China’s 2060 carbon neutral pledge ‘incompatible’ with expansion of oil and gas pipelines, study says

China has 34,273km of oil and gas transmission pipelines under construction or in construction planning, more than any other nation on the basis of length

But the expansion is at odds with China’s undertaking to reach net zero carbon emissions and could lead to stranded assets amid a clean energy shift

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China has 34,273km of oil and gas transmission pipelines under construction or in construction planning stages – more than any other nation based on the total length of projects – with most being developed to handle an increase in gas supplies, said the report by the Global Energy Monitor. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 1:29pm, 2 Feb 2021Updated: 6:24pm, 2 Feb 2021

China’s expansion of its oil and gas pipeline network is putting it on a “collision course” with its ambitious target to reach carbon neutrality by 2060, according to a report published on Tuesday, while simultaneously raising the possibility of making billions of dollars of assets obsolete.

More than US$1 trillion in fossil fuel pipeline projects are under development globally, researchers at Global Energy Monitor found, threatening Paris climate goals and recent pledges from major economies, including China, to shift to net zero carbon emissions by the middle of the century.

The report warned that, if completed, the 468 projects around the world could lock in decades of new greenhouse gas emissions that drive rapid changes in climate and contribute to extreme weather events like typhoons, forest fires and droughts.

It also argued that amid a global clean energy shift, the expansion of oil and gas infrastructure sets the stage for a wave of stranded assets, meaning they would be prematurely retired before the end of their normal economic life – although some analysts disagreed this would be the case in China as it transitions away from coal.