(Economic Observation) Starting a new journey of tackling climate change How can China achieve carbon peaks?
China News Service, Beijing, March 19th, title: Starting a new journey to address climate change How can China achieve carbon peaks?
China News Agency reporter Ruan Yulin
During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, China has also embarked on a new journey of tackling climate change in its efforts to reduce carbon emissions and carbon peaks.
Start a new journey to combat climate change
The ninth meeting of the Central Finance and Economics Committee held a few days ago pointed out that achieving carbon peaking and carbon neutrality is a broad and profound economic and social systemic change. Carbon peaking and carbon neutrality must be incorporated into the overall layout of ecological civilization construction. With the strength to catch iron, we will achieve the goal of peaking carbon by 2030 and carbon neutral by 2060 on schedule.
In September 2020, at the General Debate of the Seventy-fifth United Nations General Assembly, China proposed for the first time the carbon peak by 2030 and the carbon neutral goal by 2060. In December, China further announced at the Climate Ambition Summit that the Chinese state Independently contribute a series of new measures.
Wang Jinnan, Dean of the Environmental Planning Institute of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, said that these important announcements marked a new stage in China’s response to climate change, and the road map for addressing climate change has become clearer. The basic idea is to adhere to the new idea of green recovery in climate governance. Create a new situation of climate governance with win-win cooperation, form a new system of climate governance that each can do their best, and start a new journey of tackling climate change.
Conditionally take the lead in achieving carbon peak
During the "Thirteenth Five-Year Plan" period, China's carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP (gross domestic product) fell by 18.2%, and the country's ultra-low emission coal units reached 890 million kilowatts, accounting for 86% of the total coal power installed capacity.
China has built the world's largest ultra-low-emission clean coal power supply system, with photovoltaic and wind energy installed capacity and power generation ranking first in the world, and the country's clean energy accounts for 23.4% of energy consumption.
The outline of the "14th Five-Year Plan" proposes to implement the national independent contribution target for climate change in 2030, formulate an action plan for peaking carbon emissions before 2030, improve the dual control system of total energy consumption and intensity, and focus on the control of fossil energy consumption.
Analysts pointed out that this is the first time that "the implementation of a system with carbon intensity control as the mainstay and total carbon emission control as a supplement" has been proposed, marking China's gradual entry into a new development stage of dual control of carbon emission intensity and total emissions.
"Carbon peaking is a prerequisite for carbon neutrality. The earlier the carbon peaking and the lower the peak, the lower the cost of carbon neutrality and the greater the benefits." Liu Zhenya, Chairman of the Global Energy Internet Development Cooperation Organization and Chairman of the China Electricity Council Said that China is still in the stage of rapid development of industrialization and urbanization, with a high-carbon energy structure and industrial structure, high development inertia and strong path dependence. It will take less than 10 years to achieve the peak of carbon, and another 30 years to achieve it. Carbon neutrality means that carbon emissions will decline rapidly after reaching their peak, and there is almost no buffer period, and hard work is required to achieve emission reduction targets.
How to achieve carbon peak?
"To promote the rapid decline of carbon dioxide intensity per unit of GDP, we must first promote industrial transformation and upgrading, establish a green and low-carbon circular development industrial system, curb the development of high energy-intensive industries such as steel, cement, petrochemical, and chemical industries, and control total energy consumption." National Climate He Jiankun, deputy director of the Change Expert Committee and dean of the Institute of Low Carbon Economy of Tsinghua University, said that by 2025, the carbon dioxide emissions of the industrial sector, especially the high energy-intensive heavy chemical industry sector, must strive to reach the peak, and some eastern provinces and cities will take the lead , Lay the foundation for the peak of national carbon dioxide emissions during the 15th Five-year
At the same time, we must vigorously develop new and renewable energy sources to accelerate the low-carbon energy structure.
He Jiankun said that to achieve the above goals, it is necessary to strengthen technological innovation and capital investment in the energy system, develop energy storage, smart grids and distributed renewable energy systems, and ensure the safe and stable operation of a large proportion of renewable electricity on the Internet. It will also become a new issue after the epidemic. The new economic growth points and new employment opportunities have become an important link and policy focus for high-quality economic development.
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