Policy Coverage
On August 3, 2026, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the National Development and Reform Commission and the State Administration for Market Regulation jointly issued a notice to organize the 2026 recommendation of energy-efficiency and carbon-efficiency leader enterprises in key industries. The scope includes 43 sub-sectors: crude oil processing, coal-to-coke, steel (including sintering, pelletizing, blast furnace, converter, electric arc furnace smelting and other processes), ferroalloy smelting, copper smelting, lead smelting, zinc smelting, electrolytic aluminum, alumina, industrial silicon, magnesium smelting, and others.
Application Thresholds Clarified
The carbon-efficiency leader scope includes five industries: electrolytic aluminum, cement clinker, synthetic ammonia, ethylene, and methanol. Applicant enterprises must be independent legal entities with annual energy consumption exceeding 10,000 tonnes of standard coal or annual CO2 emissions exceeding 26,000 tonnes. Unit-product energy efficiency must reach the current national standard Level 1 or benchmark level for the industry's energy consumption limits.