China's "New Ten Air Quality Measures" will have a significant impact on energy and transportation?
In order to continuously improve air quality, China has introduced new overarching policies covering energy, industry, transportation and other sectors.
On the evening of December 7, the State Council issued the Action Plan for Continuous Improvement of Air Quality (hereinafter referred to as the "Action Plan"), with the goal:By 2025, the national prefecture-level and above cities PM2.5The concentration will be reduced by 10% compared with 2020, and the proportion of days with severe pollution and above will be controlled within 1%; Total emissions of nitrogen oxides and VOCs have decreased by more than 10% compared to 2020.
Liu Xin, director of the environmental management program at the Energy Foundation of China, an environmental protection agency, told Jiemian News that this is the third time that China has issued an air pollution prevention and control action plan in the name of the State Council, which belongs to the third phase of the "Ten Atmospheric Measures".
Liu Xin said that the core point of the "Action Plan" is that it implements the requirements of the "Air Pollution Prevention and Control Law", and for the first time in the management policy, it clarifies the requirements for urban air quality to meet the deadline.
Action PlanCities with PM2.5 concentrations below 40 micrograms per cubic meter in 2020 are required to meet the target during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2020-2025). Municipalities directly under the Central Government and cities divided into districts that fail to meet the standards shall prepare and implement a plan for meeting the air environmental quality standards within a time limit, clarify the roadmap and key tasks for meeting the standards, and disclose them to the public.
Action Plan将京津冀及周边地区、长三角地区及汾渭平原列为重点区域，并提出到2025年的总体目标：届时，京津冀及周边地区、汾渭平原PM2.5浓度应分别下降20%、15%，长三角地区PM2.5浓度总体达标，全国地级及以上城市PM2.5浓度比2020年下降10%。
为实现上述目标，Action Plan中还包含了对高耗能产业、能源及交通结构优化的具体目标和措施。
“Action Plan以空气质量改善的高标准推动经济高质量发展，体现了环境保护优化经济发展的主动性。”刘欣表示。
Coal consumption reduction targets for three regions have been introduced
对于近年中国因能源安全担忧出现的煤电装机新建设热潮，Action Plan在制度性层面予以回应：支撑电力稳定供应、电网安全运行、清洁能源大规模并网消纳的煤电项目及其用煤量，应予以合理保障。
Or affected by this, after the opening of A-shares on December 8, the coal sector fluctuated and rose, and coke producer Shanxi Antai Group (600408.SH)Once rose more than 8%, cloud coal energy (600792.SH), Shaanxi Black Cat (601015.SH)and other stocks followed suit.
但Action Plan依然强调了控制煤炭消费总量的要求，其中主要是对上述三大区域出台了煤炭消费减量目标。刘欣称，煤炭消费总量控制历来是大气污染防治措施中的核心。
Action Plan要求，到2025年，京津冀及周边地区、长三角地区煤炭消费量较2020年分别下降10%和5%左右，汾渭平原煤炭消费量实现负增长。其中，重点削减非电力用煤。
"Different from the substitution of loose coal ten years ago, the reduction of coal in key areas this time is more accompanied by high-quality economic development and the transformation of traditional industries." Yu Han, director of the Energy Foundation China's Coal Transition Comprehensive Working Group, told Jiemian News.
She said that the new drivers for reducing coal consumption include the transformation of steel and cement in industries with high dependence on coal, the transformation of energy consumption structure to clean energy, the gradual transition of coal power in the new power system to a "supporting and guaranteed power supply", and the continuous decline in coal power utilization hours.
Yu Han said that this policy will have a very positive impact on the reduction of coal consumption in key areas, and a higher proportion of coal consumption will be concentrated in the power sector in the future.
Yu Han believes that the implementation of total coal caps will help accelerate the power industry's search for flexible resources for non-coal power such as energy storage and demand-side management.
"If we are to achieve the goal of improving air quality, we must reduce coal consumption." Liu Xin said to Interface News.
《Action PlanIt is proposed that by 2025, the proportion of non-fossil energy consumption will reach about 20%, and the proportion of electric energy in final energy consumption will reach about 30%.
In the previous process of air pollution prevention and control, promoting the treatment of scattered coal in rural areas with clean heating was one of the measures.
Action Plan依然要求“持续推进北方地区清洁取暖”，与之相关的配套要求是“持续增加天然气生产供应，新增天然气优先保障居民生活和清洁取暖需求”。
针对2017年起部分地区“煤改气”后出现的气荒现象，Action Plan要求“煤改气”要落实气源、以供定改。
According to a previous report by Jiemian News, one of the main reasons for the gas restriction at the beginning of this yearLack of "low prices"。 Currently, placeA new linkage mechanism for natural gas prices and inverted subsidies for urban gas companies are being allocatedto try to solve this dilemma.
The snowball shows that today's gas sector rose collectively in early trading, and Nanjing Public (000421.SZ), Shengtong Energy(001331.SZ)Up limit, Kaitian Gas (831010.BJ)rose by more than 12%, Shenzhen Gas (601139.SH)and other stocks followed suit.
Transportation and steel industry structure upgrading
The transportation sector is a major carbon emitter. Among them, freight emissions, mainly road transport and shipping, are the focus and difficulty of emission reduction in the transportation sector.
Action Plan称，探索将清洁运输作为煤矿、钢铁、火电、有色、焦化、煤化工等行业的新改扩建项目审核和监管重点。
Clean transportation modes for bulk cargo include "road-to-rail", closed belt corridors, new energy vehicles and ships, etc.
"Railway-to-rail" is one of the key points. Due to the high degree of electrification of railways, the direct carbon emissions generated are much lower than those of road transport. Since 2017, in order to control air pollution, the former Ministry of Environmental Protection has promoted the transformation of the cargo transportation structure from road transportation to railway.
According to the "Observation Report on the Status Quo of Cargo Conversion from Highway to Railway and Short-distance Clean Transportation in Bohai Rim Ports" released by the non-governmental environmental protection agency Green Collar Environmental Protection this year, the railway is still facing bottlenecks such as insufficient capacity and high comprehensive cost in undertaking the transportation of bulk goods transferred by road.
在公路货运方面，Action Plan鼓励在上述行业行业和物流园区推广新能源中重型货车，发展零排放货运车队。By 2025, the coverage rate of fast charging stations in high-speed service areas in key areas will not be less than 80%, and in other areas it will not be less than 60%.
智库智慧货运中心中国区主任王波勇对界面新闻表示：“交通领域，特别是货物运输的减污降碳需要政策做抓手，技术进步做推力。新的Action Plan的发布给货物运输结构优化、零排放中重型货车的推广等带来了重大机遇。”
According to the interface news reporter, at present, new energy medium and heavy trucks are facing the dilemma of "stuck neck" in terms of mileage.
产业结构优化方面，相比2022年初工信部等三部委发布的《关于促进钢铁工业高质量发展的指导意见》，Action Plan对长流程炼钢向短流程炼钢转变，新提出了量化目标。
Action Plan要求，有序引导高炉—转炉长流程炼钢转型为电炉短流程炼钢，到2025年，短流程炼钢产量占比需达15%。
According to the China Iron and Steel Association, short-process steelmaking with electric furnaces can reduce energy consumption by 50% and reduce CO2 and particulate matter emissions by about 70% compared to long-process steelmaking.
针对Action Plan后的下一步措施，刘欣建议，应尽快出台空气质量达标方案编制导则，指导各地开展达标方案编制。同时，加强对煤炭总量削减指标在行业和城市层面的分解落实以及督查检查，并将其纳入环保督查、双碳战略等政绩考核中。
According to CCAPP's 2023 Report on China's Carbon Neutrality and Clean Air Synergistic Pathway, in 2022, the average annual concentration of PM2.5 in 339 cities above the prefecture level in China was 29 micrograms per cubic meter, a decrease of 35.6% compared with 2015, but the air pollution diffusion conditions in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and its surroundings, the Chengdu-Chongqing region and the Fenwei Plain deviated from previous years, which is conducive to the increase of PM2.5 concentrations.
