Ministry of Ecology and Environment: Actively promote synergies in pollution reduction and carbon reduction
On January 30, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment held a regular press conference for January. At the meeting, Sun Shouliang, Director General of the Comprehensive Department of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, answered questions from reporters on issues related to the synergy of pollution reduction and carbon reduction.
Sun Shouliang said that with the continuous intensification of pollution prevention and control, the quality of the ecological environment has improved to a critical juncture from quantitative change to qualitative change. General Secretary Xi Jinping made scientific guidance, emphasizing the need to maintain the strategic focus on the construction of ecological civilization, handle the "five major relationships", and emphasize the need to achieve synergy in pollution reduction and carbon reduction as the general starting point for promoting the comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development, and jointly promote carbon reduction, pollution reduction, green expansion and growth. These important instructions require us to deeply grasp the characteristics of environmental pollutants and carbon emissions that are highly homogeneous, to reduce emissions in structural adjustment, technological innovation, and coordinated co-governance, and to give full play to the role of carbon reduction actions in improving the quality of the ecological environment, and at the same time to use the existing ecological environment system to promote low-carbon development. It can be said that carbon reduction and pollution reduction complement each other, and coordinated promotion can achieve the effect of 1+1>2.
Sun Shouliang introduced that in July last year, the National Conference on Ecological and Environmental Protection made a strategic deployment to promote the synergy of pollution reduction and carbon reduction, and required the development of multi-field and multi-level collaborative innovation pilots for pollution reduction and carbon reduction. The "Opinions on Comprehensively Promoting the Construction of a Beautiful China" further clarifies the relevant measures and arrangements for the synergy of pollution reduction and carbon reduction. These important deployments and requirements underscore the importance and urgency of this work. The Ministry of Ecology and Environment, together with relevant departments and localities, has carried out a series of work through efforts to promote the synergy of pollution reduction and carbon reduction, and has achieved positive progress and phased results. The main aspects are as follows:
The first is to form a pattern of departmental cooperation and coordination between the upper and lower levels. Seven departments, including the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, jointly issued the "Implementation Plan for Synergy in Pollution Reduction and Carbon Reduction" to strengthen target coordination, regional coordination, field coordination, task coordination, policy coordination, and regulatory coordination. Formulate detailed implementation measures, clarify the responsible departments and expected results, and coordinate and promote synergy in key areas such as industry, transportation, urban and rural construction, agriculture, and ecological construction. At present, 31 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps have issued synergistic work plans for pollution reduction and carbon reduction.
Second, the coordinated governance of pollution reduction and carbon reduction has been carried out in an all-round way and has achieved remarkable results. The breadth and depth of collaborative governance are constantly strengthened and expanded, and the scope of coverage is becoming wider and wider. For example, vigorously promote the construction of large-scale wind power and photovoltaic base projects, promote the green development of the manufacturing industry, increase the proportion of railways and water transportation, accelerate the development of new energy vehicles, develop green buildings, and promote the green transformation of the industry, the implementation of ultra-low emission transformation of the steel, cement, and coking industries, and so on. Especially in the field of ecology and environment, we rely on the existing ecological environment management system to promote energy conservation and consumption reduction and resource utilization of sewage treatment, optimize the technical route of soil pollution remediation, encourage green and low-carbon restoration, organize the compilation of an inventory of the integration of air pollutants and greenhouse gases, condense the major scientific and technological needs of coordinated governance of pollution reduction and carbon reduction, carry out carbon monitoring and assessment, and promote the collaborative management of fixed emission sources and integrated supervision and law enforcement. We have made a calculation that in the decade from 2013 to 2022, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions will drop by 85% and 60% respectively, while carbon emission intensity will decrease by 34.4%, which is well confirmed.
Third, the atmosphere of reform and exploration, pilot and collaborative innovation is becoming stronger and stronger. The Ministry of Ecology and Environment supports Zhejiang to build a collaborative innovation zone for pollution reduction and carbon reduction, and actively explores the collaborative governance model, and Zhejiang has carried out innovation pilots in 6 districted cities, 17 counties and districts, and 38 parks in the province, and has achieved a number of replicable and generalizable practical results, which are rich and diverse, and very valuable. For example, in the preparation process of the Hangzhou Asian Games last year, Zhejiang integrated the concept and measures of pollution reduction and carbon reduction synergy into the design and construction of the venues, with 100% of all venues and office spaces supplied with green electricity, more than 2,000 service vehicles for the Games are new energy vehicles, and the recycling rate of materials has reached 50%, etc., and the green Asian Games has become a beautiful business card.
Sun Shouliang said that in the next step, we will focus on the main line of promoting the synergy of pollution reduction and carbon reduction, comprehensively carry out multi-field and multi-level collaborative innovation in pollution reduction and carbon reduction, support several beautiful landmark battles, and lay a solid foundation for the construction of a good ecological environment for the construction of a beautiful China.
The first is to highlight the coordination of goals and tasks, regional fields, policies and supervision, and explore a long-term mechanism for collaborative management of pollution reduction and carbon reduction;
The second is to pay close attention to source control, coordinate the emission reduction requirements of various pollutants and greenhouse gases, and optimize the treatment process and technical route;
The third is to accelerate the inclusion of coordinated control of greenhouse gas emissions in relevant laws, regulations and policy standards, and promote the transformation of synergistic technological achievements;
Fourth, we will actively support all localities to carry out collaborative innovation pilots in regions, cities and industrial parks, and cultivate "test fields" for synergies in pollution reduction and carbon reduction. Recently, our ministry released the first batch of pilot projects for collaborative innovation in cities and industrial parks, including 21 cities and 43 parks. These pilots are widely distributed, diverse, and representative, involving steel, nonferrous metals, petrochemicals and other industries. In the follow-up pilot work, we will strengthen technical guidance, experience summary, and case promotion, and truly give full play to the demonstration and leading role of the pilot.
