The sustainable development of chemicals should focus on the "five modernizations" - clean, high-end, low-carbon, recycling, and digitalization

At the China Chemicals Green and Sustainable Development Conference held by the Petrochemical Federation and the China Chemical Environmental Protection Association in Beijing on October 10~12, the experts at the meeting believed that the petrochemical industry should start from the aspects of clean, high-end, low-carbon, recycling, and digitalization, and continuously promote the sustainable and high-quality development of chemicals.

It is understood that there are 7 million kinds of chemicals in the world, more than 70,000 are often used, and more than 1,000 new ones appear every year. With the continuous increase in the use of chemicals, environmental emergencies caused by them occur frequently, and environmental damage and human health problems caused by new pollutants such as persistent organic pollutants and endocrine disruptors are also increasing.

In this regard, Gu Xiulian, vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the 10th National People's Congress, said that the petrochemical industry should not only focus on creating a development pattern of product refinement, high-end technology, manufacturing digitalization and production safety, but also strengthen system management and comprehensive prevention and control, and conscientiously fulfill social responsibilities and continuously strengthen HSE self-discipline and chemical life cycle safety management.

According to Li Shousheng, president of the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation, the "Sustainable Strategy for Chemicals" and the "Toxic Substances Control Law" that have been issued and implemented internationally are enough to reflect the importance that countries around the world attach to the environmental management of chemicals. The EU's carbon border adjustment mechanism, which was put into trial operation on October 1, is also very likely to include organic chemicals and plastics in the scope of "carbon tariff" in the future, which will have a significant impact on the industry's trade with the EU. It is not difficult to see from the domestic development situation that the Chinese government attaches great importance to chemical supervision and new pollutant control, and will lead the global environmental governance work.

Li Shousheng pointed out that the structural contradictions of products are still prominent, the safety production situation of hazardous chemicals is severe, the pressure of traditional pollutants and new pollutants coexists, and the higher requirements brought about by the "double carbon" strategy are the main problems faced by the industry. Therefore, it has become a top priority to fully understand the shortcomings and weaknesses that restrict the green and sustainable development of China's petrochemical industry, and accelerate the green and low-carbon development of chemicals. To promote sustainable development in the whole industry, we must do a good job in the "five modernizations":

The first is to promote transformation and upgrading with high-end development;

the second is to reduce or eliminate environmental pollution with clean production;

the third is to promote the energy revolution with low-carbon transformation;

the fourth is to achieve resource conservation through recycling transformation;

Fifth, lead high-quality development with digital transformation.

Ding Qiong, deputy director of the Department of Solid Waste and Chemicals of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, said that to promote the green and sustainable development of chemicals in the petrochemical industry, it is necessary to first strictly abide by various environmental management policies and regulations and fully implement the requirements of new pollutant control;

Wang Jinnan, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and President of the Chinese Academy of Environmental Planning of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Tan Tianwei, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and President of Beijing University of Chemical Technology, and other industry experts shared their experience in new pollutant treatment and green biomanufacturing.