China Puts Carbon to Work: Transforming Emissions into Economic Assets

Par Wang Ke

Can carbon dioxide be used to provide heating?

In May of this year, China's first geothermal heating project utilizing supercritical carbon dioxide technology began operation in Zhengzhou, Henan province.

The system combines a 2,500-meter-deep geothermal well, a fully enclosed circulation loop, and a new heat-transfer medium. In this process, supercritical carbon dioxide acts as an energy carrier, bringing heat from deep underground to the surface and providing a clean heat source for centralized heating.

When most people think of carbon dioxide, they associate it with the greenhouse effect and global warming. Yet carbon dioxide also holds considerable value as a resource, with a wide range of industrial applications.

As China approaches its 2030 carbon peaking target, the way it views and utilizes carbon dioxide has become a vivid example of its green development strategy.

So, what else can carbon dioxide do?

It can generate electricity. In May this year, the second generating unit of the "Carbon One" project was successfully connected to the grid, marking the completion of the world's first demonstration project for power generation from waste heat using supercritical carbon dioxide. Its thermal-to-electric conversion efficiency is 75 percent higher than that of conventional steam power generation.

It can serve as a chemical feedstock. At the petrochemical industrial park in Xuwei New Area, Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, carbon dioxide is converted into polyether polyols, which are used in automotive composite foams, adhesives, water-based synthetic leather, and coatings.

It can even be used to make food. After successfully synthesizing starch from carbon dioxide in the laboratory, the Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences has gone a step further, turning carbon dioxide into sugar.

From a carbon burden to a carbon resource, and from a troublesome greenhouse gas to a promising production input, efforts to maximize the value of carbon reflect China's growing capacity for innovation and its evolving approach to development.

These green practices of turning waste into wealth and turning carbon into gold offer an excellent lens through which to understand China's green and low-carbon transition.

Technological innovation is a key driver of green development. By using energy conservation and carbon reduction to drive development, China is turning to innovation to create new opportunities and inject fresh momentum into its economy.

At the Aonan Oilfield CCUS demonstration base, part of oil production plant No. 7 of Daqing Oilfield in Heilongjiang province, liquid carbon dioxide is continuously injected underground through high-pressure pipelines for CO2-enhanced oil recovery. The approach not only boosts oil recovery but also enables geological storage of carbon dioxide.

By the end of 2025, Jilin Oilfield, located in Songyuan, Jilin province, had cumulatively stored 3.61 million tons of carbon dioxide underground, equivalent to the carbon absorbed by more than 30 million trees.

Focusing on areas such as the efficient use of clean energy, advanced energy storage, and carbon asset management, China is pooling resources to make breakthroughs in original and cutting-edge technologies, further strengthening the foundations for its green transition.

Reducing emissions does not mean reducing productivity; rather, it means using emissions reduction to spur innovation across industries. Cutting carbon is not simply about making a subtraction, but about achieving higher-quality growth with lower resource consumption.

At a cement company in Jiangsu province, energy conservation and carbon reduction have become a core source of competitiveness. Electricity generated from waste heat in exhaust gases meets more than 73 percent of the electricity needs of clinker production.

Compared with 2020, China's cement industry cut carbon dioxide emissions per 10,000 yuan of value added by 15.8 percent in 2025. Green and low-carbon upgrading is creating new opportunities and opening up new space for growth.

China's experience shows that striking the right balance between development and emissions reduction, achieving environmental protection and economic growth, and sharing opportunities and benefits can greatly unleash the internal driving force for the low-carbon transition.

On a broader scale, China is deepening the sharing of low-carbon technologies and practical cooperation on ecological protection with countries around the world, demonstrating its commitment to working together for the common good.

In Nauru, a photovoltaic project built by a Chinese company generates enough electricity to meet national needs. In Ethiopia, a ring road in Addis Ababa constructed by a Chinese company uses renewable energy facilities and rainwater recycling systems, effectively reducing resource consumption. As China works toward its carbon goals, its efforts to advance the green transition will continue unabated.

Recently, China issued an action plan for carbon peaking during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), laying out a detailed roadmap for its green transition over the next five years. Through these actions, China demonstrates its commitment to delivering on its promises.