Highlight the environmental value of green electricity in a market-oriented way
Guiding users who are willing to assume more social responsibilities to expand green electricity consumption in a market-oriented manner will help promote the development and utilization of renewable energy to form a virtuous circle and inject stronger green impetus into economic and social development
Expanding the consumption of green electricity is an important measure to reduce emissions and carbon emissions. However, when electricity enters the grid, it is difficult to tell whether one kilowatt-hour of electricity comes from fossil fuels or renewable energy. How can users determine whether they are paying for green electricity? This requires setting an identity for green electricity, and this is where the renewable energy green power certificate (hereinafter referred to as the "green certificate") comes in.
Today, green electricity has a unified "identity card". Not long ago, the National Energy Administration held a kick-off meeting for the issuance of green certificates in Beijing, and representatives of 12 power generation enterprises and 10 users obtained the first batch of green certificates issued by the National Energy Administration. 1 green certificate unit corresponds to 1,000 kWh of renewable energy. The use of green certificates provides a basis for the identification and accounting of renewable electricity production and consumption, which is conducive to building a green and low-carbon environmental value system for renewable electricity and creating a better atmosphere for green electricity consumption.
The issuance of green certificates is essentially to separate the environmental benefits and energy benefits of green electricity and assign them separately. Compared with the direct purchase of green electricity, the transaction form of green certificates is more flexible, and it can "separate the certificate from electricity" and "purchase the certificate without purchasing electricity". For power generation companies, green certificate trading is conducive to increasing the revenue of renewable energy generation as the development of renewable energy shifts from subsidy support to market-driven. For buyers, paying an environmental premium is not only a demonstration of social responsibility, but also a boost to their own image and brand value.
It is an international practice to encourage users to purchase green certificates and promote green electricity consumption. At the moment of promoting global climate governance, green development has become a global consensus. In the international market, some multinational companies have pledged to use 100% green electricity and have put forward corresponding requirements for suppliers. With the tightening of resource and environmental constraints, a large number of domestic enterprises are also actively using green electricity, actively accelerating green transformation, and attracting investors and consumers who attach importance to green and low-carbon factors. In Jiangsu, Guangdong and other regions, the demand for export-oriented enterprises to obtain green electricity consumption certification continues to increase. Purchasing a green certificate is a more convenient way to obtain this type of certification. Guiding users who are willing to assume more social responsibilities to expand green electricity consumption in a market-oriented manner will help promote the development and utilization of renewable energy to form a virtuous circle and inject stronger green impetus into economic and social development.
In recent years, China's renewable energy has achieved leapfrog development. By the end of 2023, China's installed renewable energy power generation capacity accounted for more than half of the total installed capacity, historically surpassing thermal power. Carrying out green certificate trading to convert the environmental benefits of green electricity into market value will help realize the orderly replacement of old and new energy sources. In 2017, China piloted the issuance of green certificates and voluntary subscription systems. In July last year, the National Development and Reform Commission and other departments issued a document to extend the scope of issuance to all renewable energy power generation projects that have been filed, marking a new stage of full coverage of green certificate issuance. In the long run, green certificate trading has broad prospects and great promise, but it still needs to be further regulated. To better play the role of the green certificate system, it is necessary to further strengthen the standardized management of green electricity trading vouchers, strengthen the role of green certificates as the only proof of the environmental attributes of renewable energy in China, and strictly prevent and strictly investigate and punish fraud. At the same time, it is also necessary to continue to expand application scenarios, do a good job in connecting with the carbon market, strengthen the research and formulation of international standards for the issuance, measurement and trading of green certificates, promote the international mutual recognition of green certificates, and continuously enhance the international influence of China's green certificates, so as to provide a more effective "green" pass for Chinese products to enter the international market.
practiceNear-flatThe general secretary pointed out that "it is necessary 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". Energy is the main battlefield for promoting carbon peak and carbon neutrality, and with green certificate trading as the starting point, we can better mobilize the enthusiasm of power enterprises to produce green electricity and the whole society to consume green electricity, continuously increase the proportion of green energy use, and accelerate the construction of a green and low-carbon environmental value system for renewable energy, which will surely provide strong support for achieving the "double carbon" goal and promoting the green and low-carbon transformation and high-quality development of the economy and society.
