Yin Weilun, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering: Ensuring and improving the carbon sequestration capacity of forest vegetation plays a key role in achieving carbon neutrality goals

"Forestry carbon sinks are a 'win-win' mechanism that solves the problem of emission reduction costs in developed countries and can promote sustainable development in developing countries. Reducing carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere through forestry carbon sink measures has become an internationally recognized effective way to mitigate climate warming." Yin Weilun, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and former president of Beijing Forestry University, said in a specially invited report on July 3 at the Second Yongding River Green Development Forum and Pilot Seminar on Deepening the Construction of Climate-Adaptive Cities.

Yin Weilun gave a specially invited speech. Photography by Lu Wangshu

The significant carbon sink capacity of natural ecosystems has been fully confirmed. In particular, ecosystems such as forests, grasslands, and wetlands have great potential in fulfilling ecological service functions and enhancing carbon sinks. China's forest biomass carbon storage showed a significant increase trend from the 1980s to the 1990s. The results of the ninth national forest resources inventory show that the total carbon reserves of forest vegetation in the country are approximately 9.186 billion tons.

Developing the forestry carbon sink industry will help improve and beautify the living environment, and give full play to the huge functions and benefits of forests in many aspects such as the global ecological environment, social environment, economic environment and cultural environment. By implementing forestry carbon sink projects, it can bring funds for forestry development to developing countries, solve the problem of insufficient investment caused by forestry externalities, and promote ecological construction in developing countries.

At the same time, Yin Weilun also pointed out in his special guest speech that the realization of the "double carbon" goal is a systematic project and requires basic, forward-looking and leading scientific research to support the "double carbon" goals and policies. For example, we systematically sort out the emission reduction mechanisms of different technological innovations around key industries, conduct technology adoption decision modeling for technology combination and system integration, and explore micro mechanisms and effective policies for carbon neutrality technological innovation and carbon emission reduction incentives in key industries. In addition, it also includes research on the multi-dimensional regional heterogeneity of carbon-neutral energy transformation, carbon pricing, carbon quotas and carbon market trading mechanisms.

"In short, it is to do 'subtraction' with one hand to resolutely curb the blind development of high-energy-consuming, high-emission, and low-level projects, and to do 'addition'with the other hand to accelerate the cultivation of strategic emerging industries and promote the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries." Yin Weilun said.