Two years after the opening of the national carbon market, what changes have taken place in our lives?
The national carbon emissions trading market has now reached its second anniversary since its official launch in July 2021. As an important policy tool for China to achieve the "dual carbon" goal, the national carbon market has been operating for two years, continuously controlling greenhouse gas emissions through market mechanisms and promoting green and low-carbon technology innovation.
The national carbon emission allowance registration system located in Wuhan, Hubei Province undertakes the functions of carbon emission rights registration, transaction settlement, distribution and performance, etc., and provides enterprises with carbon emission rights trading account opening, transaction settlement, asset management and other services, which is equivalent to the "big data hub" of the national carbon market. The reporter walked into this "carbon market brain" and visited the changes in people's work and life under the "dual carbon" goal.
Blue sky and white clouds become regular customers
According to public data from the national carbon emission allowance registration system, as of July 24, the cumulative trading volume of carbon emission allowances (CEAs) in the national carbon market was about 240 million tons, with a cumulative turnover of about 11.061 billion yuan.
Power companies are big carbon emitters. According to relevant estimates by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the first batch of more than 2,000 power generation enterprises included in the national carbon market, with carbon emissions exceeding 4 billion tons. This means that China's carbon market has become the largest market in the world covering greenhouse gas emissions.
Zhu Guohui, vice chairman of China Carbon Emission Allowance Registration and Clearing Co., Ltd., said that over the past two years, the national carbon market has operated smoothly and orderly, and the trading price has risen steadily, and the trading situation is in line with the basic positioning of the national carbon market. After the construction and operation of the first compliance cycle, the operation framework of the national carbon market has been basically established, which has initially opened up the blocking points and difficulties between key links, effectively promoted the power generation industry to control greenhouse gas emissions, and also promoted the low-carbon transformation of many key emission industries such as steel, non-ferrous metals and building materials.
Walking into the factory area of Wuhan Iron and Steel Co., Ltd., the green trees, factory buildings and pipelines are crisscrossed, making it difficult to match the old steel industrial base with dusty and chimneys.
In the past, this area built on steel has long suffered from air pollution. Since joining the Hubei carbon emission trading market in 2014, Wuhan Iron and Steel has continuously promoted environmental protection and technological transformation projects, and the total amount of major pollutant emissions has shown a downward trend year by year. In February this year, the cultural tourism scenic spot created on the basis of the Wuhan Iron and Steel Plant area was officially opened, becoming a check-in place for citizens to visit on outings. During holidays, many local citizens posted photos of their visit in the circle of friends: against the background of blue sky and white clouds, the scenery was particularly "filmed".
"When emissions metrics are traded in the market like currency, companies are willing to work to reduce emissions to reduce the cost of buying allowances, or even sell excess allowances for profit." He Changfu, general manager of Hubei Carbon Emissions Trading Center, said that the carbon market has become an important tool for enterprises to reduce emissions and control emissions.
In recent years, as China continues to promote energy conservation and carbon reduction in the industrial field, the relevant energy consumption indicators have been declining. The work report released by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment mentioned that "the carbon emission intensity per unit of power generation in the power industry in 2020 decreased by 1.07% compared with 2018." On this basis, the ecological environment also continues to improve. According to the "2022 Communiqué on the Status of China's Ecological Environment" issued by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the quality of the national ecological environment will maintain an improvement trend in 2022. Ambient air quality was stable and improving, with 339 cities at the prefecture level and above having a concentration of fine particulate matter of 29 micrograms per cubic meter, down 3.3% from 2021.
Green travel has become a new trend
"In recent years, it is obvious that there are more new energy vehicles." At the beginning of this year, Wuhan citizen Hu Di replaced his fuel vehicles with new energy vehicles, he said, new energy vehicles not only less pollution, but also save money, "In the past, driving oil trucks, the monthly fuel cost was thousands of yuan, now only spend more than 100 yuan a month on electricity." ”
Under the background of "dual carbon", with the introduction of a series of favorable policies, the development of the new energy automobile industry has pressed the "acceleration button".
According to the latest data released by the Ministry of Public Security, as of the end of June, the number of new energy vehicles in the country reached 16.2 million, accounting for 4.9% of the total number of vehicles. In the first half of the year, 3.128 million new energy vehicles were newly registered, a year-on-year increase of 41.6%, a record high; New energy vehicle registrations accounted for 26.6% of new vehicle registrations. This means that for every 4 new cars, there is a new energy vehicle.
With the development of new energy vehicles, China has built the world's largest number, the largest service range, and the most complete variety of charging infrastructure system. Data show that from 2015 to 2022, the number of charging infrastructure in China increased from less than 100,000 units to 5.21 million units, with an average annual growth of more than 700,000 units. The coverage rate of public charging pile facilities in the central urban areas of first-tier cities exceeds 80%, and 65% of the country's highway service areas have charging conditions.
In order to strengthen the construction of charging infrastructure and further release the consumption potential of new energy vehicles, the General Office of the State Council recently issued the "Guiding Opinions on Further Building a High-quality Charging Infrastructure System", intensifying the layout of new energy vehicle charging infrastructure and promoting the green and low-carbon transformation of transportation.
On the other hand, taking buses, subways, and bicycles has become an important choice for many people to travel. Especially in recent years, a "cycling fever" has been set off in various places, and a large number of cyclists can be seen in urban streets, rural roads, and scenic green islands. Under the traction of "two wheels", the people are happy to "ride" and set off a new trend of green life. According to Meituan data, Meituan bicycle users will reduce carbon emissions by 455,000 tons through cycling in 2022, equivalent to the carbon reduction of 91 million trees in a year.
As the second batch of low-carbon pilot cities in China, Wuhan has a rail transit operating mileage of more than 360 kilometers, and new energy buses account for 89%; It is expected that by 2025, the proportion of green travel will reach more than 75%.
The concept of low carbon is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people
You can't see firewood smoke, you can't smell car exhaust, you use green electricity. Walking into Hongqi Village, Dawu County, Hubei Province, the "zero-carbon village" being built by State Grid Hubei Electric Power Co., Ltd., the reporter felt that low carbon not only makes the village more beautiful, but also makes the life of the villagers better.
Photovoltaic panels with a total capacity of 80 kilowatts, photovoltaic power stations with an installed capacity of 280 kilowatts, vertical axis wind turbines with a total installed capacity of 15 kilowatts, new energy charging stations that can store 200 kilowatt-hours... These new energy generation facilities provide a continuous source of electricity to this village of more than 1,700 people.
The villagers' lifestyles have also changed. Villager Shuai Congyong said that in the past, firewood was used to cook, and the village was full of smoke, and there were also potential safety hazards. "Now every household has been electrified, and cooking with rice cookers and induction cookers is more convenient, fast, safe and hygienic."
Like Hongqi Village, more and more rural areas are focusing on tapping green electricity. Especially with the construction of the carbon trading market, the abundant forestry resources have become a "cornucopia". Since 2015, Hubei has successfully developed 8 China Certified Voluntary Emission Reduction (CCER) forestry carbon sink projects, totaling 943,600 mu, with an estimated average annual emission reduction of 768,000 tons, worth 38.4 million yuan at 50 yuan per ton.
In cities, low-carbon has become a new trend in people's lives.
In the marathon events held in many cities this year, the "zero carbon run" is deeply loved by the majority of runners. New energy vehicles help the traffic of the event, runners use recyclable material packages, and the materials of the event come from environmentally friendly materials... This year's Wuhan Marathon carefully planned the "Zero Carbon Run", launched a number of green and low-carbon projects, guided the public to actively participate, planted "Hanmarin" in Wuhan's Jiangxia District, and promoted the realization of "carbon neutral Hanma" by cancelling China's certified voluntary emission reductions donated by enterprises.
At the important node of National Low Carbon Day, rich activities with the theme of low carbon are held in various places. In Wuhan, green and low-carbon education check-in activities such as playing hoops, ordering simple meals, and taking beautiful photos are very lively, and citizens use walking or cycling to "carbon" check-in points along the way.
In the Garden Road commercial district, event participants experienced the fun of "low-carbon meals"; In Xinhua Community, participants generated electricity while exercising on the exercise power generation fitness machine, sweating and still enjoying it; In the Rendri community, children exchange toys and stationery with each other, both to gain and to be educated...
In June this year, Wuhan launched a mini program called "Wu Carbon Jianghu". Every green trip of citizens can be converted into emission reductions through mini programs and included in their personal carbon accounts. Emission reductions can also be used for gift exchange or participation in carbon market transactions. "Many friends and colleagues around me are using this mini program, and low-carbon has become a life attitude for everyone." Citizen Shao Xiaoyu said.
