What is the synergistic path of carbon neutrality and clean air in China?
The 2023 Annual Conference of the China Clean Air Policy Partnership (CCAPP) and the launch of the report "China's Carbon Neutrality and Clean Air Synergy Pathway (2023)" were held in Beijing recently. At the meeting, the CCAPP2023 annual report "China's Carbon Neutrality and Clean Air Synergy Pathway (2023)" (hereinafter referred to as the "Report") was officially released.
The conference was co-sponsored by CCAPP, Tsinghua University Institute for Carbon Neutrality, and Energy Foundation China, and co-sponsored by the School of Environmental Science and Engineering of Peking University, the Academy of Environmental Planning of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the School of Atmospheric Sciences of Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, and the Journal of ESE.
Clean air will be closely integrated with the "dual carbon" goal
In his speech, Academician He Kebin, Dean of the Institute of Carbon Neutrality of Tsinghua University, pointed out that China's air pollution prevention and control has made historic and turning achievements, but China's air quality has not been fundamentally improved, and there is still a long way to go. "At present, China's ecological and environmental protection is undergoing a transformation from key governance to system governance, and the close integration of the 'dual carbon' goal and the clean air goal will be an important part of future system governance. He Kebin said that the 2023 annual report closely combines the "dual carbon" and clean air goals, hoping to bring inspiration to the systematic governance of the ecological environment.
The relevant person in charge of the Department of Atmospheric Environment of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment reviewed the phased achievements of China's air pollution control since the implementation of the "Ten Atmospheric Measures", emphasizing that there is still a long way to go to continuously improve China's air quality, and all parties need to gather wisdom and work together. He said that we should focus on three points: "First, we should study and build a technical system for the integration of air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions; second, we should study and put forward policy recommendations on key issues such as air pollution prevention and control in key areas; and third, we should sort out and summarize the typical case experience of local governments in the process of promoting air pollution improvement and carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals." ”
"Air quality is an important symbol of China's modernization in which man and nature coexist in harmony, especially under the guidance and supervision of the economic downturn and the requirements of the national energy policy. Zou Ji, CEO and President of Energy Foundation China, said, "In order to systematically solve ecological and environmental problems and achieve the goals of carbon peak and carbon neutrality, we must take a multi-pronged approach, and hope that scholars and experts can provide new research results to push China's air quality to a new level." ”
"Concerted efforts to reduce pollution and carbon emissions have become an inevitable choice to promote the comprehensive green transformation of China's economic and social development. Yan Gang, vice president and researcher of the Academy of Environmental Planning of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, pointed out that as the first large developing country to promote the coordinated governance of pollution reduction and carbon reduction in the context of rapid and high-quality economic and social development, China is facing a huge challenge of lack of ready-made effective experience.
The future requires differentiated collaborative governance
In the report entitled "Drivers of Atmospheric Composition Change and Environmental Health Effects", He Kebin pointed out that due to technological maturity and cost constraints, end-of-line treatment measures will continue to play a leading role before 2030, and after 2030, carbon neutrality policies will become the main driving force for continuous improvement of air quality and reduction of pollution health losses, and differentiated and coordinated governance measures need to be implemented to protect public health to the greatest extent.
Zhu Tong, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and School of Environmental Science and Engineering of Peking University, gave a detailed introduction to the establishment of a theoretical framework of atmospheric compound pollution and related research results with the title of "New Progress in the Research of Atmospheric Compound Pollution in China". He pointed out that the combustion of loose coal has a certain impact on regional air pollution, and the air quality can be improved by controlling the emission from combustion from civilian sources, and the environmental effect of ammonia emission in China is relatively complex, and the sub-regional ammonia emission reduction strategy can be adopted. He believes that China's air pollution prevention and control has achieved remarkable results, but it still faces a number of challenges. The "dual carbon" goal has become a huge driving force for the continuous improvement of China's air quality.
"In the face of international pressure and domestic demand, it is crucial to control total energy consumption through energy conservation and coal consumption through non-fossil energy use. Zhu Fahua, chief scientist of China Energy Group, emphasized in the keynote report entitled "low-carbon system is the key to energy transformation and development" that low-carbon power and energy system is the key to energy transition, and it is necessary to further optimize the power system, strengthen the regional linkage of the energy system, and cascade utilization. "In the face of the rapid growth of electricity demand, in order to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality, the installed capacity of non-fossil energy power generation needs to exceed 90% in the future, so it is urgent to overcome long-term energy storage technology. ”
Guan Dabo, deputy director of the Institute of Carbon Neutrality at Tsinghua University, reviewed the latest achievements in global climate change response from the perspective of carbon accounting and carbon emissions. He said that the rise in global temperature has a huge impact on people's daily lives, emphasizing that global climate change is a common challenge for China and all countries in the world. The realization of China's "dual carbon" goal will make an important contribution to mitigating global climate change. In global governance, China should continue to play its role as a bridge between developing economies and tap the potential of developing countries to reduce, reduce and slow emissions.
Establish monitoring indicators for coordinated management of air pollution and climate change
“空气污染物和温室气体存在一个同根同源的特点，这也决定了它们之间的相互作用，以及在科学机理、目标指标、治理体系等方面的协同性。”北京大学环境科学与工程学院研究员、2023年度《报告》召集人宫继成告诉记者，2023年度《报告》是系列报告第三册，以“减碳 减污 扩绿 增长”为主题，主要是以Establish monitoring indicators for coordinated management of air pollution and climate change为基础，一共是设计了5个指标体系，包括空气污染与气候变化、治理体系和实践、结构转型与治理技术等5个方面共20项指标。
In terms of air pollution and climate change, the report shows that in the PM2.5In 2022, the national average concentration was 29 micrograms per cubic meter, showing a downward trend compared with 2015. "But at the same time, PM2.5It is still the most important air pollution problem in our country. Gong Jicheng said, "Now there is also a trend of the shift of pollution centers from Hebei and Shandong to Shaanxi and Henan." ”
In terms of governance system and practice, the report points out that the collaborative governance system for pollution reduction and carbon reduction still faces many challenges in four aspects: development and emission reduction, overall and partial, short-term and long-term, government and market.
In terms of structural transformation and governance technology systems, the report points out that relatively significant progress has been made in the energy transition. In 2022, energy consumption per unit of GDP decreased slightly year-on-year, while China hit a new high in renewable energy power generation, with solar and wind power generation exceeding 1 trillion kWh for the first time. The construction of a new power system is also accelerating, and the average utilization rate of wind power and photovoltaic power in China in 2022 will exceed 95%.
In terms of air pollution sources and sinks and emission reduction paths, the report points out that at present, China's carbon emission changes show obvious regional heterogeneity. From 2005 to 2020, the intensity of carbon emissions in most provinces in China, except for Ningxia and Xinjiang, continued to decline. Twenty-five provinces have already met their 13th Five-Year Plan targets for regional carbon intensity. From 2005 to 2015, 31 cities in China have achieved strong decoupling of economic growth and carbon emissions, but there are still 185 cities showing a state of weak decoupling.
In terms of synergistic emission reduction pathways, there is also obvious heterogeneity between regions and industries. For example, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region is mainly responsible for carbon reduction by the steel and cement industries, the potential for carbon reduction in the Pearl River Delta region comes more from the power and transportation sectors, and the Yangtze River Delta region has more potential for carbon reduction from the power and industrial sectors. "Increasing the proportion of renewable energy generation and targeted governance, as well as the green transformation of highly polluting industries, as well as the electrification of the transportation sector, are important ways for us to achieve synergistic emission reductions, and will also bring greater synergies in the future. Gong Jicheng said.
Liu Xin, director of the Environmental Management Program at Energy Foundation China, put forward two suggestions for next year's collaborative report: first, we can draw on the theory of driving cause analysis to show the causes of annual air quality in terms of meteorology, emissions, economy, structure, epidemic and other factors, second, we should explore the shortcomings at a deeper level while sorting out the achievements and solve the current problems of heterogeneity in regional space and pathways, and at the same time, we should look forward to future reports on energy and health, top-level design support, and industry technological innovation.
Nearly 300 people attended the meeting, including well-known experts from related fields in China, representatives of scientific research institutions, industry associations and mainstream media.
