Tsinghua-CTG Joint Center for Climate Governance and Low-carbon Transformation (JCGLT)

In September 2021, Tsinghua University and China Three Gorges Corporation jointly established the Tsinghua University-China Three Gorges Corporation Joint Research Center for Climate Governance Mechanism and Green Low-carbon Transformation Strategy (shortened to Tsinghua-CTG Joint Center for Climate Governance and Low-carbon Transformation, or JCGLT). It is a university-level unincorporated research institution, operated under the administration of the Laboratory of Low-carbon Energy of Tsinghua University.

To meet the strategic needs of China’s medium and long-term development, based on the scientific research strengths of Tsinghua University and the rich investment experience of China Three Gorges Corporation, the Center carries out a series of comprehensive research and analysis around China’s "carbon peak and carbon neutrality" target, and puts forward policy recommendations from the global, national, regional, industry, and enterprise perspectives. With such efforts, we aim to help accelerate the formulation of key policies and the design of technological route for China's green and low-carbon transition.

Organizational Goals:

To serve China’s carbon peak and carbon neutrality target and promote the green transition of China’s economy and society.

Research Directions:

The Center will conduct research on three levels of issues, i.e. global climate governance mechanism, China's low-carbon transition strategy, and “carbon peak and carbon neutrality” action plans of central government-owned enterprises. Research projects mainly cover the following six directions.

(1) Global climate governance: study the key issues in coping with climate change and effective mechanisms of global climate governance; explore how China can play a leading role in global climate change cooperation; and provide strategic directions for the international business of central government-owned enterprises in clean energy development.

(2) China's regional green low-carbon transition: carry out comprehensive assessment of the green low-carbon transition in China’s key regions; propose a transition pathway for China to effectively achieve "carbon peak and carbon neutrality" at the regional level; and provide policy recommendations for regional green low-carbon transition and coordinated governance of climate and air pollutants.

(3) Construction of the national carbon market: research the key problems in carbon market development such as mechanism design and evaluation standards; explore the design of enterprise carbon cap fulfillment mechanism and incentive mechanism; put forward policy recommendations on enterprise carbon assets management and regulation; explore the potential of ecological carbon sink in the Yangtze River Basin; and study the development of measuring technologies and the economy of forestry carbon sequestration projects.

(4) Low-carbon transition of China's power system: study the directions of power market reforms at home and abroad; analyze  the transition pathway of China's power system in the context of "carbon neutrality"; provide international experience and research support for energy market reforms that are essential for China’s achievement of its "carbon peak and carbon neutrality" target; and provide prospective judgment for the development direction of China Three Gorges Corporation during the low-carbon transition and market reforms of China’s power sector.

(5) Clean energy technology innovation: research zero-carbon and negative-carbon technology prospects against the backdrop of "carbon peak, carbon neutrality"; conduct technical and economic feasibility analysis; discuss technology development route; analyze the bottleneck of green low-carbon technology development; put forward recommendations for the government and industry; and promote central government-owned energy enterprises to play a leading role in national clean energy technology innovation.

(6) Development of green finance: study the future policy framework of green finance in China, including the mechanism design of green credit, green bond, environmental information disclosure, and green investment; analyze the problems and difficulties in the development of green finance; propose policy recommendations to the central government and the finance industry; and discuss the opportunities for and responsibilities of central government-owned energy enterprises against the backdrop of green finance.