The Ministry of Ecology and Environment held a regular press conference in October

　　On October 27, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment held a regular press conference for October. Xia Yingxian, Director General of the Department of Climate Change of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, attended the press conference to introduce the progress of China's response to climate change and release the 2023 Annual Report on China's Policies and Actions to Address Climate Change (hereinafter referred to as the "Annual Report"). Liu Youbin, spokesperson of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, presided over the press conference, reported on the recent progress of key work on ecological and environmental protection, and jointly answered questions from reporters.

　　Liu Youbin:Friends of the press: Good morning! Welcome to the regular press conference of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment in October.

　　The theme of today's conference is to actively respond to climate change, promote green, low-carbon and high-quality development, and release the 2023 Annual Report on China's Policies and Actions to Address Climate Change. We have invited Mr. Xia Yingxian, Director General of the Department of Climate Change of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, to introduce the situation and answer your questions.

　　Now, I would like to report on a few key tasks in the near future.

　　1. The 2023 Seminar on In-depth Study and Implementation of Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization will be held in Changsha, Hunan

　　From October 19th to 20th, the 2023 Seminar on In-depth Study and Implementation of Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization was held in Changsha, Hunan. With the theme of "In-depth Study and Implementation of Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, and Comprehensively Promoting the Modernization of Harmonious Coexistence between Man and Nature with the Construction of a Beautiful China", the seminar set up the main forum and four parallel sub-forums of "New Rich and New Development of Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization", "Comprehensively Promoting the Construction of Beautiful China", "Coordinated Promotion of High-level Protection and High-quality Development", and "Construction and Dissemination of Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization to the Outside World". Consciously promote the modernization of harmonious coexistence between man and nature with the construction of a beautiful China.

　　Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core has attached great importance to the construction of ecological civilization and the protection of the ecological environment, and vigorously promoted the theoretical innovation, practical innovation and institutional innovation of ecological civilization. In July 2023, General Secretary Xi Jinping attended the National Conference on Ecological and Environmental Protection and delivered an important speech, clearly proposing that China's ecological civilization construction in the new era will achieve "four major changes", and that the "five major relationships" need to be handled to continue to promote the construction of ecological civilization in the new journey. The "Four Major Changes", "Five Major Relationships" and "Ten Persistences" constitute an interconnected, organic and unified whole, which is a new chapter in the innovation and development of Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization.

　　Under the scientific guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, China's ecological civilization construction in the new era has undergone historic, turning and overall changes from theory to practice. The new journey should adhere to the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, deeply understand and implement the basic principles of harmonious coexistence between man and nature, the purpose and requirements of relying on the people for the people, the important task of supporting high-quality development with a high-quality ecological environment, the working method of systematic thinking of the overall concept, the reform goal of promoting the modernization of the ecological environment governance system and governance capacity, and the fundamental guarantee of strengthening the party's overall leadership, so as to draw a new picture of a beautiful China.

　　2. The list of the second batch of excellent cases of beautiful rivers and lakes was announced

　　Beautiful rivers and lakes are the concentrated embodiment and important carrier of the construction of Beautiful China in the field of water ecological environment. In 2022, our ministry released the first batch of 18 excellent cases of beautiful rivers and lakes, and this year we organized the screening of the second batch of 38 excellent cases of beautiful rivers and lakes and released them to the public.

　　These 38 cases have their own characteristics, and have achieved good results in the overall planning of water resources, water environment, and water ecological governance, and are typical examples of water ecological environmental protection. In terms of water resources, it has a relatively stable recharge water source, good water fluidity, and the ecological water use of rivers and lakes is effectively guaranteed. In terms of water ecology, the ecological and environmental functions of rivers and lakes and their buffer zones have been maintained or restored, biodiversity has been effectively protected, and representative indigenous species have been reproduced. In terms of water environment, the discharge of various pollutants in the basin has been effectively controlled, the water quality of rivers and lakes has improved or the water quality has reached excellent, and the public's water-friendly needs such as landscape and leisure have been better met.

　　In accordance with General Secretary Xi Jinping's important instructions on continuing to do a good job in the construction of beautiful rivers and lakes, we will study and formulate a list of beautiful rivers and lakes protection and construction, strengthen front-line guidance and assistance, strengthen the precise governance of "one river (lake) and one policy", and continuously enhance the people's sense of gain and happiness in the water ecological environment.

　　3. Shandong, Jiangsu, Anhui and Henan provinces have issued comprehensive discharge standards for water pollutants in the Nansi Lake Basin

　　In order to further promote the governance and protection of the Nansi Lake Basin and effectively strengthen the coordinated and linkage governance of all parts of the basin, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment organized the Huaihe River Basin Ecological and Environmental Supervision and Administration Bureau, together with Shandong, Jiangsu, Anhui and Henan provinces, to carry out the compilation of unified water pollutant discharge standards in the Nansi Lake Basin. Recently, the four provinces have successively issued the comprehensive discharge standards for water pollutants in the Nansi Lake Basin (hereinafter referred to as the "Nansi Lake Basin Discharge Standards"), which will be implemented from April 1, 2024.

　　The discharge standard of the Nansi Lake Basin is the first comprehensive discharge standard for the basin led by the state and issued in the form of local standards, which is of great significance for promoting the coordinated protection of the upstream and downstream, left and right banks of the basin and building a new pattern of water ecological environment governance.

　　Nansi Lake is the largest freshwater lake in northern China, and it is also the main water transmission line and important storage hub of the eastern route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, involving 8 cities in 4 provinces of Shandong, Jiangsu, Anhui and Henan. Due to the complex relationship between provincial boundaries, the unbalanced regional economic development and the inconsistent water pollutant discharge standards implemented by the four provinces, to a certain extent, the coordinated promotion of ecological environment governance and protection in the Nansi Lake Basin has brought hidden dangers to the water quality safety of the eastern route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project.

　　According to the water environment problems faced by Nansi Lake and the actual situation of each province, the discharge standard of Nansi Lake Basin aims to improve the water environment quality of the basin, adheres to systematic governance, goal-oriented, and collaborative co-governance, focuses on three types of key control objects, such as urban sewage treatment plants, industrial wastewater centralized treatment plants, and industrial enterprises. The work policy of scientific and law-based pollution control has laid a solid foundation for the overall promotion of high-level protection of the ecological environment and high-quality regional economic and social development.

　　4. The China Ecological Civilization Forum will be held in Jinan, Shandong

　　The China Ecological Civilization Forum will be held in Jinan, Shandong Province from October 28 to 29, and the seventh batch of 104 ecological civilization construction demonstration zones and 53 "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" practice and innovation bases will be named and awarded at the forum.

　　Up to now, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment has named a total of 572 demonstration zones for ecological civilization construction and 240 practice and innovation bases for "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets". These named areas have taken the lead in improving the level of green development, innovating the ecological civilization system, and prospering the ecological culture, and have played an important role in improving the quality of the regional ecological environment, promoting the realization of the value of ecological products, supporting major national strategies, and improving the level of ecological civilization construction.

　　The Ministry of Ecology and Environment will thoroughly implement the decisions and arrangements of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the spirit of the National Conference on Ecological and Environmental Protection, give full play to the role of advanced models and demonstrations, drive more regions to accelerate the green and low-carbon transformation of development mode, and build a beautiful China where man and nature coexist in harmony.

　　Next, I would like to invite Director Xia Yingxian to introduce the situation.

　　Xia Yingxian:Thank you, Mr. Liu. Dear journalists, ladies and gentlemen,

　　Good morning! I am very glad to have the opportunity to communicate with you on the work on climate change, introduce the progress of the work on climate change, and release the 2023 Annual Report on China's Policies and Actions on Climate Change. Thank you for your long-term help, attention and coverage of the work on climate change.

　　Climate change is a serious challenge facing all mankind. China has always attached great importance to addressing climate change, and has taken actively responding to climate change as an intrinsic requirement for achieving sustainable development and its responsibility to promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, we have firmly implemented the national strategy of actively responding to climate change, made positive progress in mitigating and adapting to climate change, continuously improved our basic capabilities, and significantly enhanced the awareness of green and low-carbon in the whole society. At the same time, we adhere to the UN-centered multilateralism and the principles of common but differentiated responsibilities, actively and constructively participate in global governance to address climate change, carry out in-depth South-South cooperation on climate change, and become an important participant, contributor and leader in the construction of global ecological civilization.

　　The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the National Conference on Ecological and Environmental Protection held in July this year provide a fundamental basis for our next step in tackling climate change. We will adhere to the key strategic direction of carbon reduction, and actively promote new progress in addressing climate change by coordinating industrial restructuring, pollution control, ecological protection, and climate change response, and jointly promoting carbon reduction, pollution reduction, green expansion, and growth.

　　As is customary, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) has compiled the 2023 Annual Report on China's Policies and Actions to Address Climate Change, which was officially released today. The report comprehensively summarizes the new progress and achievements of China's response to climate change since 2022, and it can be seen from the report that in 2022, China's carbon emission intensity will drop by more than 51% compared with 2005, and the proportion of non-fossil energy in energy consumption will reach 17.5%. In the first half of 2023, the installed capacity of renewable energy reached 1.322 billion kilowatts, accounting for about 48.8% of the total installed capacity, surpassing coal power historically.

　　The report also introduces China's contribution to promoting global governance on climate change, and expounds China's basic position and propositions on the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28).

　　At the end of November, COP28 will be held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, which is a very important meeting in the multilateral climate process, and China is ready to continue to play a positive and constructive role and work with all parties to achieve positive outcomes in accordance with the principles of openness, transparency, broad participation, party drive and consensus.

　　Now, I would like to answer questions from journalists. Thank you!

　　Liu Youbin:Now, I would like to invite you to ask questions.

　　CCTV: You just mentioned that the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), also known as COP28, will be held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

　　Xia Yingxian:Thank you for your question, and with only one month to go until the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28), China has always fully supported the host country, the United Arab Emirates, in hosting a successful COP conference, and looks forward to working with all parties to ensure that COP28 continues and deepens the theme of "joint implementation", and takes the first global stocktake as an opportunity to send a positive signal of focusing on action and strengthening cooperation.

　　The first is to carry out a global inventory focused on implementation. In particular, it is necessary to respect the different starting points and national conditions of each country, effectively take stock of the implementation gaps of developed countries by 2020, implement the obligations of developed countries to take the lead in reducing emissions and provide financial, technical and capacity-building support, and address the ambition to implement the major obstacles in support and international cooperation, so as to achieve a comprehensive, balanced and effective implementation of the Paris Agreement.

　　Second, we should fully respond to the concerns of developing countries. Developed countries bear an unshirkable historical responsibility for global climate change, and at the same time have the practical ability to deal with climate change. Developed countries should earnestly fulfill their pledge to provide and mobilize US$100 billion of climate finance for developing countries every year before COP28, clarify the roadmap for doubling adaptation finance, and make greater contributions to setting a new collective quantitative finance target after 2025. COP28 should reach a strong decision on the global adaptation goals, complete the construction of the financial mechanism for loss and damage, and fully respond to the long-standing demand for financial, technical and capacity-building support from developing countries.

　　The third is to pragmatically promote a just and green transition. To address climate change, we should fully take into account the national conditions and capabilities of all countries under the framework of sustainable development, and promote a green and just transition. Empty slogans, detached from reality and "one-size-fits-all" may seem ambitious, but in fact they undermine the multilateral process on climate change. COP28 should promote effective coordination between climate change and poverty eradication, energy security, job creation, economic development and other needs, and pragmatically promote the global transition to a green, low-carbon and climate-resilient society.

　　Fourth, solidarity and cooperation to address climate change. True multilateralism is the fundamental solution to the problem of climate change. In the face of the global challenge of climate change, all countries in the "global village" are a community with a shared future, and only through the cooperation of all parties can we effectively respond to it. All parties should uphold true multilateralism and reject any form of unilateral measures. COP28 should adhere to the objectives, principles and institutional arrangements of the Convention and its Paris Agreement, send a strong signal to promote cooperation among all parties to address climate change, and ensure that global climate governance is on the right track.

　　China will actively participate in the multilateral process on climate change and looks forward to strengthening communication and deepening exchanges with all parties to jointly address global climate change through broader global cooperation. Thank you.

　　The Paper: I would like to ask you about COP28, which will be the first global review of the Paris Agreement.

　　Xia Yingxian:Thank you for your question. The Paris Agreement reached in 2015 is an important milestone in the global climate governance process. The Chinese government has made historic and outstanding contributions to the conclusion, signing, entry into force and implementation of the Paris Agreement, which has been widely recognized and highly appreciated by the international community. Ban Ki-moon, then Secretary-General of the United Nations, said on several occasions that without China's efforts, there would be no Paris Agreement.

　　China attaches great importance to the response to climate change, implements the national strategy of actively responding to climate change, announces the goal of carbon peak and carbon neutrality, builds and completes the "1+N" policy system of carbon peak and carbon neutrality, promotes the adjustment of industry, energy and transportation structure, and adopts a series of measures such as energy conservation and energy efficiency, establishing and improving market mechanisms, and increasing forest carbon sinks, so as to make positive progress in responding to climate change, with carbon emission intensity in 2022 decreasing by more than 51% compared with 2005, and non-fossil energy accounting for 17.5% of energy consumption. As of the end of June 2023, the number of new energy vehicles in the country reached 16.2 million, and more than half of the world's new energy vehicles are driving on the land of China. The national carbon emission trading market has been running smoothly, low-carbon pilot demonstrations have been effectively carried out, the ability to adapt to climate change has been continuously enhanced, and the green and low-carbon awareness of the whole society has been continuously improved. China's active response to climate change has not only promoted China's green and low-carbon development, but also made important contributions to addressing global climate change.

　　At the same time, we actively participate in the multilateral climate process, deepen South-South cooperation on climate change, and promote the building of a fair, equitable and win-win global climate governance system. In 2017, when global climate governance was facing uncertainties due to the backsliding of US climate policies, President Xi Jinping repeatedly expressed China's firm support for the Paris Agreement and its determination to take positive actions to address climate change on major international occasions, which effectively stabilized the multilateral process. In the same year, China, the European Union and Canada jointly established the Ministerial Meeting Mechanism (MOCA) for Major Countries to Strengthen Climate Action, which played an important role in promoting it. Since the beginning of this year, we have maintained close communication with all parties, including the United Arab Emirates presidency of COP28, to promote the success of COP28 at the end of the year and promote the comprehensive, balanced and effective implementation of the Paris Agreement.

　　As a responsible major country, China has been actively fulfilling its relevant international obligations under the Convention and the Paris Agreement, submitting a report on the implementation of the Convention, and comprehensively expounding China's policies and actions to address climate change. In the next step, we will continue to promote domestic implementation in accordance with the relevant requirements of the Convention and the Paris Agreement. Thank you.

　　Beijing Youth Daily: The 3rd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation was held in Beijing recently. What achievements has China made in recent years in terms of South-South cooperation on climate change, and can you tell us about it?

　　Xia Yingxian:Thank you for your question. As a responsible major developing country, over the years, China has continued to implement President Xi Jinping's "100,000" Initiative for South-South Cooperation on Climate Change and the Belt and Road South-South Cooperation Plan on Climate Change, continuously improved the construction of the Belt and Road International Green Development Alliance, and provided support and assistance to other developing countries within its capacity.

　　First, deepen bilateral cooperation. Through cooperation in the construction of low-carbon demonstration zones, climate change mitigation and adaptation projects, and capacity-building training courses, we will focus on providing practical support to other developing countries such as African countries, small island states, and least developed countries. As of September 2023, China has signed 48 memorandums of understanding on South-South cooperation on climate change with 40 developing countries, cooperated in the construction of 4 low-carbon demonstration zones, carried out 75 climate change mitigation and adaptation projects, held 52 capacity-building training courses, and trained more than 2,300 officials and technicians in the field of climate change for more than 120 developing countries.

　　The second is to strengthen regional cooperation. In 2021, China and African countries jointly issued the Declaration on China-Africa Cooperation on Climate Change and launched a special three-year action plan for China-Africa action on climate change. In September this year, Minister Huang Runqiu announced the implementation of the "African Light Belt" project at the first Africa Climate Summit, which will take advantage of China's photovoltaic industry to help 50,000 poor households in Africa without electricity solve the problem of electric lighting. In 2022, the China-Pacific Island Countries Cooperation Center on Climate Change was established to support PICs' efforts to address climate change. We will continue to carry out China-ASEAN mangrove research and low-carbon schools (communities) with ASEAN countries.

　　The third is to carry out cooperation with international organizations. In May this year, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) signed a tripartite cooperation agreement on supporting the implementation of the National Early Warning Initiative, to jointly support other relevant developing countries in improving their disaster early warning capabilities.

　　China has always been an active advocate and pragmatic practitioner of South-South cooperation on climate change, and the results of cooperation are "visible, tangible and effective", which have been widely praised by the international community, especially developing countries.

　　Phoenix TV: The Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) recently released a report saying that in order to achieve the goal of curbing global warming, all parties need to take more actions to address climate change, in addition to controlling greenhouse gas emissions, but also to enhance the ability to adapt to climate change. What's next?

　　Xia Yingxian:Thank you for your question. Under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, China has implemented the new development philosophy, put climate change in a more prominent position in national governance, strengthened action on climate change, promoted the comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development, and built a modern society in which man and nature coexist in harmony.

　　The first is to strengthen the goal of addressing climate change. In 2020, President Xi Jinping announced that he would strive to peak carbon emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060, and announced nationally determined contributions (NDCs) such as reducing carbon intensity, the proportion of non-fossil energy, forest stock, and wind power and photovoltaic installations. This is a strong climate commitment in line with the long-term temperature control goal of the Paris Agreement, and it also reflects China's greatest efforts to respond to global climate change.

　　Second, positive progress has been made in implementing the climate change goals. In 2022, China's carbon emission intensity continued to decrease, with non-fossil energy consumption accounting for 17.5% of total energy consumption, installed renewable energy power generation capacity reaching more than 1.2 billion kilowatts, and forest coverage reaching 24.02%.

　　Third, green and low-carbon development in key areas has achieved remarkable results. China has actively promoted the adjustment, optimization and upgrading of industrial structure, and the production and sales of new energy vehicles have ranked first in the world for eight consecutive years. As of the end of 2022, the installed capacity of wind power and photovoltaic power exceeded 750 million kilowatts, ranking first in the world for many consecutive years, and the level of clean utilization of fossil energy has been continuously improved. Green and low-carbon development in the fields of transportation and urban-rural construction has been continuously promoted, and the carbon sink capacity of ecosystems has been consolidated and improved.

　　Fourth, the market mechanism has been continuously improved. China's carbon emissions trading market, the world's largest greenhouse gas emitter, was launched in July 2021 and now covers more than 5 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually. The institutional framework system has been initially established, the first compliance cycle of the national carbon emission trading market has been successfully completed, the second compliance cycle has been fully launched, and the quality of carbon emission data has continued to improve.

　　Fifth, we should insist on paying equal attention to adaptation and mitigation. The National Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change 2035 was released to make overall plans and arrangements for adaptation to climate change between now and 2035. The Guidelines for the Preparation of Provincial Adaptation Action Plans for Climate Change have been issued to guide and standardize the preparation of provincial adaptation action plans for climate change. Strengthen climate change impact and risk assessment. Deepen the pilot construction of climate-resilient cities. Promote climate change adaptation in sensitive and fragile regions such as the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the Yellow River Basin.

　　In the next step, we will fully implement the report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the requirements of the National Conference on Ecological and Environmental Protection, coordinate the adjustment of industrial structure, pollution control, ecological protection, and response to climate change, and work together to promote carbon reduction, pollution reduction, green expansion, and growth, and accelerate the formation of green and low-carbon production methods and lifestyles. At the same time, we will continue to promote the implementation of the National Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change 2035, strengthen climate change impact and risk assessment, advance adaptation in key areas and regions, and comprehensively enhance our ability to adapt to climate change. Thank you.

　　China Youth Daily: The construction of a national climate investment and financing project library is an important measure for China to further promote climate investment and financing, and 23 places were selected for climate investment and financing pilot projects in August last year.

　　Xia Yingxian:Thank you for your question. Over the past year or so, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) has worked closely with relevant departments to promote the pilot work in a coordinated manner with all pilot localities to achieve positive results.

　　The first is to make overall plans to help the green and low-carbon transformation. Pilot localities will incorporate the pilot tasks into their local development strategic plans, make efforts in key links such as working mechanisms, standard systems, industry-finance docking, and innovation demonstrations, and realize the simultaneous advancement of high-level protection of the ecological environment and high-quality economic and social development by strengthening collaborative innovation in carbon reduction and pollution reduction.

　　The second is two-wheel drive to serve the high-quality development of the country. The Ministry of Ecology and Environment, in conjunction with relevant departments, will solicit key local climate investment and financing projects and provide them to financial institutions, and guide financial institutions to provide financial support for eligible projects in accordance with the principle of marketization. Financial institutions actively carry out product and tool innovation to promote the implementation of projects. For example, the China Development Bank (CDB) issued a 6 billion yuan special climate investment and financing bond to support the development of climate investment and financing in pilot areas. At the same time, the pilot localities will actively promote the construction of a climate investment and financing project library, and create an information docking platform for climate projects and funds. As of the end of June this year, nearly 2,000 climate-friendly projects have been reserved in pilot localities, involving nearly 2 trillion yuan; It has obtained 108 financial support projects, with a total credit of 54.563 billion yuan.

　　The third is to make efforts to form a coordinated work pattern. Pilot localities are to establish pilot leading groups or working groups, strengthen the division of responsibilities, establish reporting and oversight systems, and promote the steady and orderly progress of pilot work. Some pilot localities have successively introduced a number of supporting policies to coordinate climate investment and financing with local policies in the fields of economy, finance, industry, and environmental protection, and promote a systematic response between local policies and climate change goals.

　　Fourth, it is necessary to actively explore and form a development model with its own characteristics. Pilot localities will explore climate investment and financing implementation paths that are in line with local realities and have local characteristics, and form differentiated development models. The Nansha New Area of Guangdong Province issued the "Several Measures to Promote the Development of Climate Investment and Financing in the Nansha New Area of Guangzhou" to provide policy and financial support for the high-quality construction of climate investment and financing pilots. Lishui City, Zhejiang Province, has promoted the establishment of a provincial and municipal work linkage mechanism, and the provinces and cities have worked together to ensure the smooth progress of the pilot work in Lishui.

　　In the next step, we will work with relevant departments to strengthen guidance for pilot areas, promote the acceleration of the construction of a climate investment and financing project library, support and strengthen the innovation of climate investment and financing products and models, organize and carry out work related to the evaluation of the effectiveness of the pilot, and promptly summarize, publicize and promote advanced practices, so as to promote the high-quality development of the pilot work. Thank you.

　　Caixin: Recently, the Office of the CPC Central Committee and the Office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China issued the Notice on Adjusting the Establishment of the Responsibilities of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment. What are the changes to the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) in this personnel reform? What are the implications for future work?

　　Liu Youbin:According to the "Plan for the Reform of Party and State Institutions" and the "Plan for the Optimization and Adjustment of the Deliberation and Coordination Institutions of the Party Central Committee and the State Council", the contents of this institutional reform involving the Ministry of Ecology and Environment mainly include: first, in terms of responsibilities, it is assigned to the Ministry of Science and Technology to organize and formulate plans and policies for the development of science and technology to promote the ecological environment; The responsibilities of the Central Ecological and Environmental Protection Supervision Leading Group of the State Council, which was originally established within the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, were revised to "Specific Affairs of the Office of the Central Ecological and Environmental Protection Supervision Leading Group". Second, in terms of institutions, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and surrounding areas air pollution prevention and control leading group and its office will no longer be retained, and the Department of Atmospheric Environment will no longer hang the brand of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and surrounding areas atmospheric environment management bureau; The Central Ecological and Environmental Protection Inspectorate Office, an internal agency of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, was renamed the Central Ecological and Environmental Protection Supervision and Coordination Bureau. Third, in terms of establishment, in strict accordance with the requirements of the central authorities, the administrative establishment of ministries and organs has been reduced by 5 percent, and in accordance with the principle of "the organization goes with the work," it has been assigned to the corresponding administrative establishment and the number of leading posts of the Ministry of Science and Technology.

　　This reform is of great significance to promoting the development of ecological and environmental undertakings.

　　First, it is conducive to improving the scientific and technological management system in the field of ecological environment. It has been assigned to the relevant responsibilities and staffing of the Ministry of Science and Technology, which further strengthens the responsibilities of scientific and technological work in the field of ecological environment, and improves the ability of ecological and environmental governance through scientific and technological innovation.

　　Second, it is conducive to improving the central ecological and environmental protection supervision system. The central ecological and environmental protection supervision institutions and responsibilities have been adjusted, and the level of institutional settings and functional allocation have become more scientific and coordinated, which is more conducive to giving full play to the role of the central ecological and environmental protection inspectors.

　　Third, it is conducive to deepening the prevention and control of air pollution in key areas. The work related to the prevention and control of air pollution in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei and the surrounding areas will be coordinated and promoted through the central ecological and environmental protection inspectors and other means to further enhance the authority of air pollution prevention and control work. There is no change in the responsibilities of the Department of Atmospheric Environment for organizing and implementing joint prevention and control of regional air pollution, and it will continue to deepen the prevention and control of air pollution in key areas and continue to promote the improvement of air environmental quality.

　　The Ministry of Ecology and Environment will strictly implement the requirements of the reform, further optimize the allocation of institutional functions, improve the operation mechanism, and ensure that the effectiveness of institutional reform is better played.

　　National Business Daily: The Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) has said that it will strive to launch a national voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction trading market as soon as possible this year. What will it do when it is launched?

　　Xia Yingxian:The National Greenhouse Gas Voluntary Emission Reduction Trading Market is another important policy tool launched by us to help achieve the goal of carbon peak and carbon neutrality after the National Carbon Emission Trading Market. After the launch of the voluntary emission reduction trading market, all kinds of social entities can independently and voluntarily develop greenhouse gas emission reduction projects in accordance with the requirements of relevant regulations, and the emission reduction effects of the projects can be sold in the market to obtain the corresponding emission reduction contribution benefits after the project emission reduction effect has been quantitatively verified and registered by scientific methods. The launch of the voluntary emission reduction trading market is conducive to supporting the development of forestry carbon sinks, renewable energy, methane emission reduction, energy conservation and efficiency enhancement projects, and is conducive to encouraging a wider range of industries and enterprises to participate in greenhouse gas emission reduction actions.

　　The construction of a national voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction trading market is a very complex system project. At present, our ministry is opening up the application channels for projects and emission reductions through system construction, and actively and steadily promoting the basic work of the voluntary emission reduction trading market.

　　First, the basic institutional framework has been constructed. Not long ago, our ministry, together with the State Administration for Market Regulation, issued the "Greenhouse Gas Voluntary Emission Reduction Trading Management Measures (Trial)", establishing a basic system to ensure the orderly operation of the national greenhouse gas voluntary emission reduction trading market, highlighting the "voluntary" attributes, strengthening the main responsibility of project owners and third-party verification and verification agencies, and requiring all market participants to disclose project and emission reduction information in a timely and accurate manner in accordance with the principle of "being able to disclose and be as open as possible", and fully accept social supervision.

　　The second is to clarify the priority areas of market support. Starting from the fields of high social expectations, small technical disputes, guaranteed data quality, and both social and ecological benefits, we released the first batch of four project methodologies, including afforestation carbon sink, grid-connected solar thermal power generation, grid-connected offshore wind power generation, and mangrove planting, which are the main basis for the design, implementation, validation and emission reduction accounting and verification of voluntary emission reduction projects. The next step will be to release the methodology of voluntary emission reduction projects in batches and gradually expand the scope of market support.

　　The third is to build a unified national registration and trading system. We have organized and built a national voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction registration system and trading system, which will be put into operation in the near future to provide registration, trading and other services for voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction projects and emission reductions, so as to ensure the safe, stable and effective operation of the market.

　　Cover News Reporter: It has been more than two years since the national carbon emission trading market was launched, how do you evaluate the trading situation of the multi-carbon market in the past two years? When will the expansion of the carbon market begin? In addition, some enterprises have surplus quotas but are reluctant to trade, and the trading volume of the entire market is not active, how does the Ministry of Ecology and Environment view this phenomenon?

　　Xia Yingxian:Thank you for your question, you asked three questions. First, on the construction of a national carbon emission trading rights market. Second, there is the issue of capacity expansion. Third, there is the issue of market activity. I will answer these three questions for you one by one.

　　The first question is about the progress of the construction of the national carbon emission trading market. On July 16, 2021, the national carbon emission trading market was launched. After more than two years of construction and operation, the overall operation of the market has been stable, the role of the price discovery mechanism has initially appeared, and the awareness and ability of enterprises to reduce emissions have been significantly enhanced, which has played a positive role in promoting the realization of the goal of carbon peak and carbon neutrality, and has reached the expected construction goals.

　　First, the institutional framework system has been preliminarily constructed. Promote the introduction of relevant laws, regulations and management rules, break through the blockages and difficulties in key links such as report verification, quota allocation, market trading, settlement and compliance, etc., and realize the intelligence of the whole business through the national carbon market management platform, and basically establish an operational framework.

　　The second is to smoothly carry out quota settlement and compliance. In the second compliance cycle (2021 and 2022), a total of 2,257 key emitting enterprises in the power generation industry were included, covering more than 5 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually. The 2021 and 2022 quotas were issued in August this year, and the payment and compliance are currently being carried out in an orderly manner, with the completion rate of more than 60%.

　　Third, a reasonable national carbon price signal has been formed. After the market was launched, it operated in a healthy and orderly manner, and the trading price rose steadily. As of October 25, 2023, the cumulative trading volume of carbon emission allowances was 365 million tons, the cumulative turnover was 19.437 billion yuan, and the carbon price was maintained at about 50-80 yuan/ton, forming a carbon price in line with China's current reality.

　　The second question is about the inclusion of other high-emitting sectors. The realization of the goal of carbon peak and carbon neutrality requires the joint efforts of the whole society, and it is urgent to include more eligible industries in the national carbon emission trading market to reduce the cost of emission reduction for the whole society. In order to speed up the expansion, we have mainly made the following two preparations.

　　On the one hand, we need to consolidate the data foundation. Every year, the petrochemical, chemical, building materials, steel, nonferrous metals, papermaking, civil aviation and other industries are organized to verify the annual carbon emission accounting report, and the data of more than 6,000 enterprises are collected, and the total direct emissions of the above seven industries and the power generation industry are combined, accounting for more than 70% of the country.

　　On the other hand, special research is carried out. Organize special research on quota allocation methods, accounting and reporting methods, verification points, and expansion implementation paths for the above seven industries. In the next step, we will adhere to the principle of seeking progress while maintaining stability, and give priority to industries that have made great contributions to the realization of the goal of carbon peak and carbon neutrality, have serious overcapacity, have great potential for synergy in pollution reduction and carbon reduction, and have a good data quality foundation.

　　The third question is about the activity of carbon market trading and the recent carbon price. Carbon price fluctuations are mainly affected by market supply and demand. Since the launch of the national carbon emission trading market, the price of allowances has generally remained stable and increased. Recently, the overall price of allowances has shown an upward trend, maintaining at about 80 yuan/ton, and the moderate increase in carbon prices reflects the market attributes of carbon prices. At present, the national carbon allowance price level basically reflects China's emission reduction costs, which is in line with China's current reality. In the next step, we will study the establishment of a market adjustment mechanism, and take measures such as early warning of performance risks to regulate the relationship between market supply and demand, enhance market vitality, and ensure the healthy, stable and orderly operation of the market.

　　Southern Weekly: After continuous rectification, what is the current quality of carbon emission data in the national carbon emission trading market? How can we further improve the quality of carbon emission data?

　　Xia Yingxian:Data quality is the lifeline to ensure the healthy and orderly development of the national carbon emission trading market, and our ministry has always attached great importance to the quality management of carbon emission data, and has "zero tolerance" for illegal acts of data fraud. In particular, since last year, we have been focusing on comprehensively improving data quality and taking a series of measures to ensure that carbon emission data is accurate and reliable.

　　The first is to improve the construction of laws and regulations. Actively cooperate with the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate to revise and issue judicial interpretations to include carbon emission data fraud in the scope of criminal sanctions. The accounting verification guidelines have been revised and promulgated, reducing the number of formulas involved in the verification of carbon emission reports from 27 to 12, optimizing the accounting methods, and effectively improving the pertinence, scientificity and operability of the work.

　　The second is to establish a "national-provincial-municipal" three-level joint review mechanism for carbon emission data quality. In accordance with the management idea of daily and monthly insurance, enterprises submit carbon emissions-related data and supporting materials through the management platform every month, and the state is responsible for big data screening and regular spot checks, the province is responsible for technical audits, and the prefectures and cities are responsible for on-site spot checks. The management idea of protecting the month by day and the year by month actually reflects our cautious attitude towards data quality, walking on thin ice, and taking it step by step, we ensure that the data of each day is stable and reliable, and with the accumulation of time, the data of each month is also accurate and reliable; Each month's data is aggregated into one year, and the year's data is also accurate and reliable. Over the past year since the mechanism was put into operation, the regulatory efficiency of the national, provincial and municipal ecological and environmental authorities has been significantly improved, and the standardization, authenticity, accuracy and completeness of the data have been strongly guaranteed.

　　The third is to strengthen supervision and law enforcement. Since 2021, our ministry has organized two carbon market emission report quality supervision and assistance, guided by problem clues, guided enterprises to standardize emission accounting and reporting behaviors, and severely cracked down on fraud. For emission control enterprises that verify data fraud, our ministry will severely punish and reduce their carbon emission quotas in accordance with the law; A number of third-party verification agencies that violated laws and regulations were exposed, which played a great deterrent role.

　　Fourth, carbon emission management capabilities have been significantly improved. Our ministry has organized the construction of a national carbon emission trading management platform and put it into operation this year, realizing the intelligent and digitization of directory management, emission management, data quality supervision, verification management, and quota management, and enriching the technical means of data quality management by means of big data. Since the beginning of this year, our ministry has held five special training courses on carbon emission data quality management and supervision and law enforcement, training more than 5,000 people, and the supervision ability has been significantly improved.

　　Overall, the awareness of corporate emission reduction has been significantly improved, the regulatory capacity has been greatly improved, and the quality of carbon emission data has been significantly improved. In the next step, we will persistently do a good job in the daily supervision of data quality, make full use of the "national-provincial-municipal" three-level joint review mechanism, conduct spot checks and reports on the data quality management work in various places, establish and improve the daily supervision and technical review system of greenhouse gas emission data, clarify the technical review standards and procedures, and consolidate the main responsibilities of key emitting enterprises.

　　Liu Youbin:Dear journalists, the former Ministry of Environmental Protection established a routine press release system in 2017, and since the establishment of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, it has continued to adhere to and continuously improve the routine press release system, becoming an important window for ecological and environmental information disclosure.

　　Over the past 7 years, reporters and friends have actively participated in the regular press conferences of our department, collected and written a large number of high-quality news reports, recorded the situation of the times, gathered the strength of endeavor, and provided important public opinion support for the battle of pollution prevention and control.

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　　This concludes today's press conference. Thank you!