The pursuit of ‘net-zero by 2060’: a ‘silver bullet’ for China’s energy security dilemma?

Abstract

As a rapidly emerging economy that has developed an increasing reliance on fossil fuel imports due to energy demand outstripping its ability to generate supply, the People’s Republic of China’s (hereinafter, ‘China’) energy security challenges have been persistent and ongoing. Over the years, China has sought to address these energy security risks through various strategies, from diversification to self-sufficiency, and energy conservation. None of these strategies have proven to be a panacea to solving China’s energy security dilemma. The key issue examined in this article is how China’s pursuit of carbon neutrality, bolstered through its recent announcement of a target of net-zero emissions by 2060, will have impacts on the ongoing energy security challenges faced by China’s energy systems. By analysing the true relationship between the two objectives of ‘energy security’ and ‘emissions reductions’, this article seeks to test whether energy security is in fact a ‘bottleneck restricting sustainable economic and social development’. Through an in-depth examination of the legislative and policy instruments which govern the transformation of China’s energy grid, this article posits that the characterization of the energy security and emissions reduction as dichotomous is antiquated. The pursuit of net-zero by 2060, through decreasing China’s overreliance on fossil fuel imports and increasing the diversity of energy sources within the energy mix to encompass more non-fossil fuel sources, has the potential to be the ‘silver bullet’ to China’s energy security challenges.