On 9 October 2022, the National Energy Administration issued the Action Plan for Enhancing Standardisation of Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality in the Energy Sector (hereinafter referred to as the Action Plan). The Action Plan is a standardisation-based, sector-specific ministerial response to the central government’s call for achieving carbon peak and carbon neutrality. 

The Action Plan, which is aimed at providing practical guidance and instructions, outlines general requirements as well as six key tasks and measures for implementation. In general, the Action Plan commits to promote standardisation in non-fossil energy, new power systems, new type of energy storage technology, hydrogen technology, energy efficiency, as well as carbon reduction along the entire industrial chain; each of these six areas is supplemented by one or several ad hoc actions, with specific targets and focus. Since the mission of standardisation is to contribute to development of the industry, all those six key areas reflect China’s priority directions in the near future.