- New policy of pollution and carbon controls to be synergistic
- Green energy, low carbon goals for Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta areas
- Pilot projects to be carried out for first time in steel, cement, coal sectors
Morning Brief: With the promulgation of the ‘Implementation Plan for Synergistic Efficiency of Pollution Reduction and Carbon Reduction’ China has entered a new synergistic journey in its pollution control and carbon reduction strategy.
When General Secretary Xi Jinping announced the “dual carbon” policy at the Central Economic Work Conference in 2020, he proposed that China should continue to fight the tough battle of “pollution prevention and control” to achieve the “synergistic effect of pollution reduction and carbon reduction”.
The recent meetings of all key government bodies will focus on implementing pollution reduction as well as carbon reduction measures in key industries. Plans were speeded up to set up a mechanism for the same and the “14th Five-Year Plan”, covering 2021-2025, especially worked towards achieving the coordinated pollution reduction and carbon reduction strategies. The green transformation is a critical period when the country’s ecology’s quality is changed from “quantitative” to “qualitative”.
Global carbon reduction history
In 1995 and 2001, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) put forward the concepts of “Secondary benefits” and “Co-benefits” for the first time. Case studies showed that controlling greenhouse gases can effectively reduce emissions from other environmental pollutants and protect biodiversity. In particular, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter often have the same root as carbon dioxide emissions. Policies to control these will achieve dual benefits and reduce the total cost of emission control for society.
The Clean Air Initiative for Europe and the Integrated Environmental Strategy (IES) of the United States have promoted such coordinated actions, and Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, the Philippines, Japan, and South Korea have all drafted relevant policies.
The peaking of carbon dioxide emissions in industrialized countries like the United Kingdom and European Union happened in the 1970s. At that time, there were no relevant policies for carbon emission control. However, the transition in the energy consumption structure from coal to oil and gas during the same period played a key role. In industrialized countries, local control measures were first implemented since the 1960s, and then these started participating in global climate governance programmes from the 1990s.
In developing countries, these two governance processes are often running parallel. Most developed countries had completed the process of industrialization when global climate change entered the political agenda, while developing countries are often still in the critical early stages of development.
Therefore, at the current stage, China’s carbon reduction policy measures are not only an inevitable choice, but will also serve a long-term strategy.
Energy savings so far
China’s greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental pollutants have strong emission homology.
According to the National Climate Strategy Center, the policies implemented since 2005 have achieved accumulative energy savings of 2.21 billion tonnes of standard coal, equivalent to reductions of about 11.92 million tonnes (mnt) of sulphur dioxide and 11.3 mnt of nitrogen oxides.
In January 2021, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment issued the “Guiding Opinions on Coordinating and Strengthening Work Related to Coping with Climate Change and Ecological Environmental Protection”, which formally proposed the unified approach to strategies related to climate change and environmental protection.
In July 2021, the various measures for key industries were introduced. Taking the lead were Hebei, Jilin, Zhejiang, Shandong and Guangdong, Chongqing, Shaanxi and other places, starting with key industries such as power, steel, building materials, non-ferrous metals, petrochemicals and chemicals.
Policy outlook for Carbon Reduction Version 2.0
The ‘Implementation Plan’ is the culmination of a coordinated strategy and focuses on the main sources of environmental pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions, and sees structural adjustments and green upgrading as the fundamental way to reduce pollution and carbon footprint.
The plan pays special attention to the coordination all government arms for a multi-level and multi-field innovation model, that is closely aligned with the views of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.
The plan puts forward green energy and low carbon goals for key regions such as Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and surrounding areas, the Yangtze River Delta region, and the Fenwei Plain.
For the first time, the plan proposes to carry out pilot projects for controlling emissions in the steel, cement, coal industries, and requires sales of new energy vehicles (EVs) to achieve emission prevention and control by 2030. The aim is to achieve about 50% of new car sales from EVs. China proposes to achieve carbon peaking by 2030.
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