China continues to ratchet-up its carbon goals with the promise of a larger slice of power generation devoted to clean energy.
The National Energy Administration has circulated a 10-year renewables proposal that’s eye-catching on two fronts, according to BloombergNEF.
The targets, which would require wind, solar and biomass to deliver 25.9% of national power sales or consumption in 2030, are more ambitious than President Xi’s last public pronouncement on the subject two months ago; and they set much longer-term guidance than has been typical for the industry.
It means some 1,580 gigawatts of cumulative capacity will be needed to meet the target, a third higher than Xi’s pledge, BNEF said.
Elsewhere, the rapid ascent in Chinese metals prices has left the market looking a little frothy. Shanghai copper snapped nine days of gains and with an RSI that’s solidly above 80 and end-users chafing at higher costs, the contract could be due for a pullback. And aluminum trading near four-year highs can only incentivize ever more production from China’s smelters, which at some point will drag on prices, according to Capital Economics.
Today’s agenda includes the first media briefing from China’s new commerce minister, Wang Wentao. Commodities topics that Weng may want to comment on include the ongoing trade freeze with Australia and Beijing’s possible ban on the export of rare earths refining technology.