The editorial department of this newspaper: Adhere to the principle of seeking progress while maintaining stability, and gradually achieve carbon peak and carbon neutrality
"China will increase its nationally determined contributions, adopt stronger policies and measures, strive to peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030, and strive to achieve carbon neutrality before 2060. ”
Deliver on our promises with concrete actions. Over the past three years, China has incorporated carbon peak and carbon neutrality into the overall layout of ecological civilization construction and the overall economic and social development, and has made a good start in promoting the "dual carbon" work.
The "14th Five-Year Plan" is a critical period and window period for carbon peaking, and we must correctly handle the relationship between the "dual carbon" commitment and independent action, unify the sharing of global responsibilities and the initiative of development, adhere to the principle of seeking progress while maintaining stability, gradually achieve carbon peak and carbon neutrality, and promote the green and low-carbon transformation and development of the economy and society.
We will unswervingly move towards the "dual carbon" goal
"Dual carbon" work is the key to promoting economic and social development and achieving green and low-carbon transformation.practiceNear-flatThe general secretary pointed out: "Reducing carbon dioxide emissions and tackling climate change is not something that others want us to do, but something we need to do. ”
From a domestic point of view, carbon peak and carbon neutrality are a major strategic decision that we actively plan, propose and promote from the urgent needs of high-quality economic and social development, and are an inevitable choice for building Chinese-style modernization. The process of achieving the "dual carbon" goal is not only a profound revolution in reducing fossil energy consumption and optimizing the energy structure, but also a process to promote the comprehensive green transformation of the economic structure and the treatment of pollution sources, which can fundamentally alleviate the structural, root cause and trend pressure of ecological and environmental protection.
From an international perspective, the new growth path characterized by green and low-carbon development has become the general trend of world economic development, and low-carbon technology, industry and governance capacity have become one of the core competitiveness of economic development of all countries. At the same time, in the face of the challenge of global climate change, China will maintain climate governance in the new round of technological and industrial revolution by achieving the "dual carbon" goalsovereigntyand promote the process of global carbon reduction and sustainable development through in-depth participation in climate governance.
Carbon reduction is not a slogan, but a pragmatic action. In the past ten years of the new era, China's carbon emission intensity has dropped by more than 35%, which is equivalent to 1.4 billion tons of less standard coal and 2.94 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions, reversing the rapid growth of carbon dioxide emissions. In 2020, China has exceeded the first phase of its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), reducing its carbon dioxide emission intensity by 48.4% compared with 2005, and on this basis, it has further reduced by 4.6% in the first two years of the 14th Five-Year Plan.
The green background of high-quality economic and social development is getting stronger and stronger, and the strong support of the green and low-carbon policy system is indispensable. The "1+N" policy system for carbon peak and carbon neutrality has clear goals, strong measures, and orderly cohesion, and has a clear timetable, roadmap, and construction drawings for achieving the "dual carbon" goal. We need to actively implement various green and low-carbon policies, accelerate the decoupling of carbon emissions and energy consumption from economic development, and guide various resource elements to concentrate on green and low-carbon development.
The "dual carbon" action in key areas and industries has been steadily promoted. China has a vast territory, and the industrial structure, resource endowment, and development foundation of various regions are not the same, so carbon peak and carbon neutrality are not fully rolled out and achieved together, and qualified localities, key industries, and key enterprises can take the lead in reaching the peak. All localities should find out their own carbon emission background, explore differentiated low-carbon transformation paths, and actively promote low-carbon city pilots, low-carbon park pilots and traditional high-energy-consuming and high-emission key industries to take the lead in piloting and ensuring that the overall goal of "dual carbon" is achieved as scheduled.
During the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) held recently, China fully and deeply participated in the consultations on various issues, made important contributions to the positive outcomes of the meeting such as the "UAE Consensus", and demonstrated its determination to actively participate in global climate governance and its responsibility as a responsible developing country. Today, China has achieved a major transformation from a participant in global environmental governance to a leader. In the future, we will continue to actively promote and lead the international community to actively respond to climate change and safeguard a community with a shared future for mankind.
Based on the national conditions, adhere to the principle of establishing first and then breaking down, and seeking progress in stability
Unlike developed countries, which first solve the domestic pollution problem and then respond to climate change, the situation we face is more complex and arduous: the construction of ecological civilization is in a critical period of superimposed pressure and heavy burden, and the long-term contradiction and short-term problems of protection and development are intertwined, and pollution reduction and carbon reduction need to be solved in tandem. In the absence of ready-made templates and experience to apply, China will achieve the world's highest reduction in carbon emission intensity, and achieve carbon neutrality in the shortest time in the world's history. In the face of arduous tasks, we can neither learn from Handan, nor can we look forward to the future. Therefore, the "dual carbon" goal we have committed to is unswerving, but the path and method, rhythm and intensity to achieve this goal should and must be determined by ourselves, and will never be influenced by others.
The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China pointed out the path: "Based on China's energy and resource endowment, adhere to the principle of establishing first and then breaking down, and plan to implement the carbon peak action step by step." "This is an inevitable choice based on the basic national conditions. At present, China's energy structure is rich in coal and poor in oil and gas, and it is difficult to fundamentally change it in the short term, the industrial structure is heavy, the proportion of traditional industries is relatively high, and there is still a large demand for energy due to economic growth and the improvement of people's living standards. This requires us to ensure that energy, industrial development and social life are promoted in a scientific and orderly manner without affecting the overall economic and social development.
The realization of the "dual carbon" goal should also be compatible with China's development stage. At present, China is still in the historical stage of in-depth and rapid development of industrialization and urbanization. Internally, China's energy consumption per unit of GDP is about 1.5 times the world average. Externally, some Western countries have played the "climate card" and introduced policies such as carbon tariffs to shift the responsibility of emission reduction to developing countries. In the face of complex and volatile domestic and international situations, under the principle of fairness and justice and the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities", China should fulfill its responsibilities as a developing country, and take its own path of carbon reduction while protecting its own development rights.
The energy sector is the main battlefield to achieve the "dual carbon" goal, and it is necessary to carry out a revolutionary "blood exchange" to build a clean, low-carbon, safe and efficient new energy system. It is necessary to do a good job in "subtraction", steadily promote the orderly substitution of energy, focus on controlling fossil energy consumption, and promote the transformation of fossil energy utilization to low-carbon, clean and efficient. It is necessary to do a good job in "addition", put the promotion of new energy and clean energy development in a more prominent position, and promote the construction of an energy supply guarantee system driven by coal, oil, gas, nuclear and renewable energy.
Achieving the "dual carbon" goal cannot be achieved in one go. Based on the overall layout of ecological civilization construction, we should gradually achieve the long-term goals of reducing dependence on fossil energy, decoupling economic development from carbon emissions, and building a low-carbon society. In this process, it has always been an important issue to properly handle the relationship between "prudence and prudence" and "positive action". We must not be divorced from reality, rush for success, step on the "emergency brakes" and engage in "carbon charge", but also put an end to hesitation and inaction, and only keep the "double carbon" work in words. Only by being firm in our goals and seeking progress in strategy can we gradually complete the "dual carbon" test.
Synergy in pollution reduction and carbon reduction, and promote the "dual carbon" action to be stable and far-reaching
Achieving the "dual carbon" goal is by no means a matter of discussing carbon on carbon, but a systematic project with multiple goals, multiple constraints and multiple levels. The key to how to do such a complex work is to adhere to the system concept, grasp the main contradictions, and identify the key areas and key links for carbon reduction and emission reduction.
Carbon dioxide and pollutant emissions have the same root and source and same process, and are highly coordinated in terms of goals, paths, and management methods. If we do a good job of "synergy in pollution reduction and carbon reduction", we will have a general starting point for promoting the comprehensive green and low-carbon transformation of economic and social development. We need to hold the "bull's nose" of carbon reduction, improve the level of coordinated management of multiple pollutants and greenhouse gases, and promote the transformation of the energy system, growth mode and lifestyle.
At present, China's energy consumption per unit of GDP is much higher than that of developed countries, and it is urgent to reduce pollution emissions and carbon emissions from the source. It is necessary to carry out energy conservation and consumption reduction throughout the whole process and all fields of economic and social development, expand the scale of renewable energy utilization, curb unreasonable energy consumption, and promote the clean, low-carbon, safe and efficient use of energy. Under the goal of "double carbon", it is necessary to vigorously promote the "dual control" of energy and gradually shift to the "dual control" of total carbon emissions and intensity, accelerate the formation of an incentive and restraint mechanism for pollution reduction and carbon reduction, and promote the development of the industry in the direction of green and low-carbon. We should pay close attention to the pilot work of carbon peaking in typical cities and parks, create models, accumulate experience, and give full play to the demonstration effect. Promote the assessment of carbon emission intensity indicators, consolidate local responsibilities, establish a reversal and incentive mechanism, and change the development mode of high energy consumption and high pollution. At the same time, it is necessary to crack down on the falsification of carbon data, and severely punish the emission control enterprises that have been found to be falsified. It is necessary to make good use of market-oriented policy tools, transform carbon emissions into regional development endowments, environmental costs and enterprise costs, and enhance the endogenous driving force of carbon reduction in various regions with the vitality of the carbon market.
Vigorously promoting the adjustment of industrial structure and forming a green, low-carbon and circular production mode is a hurdle that must be overcome to achieve low-carbon economic growth. It is necessary to adjust the stock and promote the green and low-carbon transformation of traditional industry processes, technologies and equipment, rather than simply treating it as a "low-end industry". At the same time, we will resolutely control high-energy-consuming and high-emission projects. For the "two high and one low" projects that do not meet the requirements, all localities should strictly control the access points such as energy-saving review and environmental impact assessment and approval, and resolutely curb the blind launch of projects. By the end of 2022, about 300 million tons of backward steel, 400 million tons of cement, and 150 million weight boxes of flat glass have been eliminated and overcapacity, which has reduced both pollution emissions and carbon emissions. It is also necessary to expand the increment, develop and expand low-carbon and high-efficiency strategic emerging industries, high-tech industries, and green environmental protection industries, increase their proportion in the economic structure, and establish a green and low-carbon supply chain.
Achieving the "dual carbon" goal also requires everyone's joint efforts. China's domestic carbon emissions account for more than 40% of the total emissions, and it is expected to further increase with social development. Therefore, there is great potential for carbon emission reduction at the personal consumption end, and more action is needed. More than a dozen provinces and cities across the country have successively launched carbon inclusive measures, including personal carbon accounts, to open up space for individual carbon reduction. Vigorously advocate simple and moderate, green and low-carbon, civilized and healthy life concepts and consumption methods, oppose luxury waste and unreasonable consumption, and make green travel, water and electricity saving, "disc action", garbage classification, etcpracticeHabits have become customs and customs, and they have become a strong synergy to achieve the "double carbon" goal. By expanding the supply and consumption of low-carbon green products, incorporating green and low-carbon development into the national education system, and carrying out low-carbon demonstration and other actions, the green revolution of lifestyle will push back the green transformation of production methods and supply, and enter the era of national carbon reduction.
"It is difficult to know the truth, but it will be done. At present, the work of "dual carbon" has entered the stage of substantive promotion from the top-level design stage. We need to enhance our sense of urgency and responsibility, work steadily and steadily, fight the tough battle of achieving carbon peak and carbon neutrality, and promote high-quality economic and social development.
