Government and cities · county-wide zero carbon

Zero carbon is a ledger you file
A park is one line on it

From 2026 the comprehensive carbon-peaking and carbon-neutrality assessment starts for provincial Party committees and governments. Indicators travel down from province to city and land on county industry, buildings, transport, public institutions and forest land. We open that ledger: where the pressure comes from, which indicators to file, which domains they split into, what we can deliver, what you can apply for, and where the money comes from.

5 + 9
Control + supporting indicators
Comprehensive assessment measures
2026
Assessment start year
For provincial Party committees and governments
100 / 500
National zero-carbon parks / factories
15th Five-Year Plan carbon-peaking action plan
5% / 8.5%
Public-institution energy / carbon cut
During the 15th Five-Year Plan
Layer 1 · Where the pressure comes from

A chain from the General Offices to the county

Many counties ask what the centre actually wants. The answer sits in four documents, linked as one transmission chain.

1Central

Set the assessment, pin the duty

The comprehensive assessment measures set 5 control indicators plus 9 supporting indicators. Results are an important reference for comprehensive evaluation, appointment and supervision of provincial leadership teams and relevant officials. The energy-conservation opinions state in parallel that Party committees and governments at every local level take overall responsibility for energy conservation and carbon reduction in their jurisdiction, with the principal leader as the first person accountable.

Measures forOpinions on
2State Council

Set the path, issue the tools

The dual-control system work plan allocates indicators to provinces; provinces may further break them down to cities and key enterprises, and cities and provinces are to build carbon-budget management. The 15th Five-Year Plan carbon-peaking action plan sets concrete tasks and quantified targets for zero-carbon parks, zero-carbon factories, green-power direct connection and public institutions.

国办发〔2024〕39 号国发〔2026〕22 号
3Provincial

Break down again, open provincial tracks

Each province writes a provincial carbon-peaking action plan, turning national indicators into five-year and annual targets and further splitting them to prefecture-level cities. Provinces also typically open provincial zero-carbon park, near-zero-carbon city and low-carbon park tracks as a national reserve pool.

Measures for浙发改环资〔2026〕113 号+2
4City and county/district

Take on targets, put projects on the table

Counties are not the direct object of the assessment, yet they take on targets, land projects and file materials. Provincial documents already encourage county regions and development zones to run carbon-budget management; tracks such as near-zero-carbon cities take the whole county (city, district) as the object and the county government as the applicant.

黔发改环资〔2025〕459 号Shandong Imp+1
口径提示One line to keep exact: the direct object of the comprehensive assessment is provincial (autonomous-region, municipality) Party committees and governments. Counties take on pressure through provincial/municipal target breakdown and Party–government joint responsibility; they are not the primary assessed party. That distinction is what later target calculations rest on.
Layer 2 · What you have to file

5 control + 9 supporting indicators: where a county can actually move the needle

The indicators sit at the province; the levers sit in the county. Below, each item of the assessment system lists the responsible ministry, the county-level lever, and our matching capability.

Control indicators5 items
Supporting indicators9 items
The items a county can actually carry are mainly: industry and parks, urban and rural construction, transport, public institutions, management of ETS-covered sectors, and forest stock. Energy-mix indicators need province, city and grid coordination.
See policy and assessment, item by item
Layer 3 · Which domains they split into

Eight domains: indicators land on projects

Each card covers three things only: which indicator, which policy lever, and what we do. Solution detail lives on the matching solution pages — it is not repeated here.

Layer 4 · What we can do

Service scope: engineering and platform in one hand, data, policy and ecosystem in the other

Counties need more than abatement projects. They need targets set, indicators calculated, projects filed, money raised, firms attracted, and results told. Both hands have to be on the table.

The left hand is MeetCarbon Cloud and engineering: from a regional supervision base to PV-storage-charging, building retrofits and public-institution hosting — plans and invest-build-operate. The right hand is MeetCarbon Insight: City Window, policy services, park services, investment promotion, plus data, experts and events. Together they are an end-to-end dual-carbon brain for the county, a full workflow around a system.

Existing site solutions and products, composed as needed; open a card for detail

The base

Digital base: stand up the ledger first, then talk about how much to cut

Target breakdown, line-item scoring, project review and outward disclosure share one data base. Without a unified base, every later step has to reconcile numbers again.

Regional GHG inventory

Five domains: energy, industrial processes, agriculture, LULUCF and waste — map the jurisdiction’s emissions.

Regional and unit carbon accounts

One master ledger for the region, sub-ledgers for key energy-using and emitting units — line targets and enterprise duty line up.

Electricity-to-carbon model

Use electricity as the main lever to estimate emissions, so you are not waiting for year-end statistics.

Carbon-budget management

Compile and dynamically adjust an annual carbon budget; quarterly progress analysis and target forecasts, matching the dual-control work plan.

Project carbon evaluation

Embed carbon evaluation in energy-conservation review of fixed-asset investment projects; keep a project carbon-evaluation ledger.

Product carbon footprint and carbon labelling

For export-oriented firms in the jurisdiction: product carbon-footprint accounting and carbon-label readiness for export compliance.

The base can run in parallel with engineering projects; you need not wait for construction to finish before standing up the platform.
Layer 5 · What you can apply for

One-minute self-check: which pilots can our county file now

Answer four questions to see which tracks currently meet the bar and in what order to push them. Criteria come entirely from public eligibility rules; the result is a first screen only.

1
Is there a provincial-or-above development zone in the jurisdiction

Hard bar for a national zero-carbon park; provincial zones should in principle be on the latest China Development Zone Catalogue

2
How many above-scale industrial firms, and how many are energy-intensive

Sets the room for zero-carbon factories, green-power direct connection and industrial energy retrofits

3
Scale of forest and ecological resources

Forest stock growth is one of nine supporting indicators; sinks count toward scores and can be monetised

4
Order of magnitude of public institutions

The number of offices, schools and hospitals decides how fast the public-institution line can scale

Answer the questions above first

Once all four are selected, you will see eligible tracks and a suggested order.

This self-check is an eligibility screen only; it does not represent an application outcome. Windows, materials and recommendation quotas follow the competent authority’s notice that year. We provide material drafting and technical support; we do not guarantee application results.
How we work together

A six-step path: from diagnostic to verification

Each step states our actions, government cooperation and deliverables, so the opening conversation is not a giant platform and a giant investment.

014–6 weeks

Diagnostic survey

Our actions
  • Collect jurisdictional energy and emissions data; first-pass accounting across five domains
  • Map key energy-using units, public institutions, parks and enterprises
  • Against the assessment indicator system, find the three to five largest gaps
Government cooperation
  • Name a lead department and a liaison
  • Coordinate statistics, development-and-reform, industry-and-IT and government-affairs data
County energy-carbon status diagnosticGap list and priority recommendationsFirst-pass opinion on eligible tracks
026–10 weeks

Targets and planning

Our actions
  • Back-calculate five-year and annual county targets from province/city assignments
  • Compile a regional GHG inventory; pilot an annual carbon budget
  • Form a domain-by-domain roadmap and a priority project list
Government cooperation
  • Confirm the methodology for taking on targets
  • Hold a joint departmental meeting to confirm roles
County dual-carbon targets and implementation planGHG inventory and carbon-budget tablesPriority project pipeline
03Per competent-authority windows

Pilot applications

Our actions
  • Benchmark eligibility and indicator requirements track by track
  • Draft the application, construction plan and indicator calculations
  • Prepare defence and expert-review materials
Government cooperation
  • Issue applicant documents and commitments
  • Coordinate briefings with higher competent authorities
Application and construction planIndicator baseline calculations and evidenceDefence materials
043–12 months

Engineering construction

Our actions
  • Design and delivery of PV, storage, charging/swapping and energy retrofits
  • Take on via energy-cost hosting or energy-performance contracting; fund first when needed
  • Full-process management of construction, grid connection and acceptance
Government cooperation
  • Coordinate sites and rooftop resources
  • Support filing, grid connection and construction permits
Built assets and grid-connection acceptance filesEnergy-savings and abatement estimatesO&M handover list
058–16 weeks, can run in parallel with engineering

Platform and data

Our actions
  • Deploy regional energy-carbon supervision and a carbon ledger; ingest metering and monitoring data
  • Configure line-item scoring, alerts and a filing cabin
  • Open cockpits by role and connect to government-affairs systems
Government cooperation
  • Data authorisation and interface coordination
  • Confirm scoring methodology and report formats
Regional energy-carbon supervision platformMulti-role cockpits and filing cabinData interfaces and O&M documentation
06Ongoing

Operations and verification

Our actions
  • Asset O&M and continuous efficiency improvement
  • Carbon-asset development: sinks, carbon-benefit programs, green power, GECs and demand response
  • Annual assessment-pack preparation and results-display support
Government cooperation
  • Confirm annual assessment data
  • Connect policy and funding
Annual operations and verification reportCarbon-asset ledgerAssessment filings and results-display materials
Cadence

Three phases: you need not cover the whole jurisdiction at once

Stand up the ledger and run a pilot first, then talk about scale-out and replication. Spreading the whole jurisdiction from day one usually stalls on data and money.

0–6 months

Start: stand up the ledger + one pilot

A ledger to rely on, and one scene you can show

  • Finish the diagnostic and confirm how targets are taken on
  • Compile a GHG inventory; pilot a carbon budget
  • Pick one pilot scene and run it through: public-institution hosting or park energy-carbon first
  • Finish a first-pass of eligible tracks and talk with the province and city
Phase outcome
Three pages that state the gaps and priorities; one closed-loop pilot
6–18 months

Form: line-item scale-out + applications

Lines rolled out; pilot materials filed

  • Scale out public institutions, parks, transport and buildings by line
  • Go live with the regional energy-carbon supervision platform; ingest line data
  • Complete applications for one or two tracks in window
  • Match priority projects to fiscal, financial and market funding
Phase outcome
The platform is running; at least one track enters a construction list
18 months and beyond

Operate: whole-jurisdiction operations + replicate outward

From a set of projects to an operating system

  • Bring whole-jurisdiction assets under unified operations; keep improving efficiency
  • Carbon-asset development forms stable revenue and funds later investment
  • Annual assessment packs become routine output
  • Standard contracts and playbooks settle; replicate to neighbouring counties
Phase outcome
A whole-district operating system plus a replicable organisation and product path
Layer 6 · Where the money comes from

Three kinds of money: fiscal and debt, finance, market

The most realistic county concern is a tight budget. The three paths are not mutually exclusive. Public-institution hosting can start without fiscal outlay first.

To win

Fiscal and debt funds

Needs project maturity and compliant materials; earlier planning is better.

  • Central budget investment
    File against the annual investment plan; must match supported directions and preconditions
  • Ultra-long special treasury bonds
    Support energy-conservation and carbon-reduction retrofits; Hunan and other provincial documents already name this as pursuable
  • Local-government special bonds
    Need expected returns and a repayment source; fit projects with operating cash flow
  • Provincial budget funds
    File against each province’s annual support policy
To raise

Green finance

The key is packing the project as an asset financial institutions can read.

  • Green credit
    Project loans or retrofit loans, backed by energy-savings and return calculations
  • Green bonds and funds
    Fit scaled asset packages; local platform companies can sponsor
  • Climate investment-and-finance pilots
    The first national batch already includes several district-level entities; pursue policy and funding together
  • Green insurance
    Cover energy savings and equipment performance; lower the financing bar
Zero-upfront

Market mechanisms

The easiest path for a county to start when the budget is tight.

  • Energy-cost hosting
    The service provider funds the retrofit first and recovers from saved energy costs; hosted contracts typically last at least 5 years and not more than 10
  • Green power and GECs
    Cut Scope 2 via green-power trading and GEC retirement, and build an offtake ledger
  • CCER and local carbon-benefit programs
    Monetise forestry sinks, resident low-carbon behaviour and similar abatement
  • Virtual power plants and demand response
    Aggregate flexible load into the power market for regulation revenue
Funding channels follow the competent authority’s policy that year. Commercial terms and revenue shares for energy-cost hosting and similar models follow the confirmed plan and contract.
Practice

What we have actually done at county level

Described by service content; unauthorised data and amounts are not disclosed.

A central-China urban core district

Whole-district public-institution survey and energy-cost hosting

Started from a whole-district public-institution directory and energy-bill survey, ran one pilot scene through, then scaled by line, and built district-level energy-carbon supervision in parallel so the operating ledger and the supervision score share one methodology.

Public institutionsEnergy-cost hostingDistrict supervision
An east-China county

Whole-park zero-carbon scheme and application materials

Benchmarked national zero-carbon park core and guiding indicators item by item, issued a feasibility judgement first, then drafted the construction plan and application, and matched priority projects to funding channels.

Zero-carbon parkIndicator benchmarkingPlan drafting
A central-China new district

Whole-jurisdiction energy-carbon plan and digital-base design

Used a regional GHG inventory and carbon ledger as the base, formed a phased roadmap and priority project list, and put target breakdown, line-item scoring and project review on the same data.

Whole-jurisdiction planningDigital baseRoadmap
The above describes services. Outcomes follow the accepted conclusions both parties confirm. Unit names, data and amounts are disclosed only with client authorisation.
FAQ

Six questions county leaders ask most

The direct object of the measures is provincial (autonomous-region, municipality) Party committees and governments, from 2026. Counties are not the direct assessed party. The energy-conservation opinions still place overall responsibility on Party committees and governments at every local level, with the principal leader as first person accountable; the dual-control work plan also lets provinces further split indicators and pin duty on cities and key enterprises. So counties take on target breakdown and Party–government joint responsibility — they need projects on the table and materials that can be filed.

Run a county diagnostic first; then talk about going large

We do not recommend opening with a whole-jurisdiction platform. The first step is usually a four-to-six-week diagnostic: collect the data, find the gaps against the indicators, and issue a first-pass on eligible tracks.

Policy follows the competent authority’s latest notice. We provide application-material drafting and technical support; we do not guarantee application results.