Accelerating China’s Green Transition Through Zero-Carbon Industrial Parks

Industrial parks are the backbone of major economies and major energy users, making them central to any green transition. In China, more than 15,000 industrial parks host 80 percent of industrial enterprises, account for over half of national industrial output, and consume roughly one-third of national energy. This scale gives parks enormous potential to drive the energy transition by absorbing large volumes of renewable energy through local consumption, piloting high-renewables power systems, fostering low-carbon industries and supply chains, and serving as engines of new green economic growth.

Zero-carbon industrial parks are emerging as a key opportunity for this transformation. China has introduced stringent criteria for its national zero-carbon park initiative. If backed by robust and innovative implementation, these “near-zero emissions” requirements can significantly accelerate clean-energy deployment and systemic energy transitions across parks nationwide. By enabling advanced clean technologies, building green supply chains, and supporting low-carbon product manufacturing, zero-carbon parks can generate both domestic and global benefits for industrial upgrading and sustainable development.

China also continues to develop industrial parks around the world, developing more than 159 overseas industrial parks across Asia and Africa. These parks are shifting from traditional manufacturing hubs toward innovation-driven, research and development-oriented platforms with greater emphasis on local needs and sustainability. Overseas parks have become important vehicles for China’s international cooperation — connecting with local green industries, deploying low-carbon technologies, and promoting investment and trade in emerging sectors. Green and low-carbon parks are now an indispensable part of China’s regional cooperation on sustainable development.

This report examines the low-carbon development of industrial parks under China’s new zero-carbon park initiative. It explores the technical, business, and institutional innovations that enable parks to advance national climate goals. The report proposes a systematic and differentiated approach to zero-carbon park development and identifies key challenges and opportunities — including integrated energy solutions, zero-carbon material-flow and carbon management, financing and business models, and traceable, verifiable carbon accounting systems. It concludes that by building scalable, replicable pathways and strengthening regional collaboration, zero-carbon parks can power high-quality economic growth and provide benefits to the local communities.

Additional Contributors:
Shuo Gao,  Yihan Hao,  Shuyi Li,  Yujing Liu,  Zhe Wang,  Liyue Zhang