Industrial waste recycling rate exceeds 80%.
3. Industrial wastewater reuse rate exceeds 80%.
4. Rooftop photovoltaic coverage exceeds 75%.
5. Ultra-low or near-zero energy buildings exceed 30,000 square meters.
6. Comprehensive utilization rate of waste heat, waste cold, and residual pressure exceeds 50%.

Investment Trends & Local Government Engagement 

The first batch of pilot zero-carbon parks were launched in Beijing, Inner Mongolia, Henan, Anhui, Jiangsu, Guangdong, and Fujian starting from 2022. In 2025, 31 provinces have set key priorities and action targets for building zero-carbon industrial parks. Further, more than 20 provinces (including Jiangsu, Guangdong, and Sichuan) have released special policies to promote low-carbon transformation in parks through measures such as financial subsidies, land preferential policies, and carbon quota incentives.

As one example, in Sichuan, the provincial government is offering subsidies to qualified projects that pass carbon reduction inspection; Yibin High-Tech Zone has set up a RMB 2 billion (~U.S. $280 million) industry fund to accelerate zero-carbon park developments; Qingshen Economic Development Zone has earmarked RMB 9 million (~U.S. $1.3 million) to help 38 enterprises strengthen their carbon-reduction capabilities; and, Shifang Economic Development Zone has embedded carbon-reduction targets into a RMB 1 million (~U.S. $140,000) performance-based incentive scheme for local firms.

Industry Integration

The development of zero-carbon parks involves achieving carbon neutral emissions across the entire value chain, including energy supply, building construction, transportation, industrial manufacturing, and resource utilization. In addition, this transition is expected to generate a range of new market demands, such as carbon asset management, carbon trading, energy auditing, and green finance services.

Challenges and Business Uncertainties

The development of zero-carbon parks requires significantly higher costs than traditional industrial parks, primarily due to the substantial investments required in infrastructure, technological upgrades, and clean energy supply. These investments are hard to generate sufficient returns in the short term, posing financing challenges for enterprises and local governments. Although government support has helped narrow the funding gap to some extent, private-sector investment remains relatively low.

Currently, most infrastructure remains heavily reliant on fossil fuels, which limits immediate deployment of advanced low-carbon solutions. As a result, the large-scale deployment of low-carbon technologies will require time, further innovation, and continued policy support. 

In addition, many industrial parks lack a clear and systematic roadmap for transitioning toward zero-carbon operations. Implementation efforts are often hindered by the absence of detailed standards, practical guidelines, and comprehensive supporting policies.