China's two largest aluminum producers promote low-carbon production plans

The two major aluminum producers in China jointly issued a proposal to give suggestions on how the aluminum industry should seek to reduce emissions, save energy, and produce low-carbon metals, as part of a national plan to achieve carbon neutrality.

China is the world's largest aluminum producer and uses energy-intensive smelting processes.

Chinese leaders have recently pledged to reach their peak carbon emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.

The state-owned Aluminum Corporation of China and the private Shandong Weiqiao Venture Group jointly issued the "Joint Proposal for Accelerating the Green and Low-Carbon Development of the Aluminum Industry" on Wednesday and issued a seven-point proposal, but did not set specific digital targets. The proposal calls for increased investment in technology to reduce emissions and improve energy conservation; more use of clean energy, such as hydropower, wind and solar energy, and more aluminum recycling. Both Aluminum Corporation of China and Weiqiao use hydropower to produce aluminum in Yunnan Province. The proposal also requires strict capacity and output control. The industry should ensure that the production capacity of primary aluminum and alumina reaches its peak during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025).

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics show that China's aluminum and alumina production will both hit record highs in 2020.

China's primary aluminum production is 37.08 million tons. China hopes to limit its annual production capacity to around 45 million tons.