BEIJING- China's State Power Investment Corp (SPIC), one of the top five power producers in the country, expects to cap its domestic carbon emissions by 2023, seven years ahead of the national carbon peak pledge.

"Based on preliminary estimates, SPIC will reach the peak carbon emission in China by 2023 and will contribute to global clean energy and low carbon development," SPIC chairman Qian Zhimin said in a speech this week, according to a statement on the company's official Wechat account.

Chinese president Xi Jinping announced in September that China will aim to achieve a peak in carbon emission before 2030 and to reach carbon neutrality by 2060.

As of end-October, the Chinese state-backed power generator had installed electricity generation capacity of 165 gigawatts (GW), of which 53.3% comes from non-coal energy sources.

Qian expects the portion of clean energy in total power instalment at SPIC to rise to 55% by the end of 2020.

In November, SPIC, which also produces aluminium, announced that it will buy Mexican renewable power firm Zuma Energia, furthering goals to increase its overseas and green generation capacity.

Many companies in China are planning to reduce their carbon footprint, but very few roadmaps have been revealed. China's top oil and gas producer PetroChina vowed earlier this year to cut emissions to near zero by 2050.

 

(Reporting by Muyu Xu, Shivani Singh and Beijing newsroom, Editing by William Maclean) ((muyu.xu@thomsonreuters.com; +86 10 56692117;))