The "Double Carbon" Goal Accelerates the Transformation of the Environmental Protection Industry
Promoting the carbon neutralization work, green and low carbon has become the main tone of my country's high-quality economic development.
In this context, how can the environmental protection industry make efforts to seize the opportunity?
"The double-carbon track is wide and long. For environmental companies, focusing on the 'double-carbon' track is the direction of the mid- and long-term strategic layout." Chairman of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce Environmental Chamber of Commerce Zhao Lijun, Chairman of the Group Co., Ltd., said at the "2022 Environmental Entrepreneurs Media Meeting" held recently that my country's large-scale transition to a low-carbon economy will bring decades-long themed investment opportunities and an unimaginable broad market. .
Industry demand continues to grow
The "14th Five-Year Plan" period is a critical period, a window period and a preparation period for carbon peaking.
In the large-scale transformation of my country's economy to a low-carbon economy, the demand for the environmental protection industry will continue to grow in breadth and depth.
Luo Jianhua, vice president and chief environmental policy expert of the Environmental Chamber of Commerce, said that in recent years, the environmental protection industry has entered a transition period after adjustment and recovery.
Carbon Dafeng carbon neutrality brings new opportunities for environmental protection companies.
"my country's environmental protection industry is not at a bottleneck period, and there are many things to do in the future." Li Fujing, general manager of Beijing Capital Ecological Environmental Protection Group Co., Ltd., is optimistic about the prospects of the environmental protection industry.
He believes that with the continuous introduction of national environmental protection policies, market space and opportunities in subdivided formats and fields will gradually open up.
In Li Fujing's view, some new segments, such as the integration of sanitation, have now reached the key point of marketization.
For example, in the fields of mine restoration and site restoration, the state has also issued a series of preferential policies.
The pipeline network in the water sector and the renewable resources sector that has not been fully launched are potential market spaces for the environmental protection industry.
From another dimension, my country's economy and society are developing towards resource and energy recycling and sustainable development. "Double carbon" and resource recycling have opened new doors for the industry.
The growth of the number of environmental protection enterprises confirms the trend of rapid development of the industry.
According to Tianyancha data, as of now, my country has nearly 700,000 ecological and environmental protection-related enterprises, and the average growth rate of newly registered enterprises in the past five years has reached 44.31%.
Zhao Lijun said that in accordance with the goals and requirements set forth in the "14th Five-Year Plan" and the 2035 Vision Outline, the ecological environment will usher in a fundamental improvement within 10 years.
In the next 5 to 10 years, my country's existing urban black and odorous water bodies, garbage disposal, pollution from industrial and mining enterprises and other shortcomings will be accelerated, and traditional environmental governance work will be completed around 2030.
"Enterprises should do some thinking and prediction forward-looking. When my country's industrial development and energy structure have new changes, the services of the environmental industry will definitely change with this trend." Zhao Lijun said.
Technological innovation needs to be accelerated
After years of development, the environmental protection industry has made great progress and is also facing profound changes.
According to Xi Beidou, vice president of the Chinese Academy of Environmental Sciences, from 2016 to 2020, the annual compound growth rate of my country's environmental protection industry's operating income has reached more than 13%, and the direct contribution rate of the environmental protection industry to the national economy has increased from 3.3% in 2016. 4.5% in 2020.
The innovation capacity of the environmental protection industry has been improved rapidly. The number of patents for environmental protection technology and equipment in my country ranks first in the world. According to the assessment of the Ministry of Science and Technology, about 10% of the environmental protection equipment has achieved international leadership.
At the same time, the structural, root causes and trend pressures of my country's ecological environment protection have not been fundamentally alleviated on the whole.
Zhao Lijun pointed out that the problems of pollution reduction and carbon reduction, urban and rural areas, water environment management and water ecological protection, new pollutant management and traditional pollutant prevention and control are intertwined, and the environmental protection industry is still in extensive development, low concentration, and innovative business models. Insufficient funds, lack of funds, weak scientific and technological innovation capabilities and other primary development stages.
Under the guidance of the "dual carbon" goal, the connotation of the environmental protection industry has been opened up several times, and the industrial responsibility has also been increased several times.
The environmental protection industry will focus on "pollution control" in the past, and enter a new stage in which pollution reduction, carbon reduction and synergy increase, and green production, green life and good ecology are promoted.
Only by adhering to the core position of scientific and technological innovation can the environmental protection industry achieve high-quality development and achieve the greatest governance effect at the least economic cost.
Exploring green and low-carbon technology innovation, cultivating new momentum for high-quality development, and becoming the development direction of environmental protection enterprises.
Zhao Lijun said that at present, the new technology revolution represented by information technology and green technology is changing the world development pattern.
The innovation direction of ecological environment technology is also changing to multi-factor, multi-media, and multi-target coordinated prevention and control, paying more attention to the integration of all factors, refined comprehensive environmental management, green and low carbon, and deep integration with digitalization and intelligence. .
Pay close attention to green and low-carbon technology research, and accelerate the research and development, promotion and application of advanced and applicable technologies.
Tong Changhui, chairman of Zhongjing Environmental Technology Co., Ltd., told reporters that the key to the strong driving force of the green and low-carbon technology revolution to achieve the "dual-carbon" goal lies in the reduction of low-carbon technologies, zero-carbon technologies and negative-carbon technologies. The original innovation and independent innovation of carbon technology, among which the negative carbon technology innovation needs to attract great attention to the value and contribution of carbon governance and carbon neutrality.
Environmental protection companies must not only provide plant and station construction, but also provide systematic technical management services to solve many pain points in the field of environmental protection.
Li Fujing said that only by taking the needs of customers as the guide, integrating various mature technologies, equipment, and equipment in the industry through technological innovation, or developing equipment, equipment, and technologies suitable for customer needs, can the business be improved. Well meet the market demand.
Industry promotion must gnaw "hard bones"
The 2022 National Ecological Environmental Protection Work Conference pointed out that the work of ecological and environmental protection in 2022 will highlight and grasp the key points. The primary task is to serve the overall situation of economic development, promote green and low-carbon development in an orderly manner, and give full play to the leading and Optimizing and reversing the role of promoting the comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development.
The environmental protection industry needs to be "stable" and orderly.
Why?
First, there is a balance between environmental protection and economic development.
Luo Jianhua believes that environmental protection is not only a tough battle, but also a protracted battle.
The tough battle is to solve the main environmental problems affecting the lives of the people, and the rest will be a protracted battle.
Secondly, it is related to the increasing difficulty of environmental protection.
2022 is the 50th anniversary of my country's environmental protection undertaking and the 20th anniversary of the market-oriented reform of the environmental protection industry.
Luo Jianhua said that after so many years of hard work, the low-hanging fruits in the field of environmental protection have been picked, and the remaining "hard bones" are hard to chew.
For example, in the control of the atmosphere, the sulfur dioxide index is controlled, but volatile organic compounds are difficult to control, which is also an international problem; in terms of the environment, the rural environmental infrastructure is still very weak; in the control of soil pollution, the technology is lagging behind, and the cost is still high. very high.
These short board problems require a process to solve, and cannot be solved overnight.
Environmental protection can not only rely on administrative means, but also rely more on market and economic means.
Luo Jianhua said that not only the effect, but also the cost must be considered, and more market means should be used to do environmental protection.
Zhao Lijun said: "I believe that the environmental protection industry will find a new position in terms of technology, productization, equipment and other aspects after undergoing adjustment for a period of time, and the environmental protection industry will undergo profound changes."
Our reporter Liu Jin