Get rid of traditional path dependence and strengthen source approval supervision
The emission reduction account behind the tightening of the "two highs" project
Our reporter Jiang Yongbin
Recently, the "two highs" project has received widespread attention.
The Politburo meeting of the CPC Central Committee held on July 30 called for resolutely curbing the blind development of the "two highs" project.
On August 26, a video and telephone conference on resolutely curbing the blind development of the "two highs" project was made, and specific arrangements were made, such as strict investigations of violations of regulations and unapproved construction projects.
The second round of the fourth batch of central eco-environmental protection inspectors stationed in five provinces and two central enterprises in Japan has also set strict control of the "two highs" project blindly launched as the inspection focus.
"Two highs", that is, high energy consumption and high emissions, related projects usually belong to 6 industries including coal power, petrochemical, chemical industry, steel, non-ferrous metal smelting, and building materials.
Prior to this, some regions had a vague understanding of the implementation of the new development concept. The “Two Highs” project started to rise, and even the “14th Five-Year” development plan was planned on the high-carbon track to give the country a peak carbon, industrial structure adjustment, and ecological environment. Work such as protection brings severe challenges.
The "14th Five-Year Plan" period is a critical period for my country to transform its development mode, optimize its economic structure, and transform its growth momentum. It is also a critical period and window period for carbon peaks.
In the first year of the "14th Five-Year Plan", how to intensify efforts to curb and supervise the blind development of the "two highs" projects is related to the overall green transformation of the economy and society and the achievement of carbon peaks and carbon neutral goals on schedule. We must attach great importance to them.
1 Some localities violated regulations and quickly launched and grabbed the "two highs" projects, and the problem of building first without approval is prominent
The August press conference of the National Development and Reform Commission disclosed that in the first half of this year, the energy consumption intensity of 9 provinces (regions), Qinghai, Ningxia, Guangxi, Guangdong, Fujian, Xinjiang, Yunnan, Shaanxi, and Jiangsu, rose instead of decreasing year-on-year. The reduction rate of energy consumption intensity in these provinces has not met the schedule requirements.
Behind the severe energy conservation situation, one of the important reasons is the lack of action to contain the "two highs" project.
The National Development and Reform Commission issued a document requesting that the 9 provinces (regions) whose energy intensity does not decrease but increase, and the cities and prefectures whose energy consumption intensity does not decrease but increase, this year suspend the "two highs and highs" other than major projects planned by the state. "Project Energy Conservation Review.
not only that.
In July, the second round of the third batch of the central ecological and environmental protection inspection team reported to the 8 provinces (regions) where it was stationed. The ineffective control of the "two highs" project was also a common problem pointed out in the report.
Judging from the content of the feedback, traditional path dependence still exists in many places, and the existing “two highs” projects cannot be discarded.
The production capacity of high energy-consuming industries such as Guangxi cement clinker has continued to expand. The 12 projects under construction have a production capacity of 17.34 million tons, which is 2.9 times the increase in the "13th Five-Year Plan" period.
Regardless of the fact that the industrial structure is heavy and the environmental air quality ranks low in the country for a long time, the coke steel ratio is 45% higher than the national requirement.
In addition, some places have a strong impulse to blindly launch the "two highs" project, and there is a momentum of big, fast, grab, and chaotic.
Shanxi plans to launch 178 "two highs" projects across the province, with an estimated energy consumption of 59.42 million tons of standard coal, which greatly exceeds the new energy space in the "14th Five-Year Plan".
Of the 101 projects under construction or already under construction, 72 have incomplete procedures, accounting for 71.3%.
Among them, Jinzhong City, regardless of water resources and environmental carrying capacity, blindly launched the coking project, without approval of the first construction, illegal water extraction, and illegal sewage disposal problems were serious, and was publicly notified by the Central First Ecological Environmental Protection Inspection Team as a typical case.
According to my country's Environmental Impact Assessment Law and related regulations, new projects must undergo environmental impact assessment, water resource demonstration, and energy conservation approval.
In the absence of water resources demonstration and energy-saving evaluation, and some projects have not been approved by the environmental impact assessment, Jiexiu, Pingyao, Lingshi and other counties (cities) of Jinzhong City have launched 5 coking projects in violation of regulations.
The local issue of allowing the rapid expansion of coking capacity was pointed out during the first round of inspections in 2017, but it had not been rectified by the second round of inspections.
If all these projects are completed and put into operation, they will add 6.92 million tons of coking capacity compared with the actual increase in 2019, will add about 12 million tons of new water and 10 million tons of new coal each year, and will significantly increase the emissions of major air pollutants and carbon dioxide. .
Jinzhong City is an extremely water-deficient area, and the per capita water resources are less than one-sixth of the national average.
The coking project not only has serious pollution, but also divides water with the people, causing villagers to have difficulty in drafting, and the people have a strong reaction to this.
Inspectors also found that many places acquiesced in approving and supervising the “two highs” projects, and even made flexibility and “side-the-ball” in order to make the illegal projects “compliance”.
For example, a mining company's pellet project in Lu'an City, Anhui Province failed to obtain the review and approval procedures and started construction. The development and reform departments at the provincial, city, and county levels knew it was illegal but did not stop it.
In Jiujiang, Shangrao and other places in Jiangxi Province, some projects have been launched in violation of regulations and have been completed and put into operation without completing the energy consumption control targets of the "13th Five-Year Plan".
The industry and information departments of Qujing, Chuxiong and other places in Yunnan Province filed for violations of the two companies, and the inspection team was still producing illegally when they were stationed.
2 The "Two Highs" project has a huge impact on the environment, and the reason for blindly launching is that ideological understanding, supervision and management are not in place
At present, my country's industrial structure is still heavy. The energy system is highly dependent on fossil energy sources such as coal, and energy consumption and pollution emissions are large.
Strict control of the "two highs" project has become the top priority and top priority of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality.
"The'two highs' project consumes a lot of energy. If it is not curbed now or gradually reduced, it will be difficult to transform the energy structure in the future." Lin Boqiang, Dean of the China Energy Policy Research Institute of Xiamen University, said in an interview with reporters that my country’s thermal power generation capacity was nationwide last year. The proportion is 68%, which has risen to 73% in the first half of this year. Low-carbon development is under great pressure.
Strict control of the construction of "two highs" projects is inseparable from pollution reduction and carbon reduction.
Xu Bijiu, executive deputy director of the Central Ecological and Environmental Protection Inspectorate Office, said at a related press conference that the massive emissions of the “two highs” project launched will have a huge impact on the improvement of environmental quality.
In the future, in accordance with the requirements of environmental quality improvement, these projects will be gradually withdrawn, which will bring huge economic losses, so they must be strictly controlled.
In fact, in order to optimize the industrial structure and transform the mode of economic development, relevant departments have made more than one request to curb the blind development of the "two highs" production capacity, and have also provided corresponding measures.
In recent years, the state has issued a series of policies on the access of “two highs” projects, including “three lines and one single”, environmental review and approval, energy conservation review, water resource demonstration, coal consumption reduction substitution, production capacity replacement, etc. The relevant requirements are clear. Clear.
In this context, why are there any localities and departments that blindly launch the "two highs" project with the green light?
Why can the "two highs" projects with violations of regulations remain intact for a long time?
The reporter found that the economic development of some localities has not deviated from the high-carbon track, seeking to use the "two highs" project to stimulate growth, and have not fundamentally and structurally got rid of the extensive development model.
The reason is that the implementation of the energy development plan for the 13th Five-Year Plan is not in place and the lack of a clear understanding of the carbon peak goals and tasks of the 14th Five-Year Plan.
In some places, national targets and tasks have not been strictly implemented, and there is a significant gap between pollution reduction and carbon reduction and the requirements of the central government.
In some places, under the influence of erroneous views on political achievements, the implementation of policies has gone out of style. The ones that should be eliminated are not eliminated. Substitution by reduction and replacement of production capacity have become digital games.
In other places, although energy-saving emission reduction and coal consumption reduction alternatives have been introduced, they are nothing but a dead letter in actual work. The result can only be a steadily increasing total energy consumption and a gradual decline in air environment quality.
Although the disclosed problems are all related to the enterprise, the source is that the local party committees, governments, and relevant departments have insufficient ideological understanding, supervision and management.
Regulatory authorities in some localities simply punish related violations and do not deal with them seriously, and some even resort to falsification, thus setting up a "protective umbrella" for illegal enterprises.
Some local governments even promoted project construction in violation of regulations.
Changtu County, Liaoning Province, held a county magistrate’s office meeting to promote the construction of the “two highs” project in violation of regulations, requiring relevant approval and competent departments not to impose penalties on projects that have not gone through the approval procedures; Yi County took the “two highs” project as an annual key project and established The promotion of special classes has led to the construction of related projects without obtaining energy-saving review, construction permits and other procedures.
It is the above-mentioned various behaviors that virtually make the problem of blind development of the "two highs" project exist for a long time, and even intensify.
3 The central government continues to release the signal of resolute containment, and prevention and control at the source is a permanent solution
Since the beginning of this year, the central government has continued to release signals to resolutely curb the blind development of the "two highs" project.
The "14th Five-Year Plan" and the 2035 long-term goal outline propose that we must resolutely curb the blind development of "two highs" projects and promote green transformation to achieve positive development.
On April 30, General Secretary Xi Jinping, when presiding over the 29th collective study of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, emphasized that the realization of synergy in reducing pollution and carbon emissions should be the overall starting point for promoting the overall green transformation of economic and social development, and accelerating the promotion of the industrial structure. , Energy structure, transportation structure, land use structure adjustment.
High-energy-consuming and high-emission projects that do not meet the requirements must be resolutely taken down.
The Ministry of Ecology and Environment and the National Development and Reform Commission also act frequently.
The National Ecological Environmental Protection Work Conference held at the beginning of this year clearly stated that projects with high energy consumption and high emissions must be strictly controlled.
The National Development and Reform Commission reminded the person in charge of energy conservation authorities in provinces and regions whose energy intensity has not decreased but increased, and urged relevant regions to further strengthen the supervision of high-energy-consumption and high-emission projects, sort them out, and dispose of them separately.
In Lin Boqiang's view, the continued compression and tightening of the "two highs" project is a general policy trend in the future.
“For example, my country’s steel and cement production capacity accounts for more than half of the world’s production capacity. Is it necessary to maintain such a high production capacity ratio after domestic infrastructure development reaches a certain level in the future?” He believes that, on the one hand, the production capacity of the “two highs” projects Surplus, the benefits are not very high. If the cost of carbon is further increased, the situation of such projects will be more difficult; on the other hand, the pressure of carbon emission reduction in various places is increasing. The most direct and effective measure.
At the end of May, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment issued the "Guiding Opinions on Strengthening the Prevention and Control of the Source of the Ecological Environment of Construction Projects with High Energy Consumption and High Emissions", based on the six-in-one system of regional environmental impact assessment, planning environmental assessment, project environmental assessment, pollution discharge permit, supervision and law enforcement, and supervision and accountability. "Environmental management framework throughout the process, clarify environmental management requirements, and guide the development of low-carbon and green transformation of "two highs" projects.
"Source prevention and control is a fundamental strategy to curb the blind development of the "two highs" projects." The relevant person in charge of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment explained that through strengthening environmental assessment and pollution permits and supervision and law enforcement, strict prevention of the sources of the "two highs" projects can be effectively implemented. , Strict process management and severe consequences, to promote green transformation and high-quality development.
At the macro level, the guidance requires ecological environment departments at all levels to accelerate the application of the "three lines and one single" results in the industrial layout and structural adjustment of the "two highs" industries, and the application of major project locations; Comprehensive plans for high-level industries, special plans for industry and energy, and industrial park plans have put forward specific requirements for strict review; at the project level, relevant requirements have been clarified in terms of strict environmental review and approval, and promotion of coordinated control of pollution and carbon reduction.
Of particular concern is that the guidance clearly incorporates carbon emission impact assessment into the environmental impact assessment system.
Experts from the Environmental Planning Institute of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment found that many places believe that the use of fossil energy can continue to be substantially increased before 2030, and they are even planning the "14th Five-Year" development plan on a high-carbon track to climb a new peak of carbon emissions. ", and then consider the decline after reaching the "new peak".
This kind of cognition obviously does not realize the fundamental purpose of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality.
The guiding opinions incorporate carbon emissions into the environmental assessment system and calculate and control carbon emissions from the source of the industry. This is a concrete manifestation of strict access control and will help force the economy to undergo a green and low-carbon transition.
4 Strict pre-approval checks, strengthen supervision during and after the event, and achieve green, low-carbon, and high-quality development
"Shanxi strictly controlled the'two highs' project blindly launched, accelerated the elimination of coke ovens with a height of 4.3 meters from the carbonization chamber, and promoted in-depth pollution control of industrial enterprises. The 24 steel complexes in production in the province have basically completed ultra-low emission transformation projects. 20 coking companies and 17 cement clinker companies are included in the plan to complete the ultra-low emission transformation this year." At the press conference on “Building a Well-off Society in an All-round Way” in Shanxi Province on August 4, the provincial Department of Ecology and Environment was responsible People introduced the latest progress in industrial restructuring.
At this time, less than four months have passed since the Central First Ecological Environmental Protection Supervision Group entered Shanxi.
According to the inspection results, a number of projects in related areas that violated ecological and environmental protection laws and regulations have been suspended, a number of green ecological industries have accelerated development, and a number of traditional industries have been optimized and upgraded, achieving ecological environmental protection and promoting high-quality economic development. Win-win.
Huang Runqiu, Minister of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, once publicly stated that the central environmental protection inspector focuses on the "two highs" projects, not to prevent projects from launching and development, but to further optimize the industrial structure and energy structure by curbing the blind launch of the "two highs" projects. , To take a green, low-carbon and high-quality development path.
In this regard, ample time will be allowed for local rectification and reforms, and the local governments will be guided to insist on "standing first and then breaking" instead of making "rapid turns."
Achieving carbon peak and carbon neutrality is a broad and profound economic and social systemic change. Strictly controlling the blind development of the "two highs" project also requires greater efforts and long-term success.
At present, Shanxi, Ningxia, Shaanxi and many other places have studied and formulated action plans to curb the blind development of the "two highs" project.
The National Development and Reform Commission will also carry out special inspections with relevant departments in the near future to urge local governments to reduce over 350 "two highs" projects to be launched, and reduce new energy demand by 270 million tons of standard coal. The next step will be to improve and strengthen energy consumption. The "dual control" system has formulated and issued a three-year work plan to resolutely take down the "two highs" projects that do not meet the requirements.
The goals and requirements have been clarified. To ensure that the policies and measures are effective, relevant regions and departments should first change their concepts, comprehensively sort out and check the projects under construction, scientifically and steadily advance the proposed projects, and tap the energy-saving potential of existing projects.
Form a list of the “two highs” projects that have started construction and evaluate and inspect them one by one, review the energy-saving review, environmental assessment and approval status of the “two highs” projects under construction, and take care of those who have not fulfilled the relevant review and approval procedures, are not strictly controlled, and have insufficient implementation requirements. The project was rectified strictly in accordance with the requirements.
While imposing access restrictions on the “two highs” projects and encouraging key industries to accelerate industrial upgrading, the regulatory authorities should also increase their efforts to check for leaks and fill vacancies, which not only strengthens the external binding force of the enterprise, but also stimulates the endogenous motivation of the enterprise and encourages the enterprise Introduce pollution reduction, carbon reduction, green and energy-saving production technology, and use technological innovation to improve the level of green development.
The implementation of the new development concept is inseparable from the supervision and guarantee of the discipline inspection and supervision organs.
According to the relevant person in charge of the Disciplinary Inspection and Supervision Group of the State Supervision Commission of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, they sent a special supervision and inspection team to carry out supervision around the central environmental protection inspection. In this way, we can timely grasp the inspection and rectification of problems found, and put forward specific supervision suggestions, etc., to escort the ecological environment protection with strict discipline.