Western companies going net-zero in China: the challenge of tailoring global commitments to local circumstances
As of 2024, almost half of the worlds’ 500 largest companies have made climate change commitments. As global companies, this includes accounting for and reducing emissions from their activities in China. However, since the companies’ ambitions are higher than China’s target of an emissions peak in 2030 and carbon neutrality in 2060, they need to go beyond the practice of the circumstances in China to meet their commitments. Based on a review of company commitments and policy documents, this book chapter analyzes the situation around and inside western companies’ net-zero ambitions in China. The article determines that due to a number of inhibiting factors inside China, the companies are not able to operationalize their commitments the same way in China as in other countries. The finding that global companies’ net-zero commitments require substantial local tailoring suggests an urgent need for further research into how this can be done, as companies are already short on time to meet their commitments.
Larsen, M. (2025). Western Companies Going Net-Zero in China: The Challenge of Tailoring Global Commitments to Local Circumstances. In: Kumar, S. (eds) Bridging Asia-Europe Relations. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-96-8216-4_13