China's digital infrastructure providers have been told they need to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and energy consumption, plus consider ending use of smaller facilities, under a sweeping "comprehensive green transition" plan announced yesterday. The plan sets goals that China's State Council – the equivalent of a Western democracy's cabinet – asserted will mean that by 2030 China has achieved "'remarkable results’ in the green transition in all areas of economic and social development." By 2035, Beijing expects "a green, low-carbon, and circular development economic system will be basically established and the goal of Beautiful China will be basically achieved.
" The policy calls for digital technology to both enable and contribute to the shift. Industries of all sorts are encouraged to adopt cloud services, and to analyze their data in pursuit of energy-efficient operations. The policy also calls for authorities to "Promote the construction of green and low-carbon digital infrastructure, promote energy-saving and carbon-reducing transformation of existing facilities, and gradually eliminate 'old, small and scattered' facilities" China is already relocating five million datacenter racks to bit barns powered by renewable energy sources – so infrastructure operators are on notice that Beijing wants them to improve energy efficiency.
China also wants national systems to monitor environmental pollution and dangerous weather events, and issue "active warnings" that enabl.