Carbon neutrality:a four-decade national exam
Carbon neutrality:a four-decade national exam
In a rapidly changing future,green development is the only constant.Achieving carbon neutrality is the biggest certainty for China's development in the next 40 years.
Compared with other pioneering countries,China does have a unique energy structure and carbon emission status:
China is the country with the largest carbon emission in the world.It is in the middle and late stages of industrialization and urbanization development.It needs a lot of infrastructure construction,and the proportion of energy-intensive raw material industries is relatively high.
Despite the continuous increase in energy conservation and carbon reduction,the total energy demand will continue to grow within a certain period of time,and the status and role of coal as my country's bottom-up energy source will be difficult to change for a long time.
Different from the accelerated closure of coal power plants in European countries,my country's short-term carbon neutral development path will focus on"reducing coal"rather than"removing coal".China needs to continue to promote energy transformation through the continuous reduction of wind power and photovoltaic power generation costs and the continuous improvement of market competitiveness.
The time point of"2060"was not determined by experts through rigorous calculations.Instead,the year 2060 is set—first determine the outcome,then reverse the process.
It's very much like a geometry argument on a math test.The only difference is that its difficulty is"Hell".
Faced with such a"hell-level difficulty"question,He Jiankun,deputy director of China's National Climate Change Expert Committee,gave a solution to the problem with three key points:"adjust and optimize the industrial structure","vigorously develop new energy and renewable energy".”and“Develop a series of policies and measures”
Controlling the expansion of energy-intensive industries and promoting industrial restructuring and upgrading is the first step that my country needs to take on the road to carbon neutrality.
Among them,the structural adjustment of the coal power industry has the most immediate impact on carbon emissions.Although my country cannot completely get rid of coal-fired power generation,all provinces and cities are working hard to optimize the coal structure.
As a major coal province,Shanxi has emphasized the need to promote green and intelligent coal mining,promote the utilization of coal by grades and grades,and do a good job of reducing coal consumption and replacing it with equal amounts.Zhejiang proposed the goal of reducing the proportion of coal power installed capacity by two percentage points,accelerating the elimination of outdated and excess capacity,and freeing up space for energy consumption of 1.8 million tons of standard coal;while Shanghai is studying the promotion of Wujing coal power and other capacity off-site replacement.
Although the reform of coal cannot be accomplished overnight,a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.In recent years,the total coal consumption has shown a downward trend.In 2019,the national raw coal output was 3.85 billion tons,and the proportion of coal consumption in total energy consumption dropped to 57.7%.In the next five years,the proportion of coal consumption in the country will be further reduced.
For a society,the industrial structure and energy structure are like the"flow"and"source"of a stream,which depend on and influence each other.
The power vacancy generated by the adjustment of the industrial structure needs to be supplemented from the energy structure at the source.
During the"14th Five-Year Plan"period,China's energy transformation will enter a stage of incremental substitution,with coal power"stepping on the brakes"and clean energy"stepping on the accelerator".Clean energy and electricity will become the largest energy sources on the production side and the consumption side,respectively.
Vigorously developing new energy means that my country's energy attributes have changed from"resource attributes"to"manufacturing attributes".The energy is no longer simply extracted and processed,but has become dependent on advanced equipment for power generation.
For the field of"manufacturing",which is the best at,a series of data have already demonstrated China's"ambition":
In 2060,in China,the installed capacity of nuclear power will expand by 5 times,the installed capacity of wind power will expand by 12 times,and the installed capacity of solar power will expand by 70 times.The energy development space created by"manufacturing thinking"such as technological iteration and scale expansion is unimaginable in its breadth.
"Carbon neutrality"is a big test,and every industry,group,and individual is an answerer.The state acts as the maker of the discipline and grading standards of the examination room,and carries out macro-control.
China's strategic determination has never been underestimated.After President Xi Jinping proposed the"30 and 60 goals",China has already begun the deployment of relevant policies and measures:
On March 5,2021,Premier Li Keqiang of the State Council listed carbon peaking and carbon neutrality as one of the seven important tasks during the"14th Five-Year Plan"period in the 2021 State Council Government Work Report.
On March 15,2021,President Xi Jinping presided over the ninth meeting of the Central Finance and Economics Committee,clarified the positioning of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality,and pointed out 7 aspects to be focused on during the"14th Five-Year Plan"period.work,and planned a clear construction plan for the carbon peaking work in the next five years.
To achieve peak CO2 emissions before 2030 refers to the peak of CO2 emissions nationwide.Each region also needs to formulate its own carbon-neutral path and rhythm according to the differences in resource endowment,economic development,and industrial layout in each region,so as to achieve the effect of"early submission".
For example,some provinces and cities with relatively developed eastern economies are relatively advanced in economic transformation,and have the conditions to achieve peak carbon dioxide emissions during the"14th Five-Year Plan"period.Parts of the southwest have good conditions for renewable energy,and there are abundant hydropower,wind power,and solar power generation resources.Through energy structure adjustment,the growth of new energy can meet the energy demand and take the lead in realizing the peak of carbon dioxide emissions.Achieve carbon neutrality earlier through technological development.
In addition to policy control,market regulation is also an important part.
In February 2021,the national unified carbon trading market will be officially opened,which will effectively promote the realization of the carbon neutralization goal of peaking carbon,and promote the development of the entire energy industry in a green and low-carbon direction.In addition,carbon neutral bonds are an important tool to help achieve carbon neutrality goals,and relevant policies are also being introduced at an accelerated pace.
From"the stone of the mountain can attack jade"to"where there is a will,things can be accomplished",China has shown the world our firm determination to face carbon neutrality.Facts continue to prove that these actions are correct and effective.We have the ability and courage to firmly imagine and practice this"green process".
(Source:36kr.com)