Shanghai met its five-year targets for carbon and energy intensity a year early as emissions per unit of GDP fell 8% in 2014, the municipal government said, and vowed to limit emissions growth in 2015 to 8.7 million tonnes of CO2.

The city’s target was to cut CO2 emissions per unit of GDP to 19% below 2010 levels by 2015, but as energy consumption last year fell by 2.7 million tonnes of standard coal equivalent, the target was achieved early, according to the Shanghai Development and Reform Commission (DRC).

The DRC said it would reduce carbon and energy intensity a further 2% this year, and that it would not allow absolute CO2 emissions to rise by more than 8.7 million tonnes in 2015, but try to limit growth to 7.8 million tonnes.

It did not provide an absolute number for its 2014 CO2 emissions, and did not assign a specific 2015 target for the nearly 200 companies covered by its ETS.

The Shanghai numbers were in line with the overall trend in China in 2014, as emissions fell on the back of slower economic growth, huge investments in renewable energy and new energy saving policies.

The DRC also released a list of 858 local companies that emit more than 13,000 tonnes of CO2 per year, and will have to start reporting their emissions to the government.

By Stian Reklev – stian@carbon-pulse.com