Author | Yang Neng, Xiao Xinli, Yin Chunzhe, Wang Han, Yu Jiahui, Qian Lihua, Lu Political Commissar
Carbon emission dual control system
On August 2, 2024, the General Office of the State Council issued a notice on the "Work Plan for Accelerating the Construction of a Dual Carbon Emission Control System" (Guo Ban Fa [2024] No. 39, hereinafter referred to as the "Work Plan"), which clarified the overall requirements and relevant system construction plans for the construction of a dual carbon emission control system in the mainland. The promulgation of the "Work Plan" marks that the main focus of the mainland's green development has shifted from energy to carbon emissions, and the introduction of various supporting policy systems will be accelerated, so as to further guide the development factors to tilt towards new quality productivity and cultivate green and low-carbon competitiveness.
In terms of overall requirements, the objectives should be clarified and a multi-level policy system and mechanism would be established. During the "15th Five-Year Plan" period before the carbon peak, a dual control system of carbon emissions was implemented, with intensity control as the main focus and total volume control as the supplement; After carbon emissions reach their peak, a dual carbon emission control system will be implemented, with total volume control as the mainstay and intensity control as the supplement. Establish and improve policies, systems and management mechanisms such as local carbon assessment, industry carbon control, enterprise carbon management, project carbon evaluation, and product carbon footprint, and effectively connect with the national carbon emission trading market to build a systematic and complete carbon emission dual control system.
At the national level, the focus is on improving the planning system. During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, carbon emission targets will be included in the national economic and social development plan, energy intensity will no longer be used as a binding target, and relevant action plans for carbon peak and carbon neutrality will be studied and formulated, as well as relevant laws and regulations for dual control of carbon emissions, and the deployment of the "Action Plan for Carbon Peaking Before 2030" will be implemented in detail to ensure that carbon peaking is achieved before 2030.
At the local level, focus on assessment constraints and establish an evaluation and assessment system for local carbon emission targets. The dual control indicators of carbon emissions will be reasonably decomposed to each province, and the responsibilities of prefectures and cities and key enterprises for emission control and emission reduction will be further consolidated. The establishment of a comprehensive evaluation and assessment system for carbon peak and carbon neutrality, and the establishment of a carbon emission budget management system at the provincial and municipal levels will promote the establishment and improvement of carbon markets, carbon taxes and other related systems.
At the industry level, explore early warning and control mechanisms for carbon emissions in key industries. First, the carbon emission accounting mechanism for key industries will be improved, and the industry authorities and industry associations, with the support of the ecological environment, the Bureau of Statistics, market supervision and other departments, will improve the industry accounting mechanism and carry out industry carbon emission accounting around key areas such as electric power, steel, nonferrous metals, and building materials. Second, we will establish a carbon emission monitoring and early warning mechanism in the industry field, find out the emission base and emission reduction potential, implement normalized monitoring and analysis, timely early warning, strictly control key objects according to the situation, and when the conditions are ripe, the carbon emission control of key industries will be included in the assessment index system.
At the enterprise level, improve the management system of energy conservation and carbon reduction of enterprises. First, we will improve the management system of key energy-using and carbon emission units, start from the two aspects of strengthening standards and grasping management, formulate and revise carbon emission accounting standards for emission control industries, strengthen the carbon emission management of key enterprises, and focus on ensuring data quality. The second is to give full play to the role of market mechanism regulation, further expand the scope of the carbon market and the support areas of the voluntary emission reduction trading market, and improve the green certificate trading market. In the future, the synergy of the three types of markets is worth looking forward to.
At the project level, carry out carbon emission evaluation of fixed asset investment projects. The first is to improve the energy-saving review system for fixed asset investment projects, strictly control the source of projects, and strengthen the role of carbon emission evaluation. The second is to improve the environmental impact assessment system of construction projects, incorporate greenhouse gas emission control into the environmental impact assessment, and new projects must take into account the coordinated emission reduction of environmental pollutants and greenhouse gases.
At the product level, to accelerate the establishment of a product carbon footprint management system, the first is to formulate product carbon footprint accounting rules and standards, focus on the principle of meeting the urgent needs of the market and promoting international convergence, and give priority to bulk commodities such as energy and raw materials, products subject to international policies and regulations, and export-oriented commodities that are deeply involved in the international division of labor or have large export volumes. The second is to strengthen the construction of a carbon footprint background database to help the mainland establish a digital carbon footprint management system and international mutual recognition. The third is to establish a product carbon labeling certification system and strict and unified carbon labeling certification management methods, and carry out green consumption promotion actions based on carbon footprint.
On August 2, 2024, the General Office of the State Council issued a notice on the issuance of the "Work Plan for Accelerating the Construction of a Carbon Emission Dual Control System" (Guo Ban Fa [2024] No. 39, hereinafter referred to as the "Work Plan"), which clarified the overall requirements for the construction of a carbon emission dual control system in the mainland and the relevant system construction plan, marking that the main focus of the mainland's green development has fully shifted from energy to carbon emissions, and various supporting policy systems will be accelerated, so as to further guide the development factors to tilt towards new quality productivity. Foster zero-carbon competitiveness.
1. General requirements
Build a systematic and complete dual control system for carbon emissions. Since the 11th Five-Year Plan clarified the energy intensity constraint target, the mainland has built a systematic policy and standard system to promote energy efficiency improvement around "energy conservation and consumption reduction", which effectively responds to energy constraints in economic development. At present, the construction of ecological civilization in mainland China is generally driven by carbon reduction actions, plays a role in the source management of ecological environment quality improvement, and promotes economic restructuring and industrial green upgrading, so it is inevitable to build a multi-level and all-round carbon emission dual control system from dual control of energy consumption to dual control of carbon emissions. At the level, the "Work Plan" requires "incorporating carbon emission indicators and related requirements into national planning, establishing and improving local carbon assessment, industry carbon control, enterprise carbon management, project carbon evaluation, product carbon footprint and other policy systems and management mechanisms", which will cover all levels of policies, systems and mechanisms from the national and local regions to the industry, enterprise, project and product levels. At the national level, we should focus on formulating target planning and strengthening target guidance and constraints. At the local level, we should focus on assessment and constraints, guide the reform of local government management mechanisms, take carbon emissions as a key consideration for regional investment promotion and industrial support, and further strengthen the allocation and use efficiency of development factors. At the industry level, carbon emission performance is benchmarked and managed, "carbon efficiency" has become the focus of industry competition, and backward production capacity is reasonably eliminated; At the enterprise level, promote enterprises to build industrial value chain management around green and low-carbon; At the project level, a carbon emission level evaluation system will be established for the whole process of project establishment, project construction and project operation, so as to achieve strict access, process supervision and operation compliance. At the product level, carbon footprint is used as an important criterion to measure the "green content" of products, and green consumption is encouraged as an important measure to promote the formation of green production and lifestyle.
Strengthen the role of the carbon market as a market mechanism. The work plan points out that "the carbon emission indicators will be ...... and effectively connected with the national carbon emission trading market", which means that under the dual control system of carbon emissions, the carbon emission trading market will also be further improved, not only will include more emission control industries, but also establish a multi-level trading mechanism, strengthen the role of the market mechanism, and help regional coordinated development and ecological protection compensation.
Guided by the goal, we will strengthen the phased arrangement of dual carbon control. The work plan sets three phased targets by 2025, the 15th Five-Year Plan period, and after carbon emissions peak. First, "by 2025, the carbon emission statistical accounting system will be further improved,...... The relevant standards for emission accounting and product carbon footprint have been promulgated and implemented, the national greenhouse gas emission factor database has been basically completed and regularly updated, and the relevant measurement, statistics and monitoring capabilities have been improved...... The second is "during the '15th Five-Year Plan' period, the implementation of a dual control system of carbon emissions based on intensity control and supplemented by total control,......, and the construction of a product carbon footprint management system and a product carbon labeling certification system in line with China's national conditions,......。 The third is to establish an evaluation and assessment system for carbon neutrality targets after carbon emissions peak,......。,......, "From the development goals, it can be clear that the product carbon footprint will become the core standard for measuring the green competitiveness level of enterprises in the mainland, and it is the starting point for the industry to build a green value chain and cultivate green competitiveness. The government will improve the standard and methodological system, strengthen digital applications, build a database of greenhouse emission factors, and "set a good stage" for the green development of enterprises.
2. Improve the planning system related to carbon emissions
Energy consumption assessment indicators will fade out of the national economic and social development planning documents. The work plan proposes to "incorporate carbon emission targets into the national economic and social development plan,..., and make overall arrangements for key tasks and major projects", and at the same time, it also proposes to "no longer use energy intensity as a binding target". Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the mainland has put green, low-carbon, energy conservation and emission reduction in a prominent position, established and implemented a dual control system for total energy consumption and intensity, and effectively promoted the significant improvement of energy utilization efficiency and the continuous decline of carbon dioxide emission intensity in the mainland. On July 11, 2023, the second meeting of the Central Committee for Comprehensively Deepening Reform deliberated and adopted the "Opinions on Promoting the Gradual Shift from Dual Control of Energy Consumption to Dual Control of Carbon Emissions", and emphasized the need to strengthen the basic capacity building of dual control of carbon emissions, improve various supporting systems for dual control of carbon emissions, and actively create conditions for the establishment and implementation of dual control of carbon emissions. With the withdrawal of energy intensity indicators, it means that the dual control assessment indicators are more clearly changed to "carbon" assessment, and the formal transformation of energy consumption to dual control of carbon emissions is realized.
The "dual control" of carbon emissions can better achieve the goal of precise policy implementation. Dual control of energy consumption refers to the control of total energy consumption and energy consumption intensity, which has become a relatively stable and mature mechanism after the gradual development of the "11th Five-Year Plan" to the "14th Five-Year Plan". However, with the gradual deepening of the "double carbon", the shortcomings of dual control of energy consumption have gradually been revealed: first, the total energy consumption control includes fossil energy consumption and non-fossil energy consumption, and the total energy control directly affects the development and utilization of renewable energy, on the other hand, the total energy consumption includes raw material energy, which restricts the development of petrochemical, chemical and other industries with rigid demand. In contrast, the dual control of carbon emissions can better solve the problem of limited energy use of renewable energy and raw materials, and the emission control of high-carbon industries is more accurate and reasonable.
The focus of the "1+N" policy will accelerate the transition to carbon neutrality. The "Work Plan" proposes to "study and formulate relevant action plans for carbon peak and carbon neutrality, and refine the work measures, key tasks and safeguard measures for carbon emission target control." and "refine the deployment of the Action Plan for Peaking Carbon Emissions before 2030". Under the guidance of the "Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Completely, Accurately and Comprehensively Implementing the New Development Concept and Doing a Good Job in Carbon Peak and Carbon Neutrality" and the "Action Plan for Carbon Peaking Before 2030" (Guo Fa [2021] No. 23), the mainland's "1+N" policy system for carbon peaking and carbon neutrality has been continuously improved, laying a solid foundation for energy conservation and carbon reduction actions in all industries and dimensions. At the same time, various departments and local governments have put forward more specific dual carbon goals according to their own actual conditions and development needs, that is, at what time, in what way, and to what extent carbon emission control and reduction. The "1+N" policy better reflects the characteristics of emphasizing operability, clarifying responsible units, considering the overall situation and implementing comprehensive policies, and progressing gradually and prudently. The "15th Five-Year Plan" is a critical period for the mainland to transition from the peak carbon dioxide stage to the carbon neutrality stage, not only to continue to implement the key tasks in the carbon peak stage, but also to refine the key work in the carbon neutrality stage, continue to promote structural adjustment and industrial upgrading in the fields of energy, industry, transportation, construction, etc., rapidly develop non-fossil energy, consolidate and improve the carbon sink capacity of the ecosystem, continuously improve the carbon emission market mechanism, and promote the realization of the mainland's "double carbon" strategic goal in a steady and orderly manner.
Strengthen the protective role of laws and regulations. The "work plan" proposes to "speed up the revision of the energy-saving review measures for fixed asset investment projects, energy-saving management measures for key energy-using units, and other systems". Taking the energy-saving review measures for fixed asset investment projects as an example, in 2023, the National Development and Reform Commission revised and issued the "Energy-saving Review Measures for Fixed Asset Investment Projects" (Order No. 2 of 2023 of the National Development and Reform Commission), which takes the initiative to adapt to the new situation and new requirements, and proposes to increase the fossil energy consumption per unit of product, fossil energy consumption per unit added (output value), fossil energy consumption per unit of added value (output value), energy consumption of fossil energy and raw materials, renewable energy consumption and supply security in the preparation and review of energy-saving reports. It fully reflects the new requirements of effectively enhancing the flexibility of total energy consumption management and focusing on controlling fossil energy consumption, so as to ensure the high-quality energy demand of key industries [1]. At the same time, the laws and regulations related to the dual control of carbon emissions will also be guided by the new situation and accelerate the formulation and revision, laying a solid foundation for the gradual shift from the dual control of energy consumption to the dual control of total carbon emissions and intensity.
3. Establish an evaluation and assessment system for local carbon emission targets
Further refine the responsibility for compaction, emission reduction, and emission control. The work plan proposes that "the dual control indicators of carbon emissions should be reasonably decomposed to each province." All provinces can further refine and decompose the dual control indicators of carbon emissions, and consolidate the responsibility of cities and key enterprises for emission control and emission reduction." Provincial entities and enterprises are the main body to implement the requirements of dual carbon control, and it is the basic and premise to reasonably decompose and refine the dual carbon emission control indicators based on regional resource endowment, emission reduction potential and industrial structure characteristics. At present, Inner Mongolia, Hebei, Shanxi, Xinjiang and Liaoning are characterized by high carbon emissions in terms of total carbon emissions and intensity, and the concentration of high-carbon industries will also affect the emission reduction process of various regional industries. Among them, the distribution of electrolytic aluminum in Shandong, Xinjiang, and Mongolia provinces is relatively concentrated, and the distribution of crude steel production in Jiangsu and Hebei is relatively concentrated Mongolia. On this basis, to further decompose the dual control indicators of carbon emissions to key enterprises, we can refer to the "Notice on Strengthening the Convergence of Green Power Certificates and Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction Policies and Vigorously Promoting Non-fossil Energy Consumption" (Fagai Huan Zi [2024] No. 113) on the relevant requirements for green certificate consumption, and adopt mandatory and encouraging means to refine the requirements for dual control of carbon emissions for different entities.
Establish a comprehensive evaluation and assessment system for dual control of carbon emissions. The "Work Plan" proposes to "formulate and introduce comprehensive evaluation and assessment methods for carbon peak and carbon neutrality". It also puts forward the key content of the assessment index system, that is, "focusing on the total carbon emission and intensity indicators, including energy structure, energy consumption intensity, resource utilization efficiency, ecosystem carbon sink, green transformation in key areas and other indicators". In 2021, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) issued the Notice on Carrying out Pilot Environmental Impact Assessment of Carbon Emissions for Construction Projects in Key Industries (EIA Letter [2021] No. 346), which selected pilot areas such as Hebei, Jilin, Zhejiang, Shandong, Guangdong, Chongqing, and Shaanxi, as well as pilot industries such as electric power, iron and steel, building materials, nonferrous metals, petrochemicals, and chemicals, to carry out environmental impact assessments of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from construction projects. In contrast, the "work plan" will also incorporate more abundant indicators such as energy and carbon sinks, and form a diversified and comprehensive evaluation index system focusing on carbon dual control, so as to more comprehensively and reasonably evaluate the development of carbon emission dual control in various regions, which is conducive to mobilizing regional enthusiasm and ensuring the smooth development and implementation of carbon emission reduction work.
Establish a two-level carbon emission budget management system. The work plan proposes to "promote all regions to carry out carbon emission accounting in combination with actual conditions, guide the establishment of carbon emission budget management systems at the provincial and municipal levels", and clarify the work objectives and priorities in accordance with the end of 2025, the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, the "16th Five-Year Plan" period and the following three stages, that is, the trial preparation of carbon emission budgets, the normalization and dynamic adjustment of carbon emission budgets, and the whole process management of the five-year planning period. The United Kingdom was one of the first countries to implement a carbon budget, and its first Climate Change Bill passed in 2008 specified the total carbon emission requirement for five years. According to the latest carbon budget, total carbon emissions from 2027 to 2033 are 965 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (Yang and Feng, 2023). With the carbon budget system, the United Kingdom government hopes to play a good role through its integration with carbon taxes and carbon trading markets [3]. The mainland can learn from the experience of United Kingdom in the construction of carbon budget system to promote the establishment and improvement of carbon market, carbon tax and other related systems.
Fourth, explore the early warning and control mechanism for carbon emissions in key industries and fields
4.1 Improve the carbon emission accounting mechanism for key industries
The "work plan" proposes to "give full play to the role of industry authorities and industry associations, focus on industrial industries such as electric power, iron and steel, nonferrous metals, building materials, petrochemicals, chemical industry, urban and rural construction, transportation and other fields, reasonably delineate the scope of carbon emission accounting in industry fields, and rely on data such as energy and industrial statistics, carbon emission accounting for energy activities and industrial production processes, and national carbon emission trading market to carry out carbon emission accounting in key industries". This section clarifies:
Participating departments: The formulation and improvement of carbon emission accounting standards in the industry sector shall be led by the competent departments of each industry, and relevant industry associations are required to actively and deeply participate in them;
Key industries: Eight major industries can be included in the national carbon market, including key emission industries such as electric power, iron and steel, nonferrous metals, building materials, petrochemicals, chemicals, and papermaking, while urban and rural construction (focusing on the construction sector) and transportation are also key research objects;
Data sources: including energy and industrial statistics, carbon emission accounting for energy activities and industrial production processes, and the national carbon emission trading market, etc., therefore, it is necessary for the competent departments of ecology and environment, the Bureau of Statistics, the market supervision department and other departments to actively cooperate and provide relevant data to complete the establishment of the carbon emission accounting mechanism.
It should be emphasized that the "Work Plan" requires "reasonable delineation of the scope of carbon emission accounting in the industry sector". That is, to reasonably determine the accounting boundary of each industry, especially to avoid undercalculation and omission, otherwise it will have a great misjudgment of the current status of carbon emissions in the industry, affect the formulation of follow-up work, and ultimately affect the realization of the mainland's "double carbon" goal.
In 2023, the National Standards Committee, the National Development and Reform Commission and other 11 departments jointly issued the "Guidelines for the Construction of Carbon Peak and Carbon Neutrality Standard System" (National Standards Committee Lian [2023] No. 19), proposing that "by 2025, no less than 1,000 national standards and industry standards will be formulated and revised,...... carbon accounting verification of major industries to achieve full coverage of standards", in order to accelerate the construction of the mainland carbon emission accounting system. In the same year, the General Office of the State Administration for Market Regulation issued the "Guiding Opinions on Strengthening the Management and Application of Measurement Data" (Shi Jian Metrology Fa [2023] No. 52), which proposed to "promote the construction and application of measurement data bases and cooperate with government departments, industry enterprises, research institutions and other units, and steadily promote data sharing on the basis of ensuring safety and accuracy" to help the subsequent sharing and use of data.
4.2 Establish a monitoring and early warning mechanism for carbon emissions in the industry sector
The work plan proposes to "find out the carbon emission base and emission reduction potential of key industries,...... The requirements for carbon emission control in key industries and fields will be included in the comprehensive evaluation and assessment index system for carbon peak and carbon neutrality".
The main work contents proposed in the above-mentioned "work plan" include: finding out the emission base and emission reduction potential, implementing normalized monitoring and analysis, timely early warning, strictly controlling key objects according to the situation, and when the conditions are ripe, the carbon emission control of key industries will be included in the assessment index system.
In terms of figuring out the emission base and emission reduction potential, it is necessary to start preparing from both industry and regional aspects. For the former, combined with the above, it is necessary for the state to improve the carbon emission accounting mechanism of key industries as soon as possible to scientifically and reasonably judge the current carbon emission level. At present, the forestry and grass industry has done a lot of work in finding out the emission base. The Ministry of Natural Resources and other four departments jointly issued the "Implementation Plan for the Consolidation and Improvement of Ecosystem Carbon Sequestration Capacity", clarifying that during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, the background of carbon storage and the potential for increasing carbon sinks in mainland ecosystems should be basically clarified. At the same time, the national forestry carbon sink pilot units have also actively carried out carbon sink potential. For the latter, it is necessary to establish a normalized working mechanism for the compilation of regional greenhouse gas inventories, timely grasp the carbon emission levels of the region and some key industries in the region, and lay the foundation for the subsequent carbon emission control and emission reduction plan formulation. The Guidelines for the Preparation of Provincial Greenhouse Gas Inventories (Revised Edition) are being actively formulated for follow-up work.
In terms of the implementation of normalized monitoring analysis and timely early warning, it is necessary to establish a normal monitoring and early warning mechanism in the future, including monitoring objects, monitoring parameters, monitoring methods, analysis and evaluation standards, monitoring implementation systems, and early warning classification management measures. In order to improve the scientificity, comprehensiveness, timeliness and accuracy of the entire monitoring and early warning, it is necessary to focus on the use of new information technology. Through big data, blockchain, artificial intelligence, IoT devices, edge computing, remote sensing satellites and other technologies, improve data acquisition, calculation, and analysis capabilities, and provide effective management, analysis, and display through digital platforms, providing strong support for the formulation and decision-making of carbon emission control plans.
In terms of strict control of key objects as appropriate, the Work Plan specifically mentions "strict control of the national carbon emission trading market". The carbon market controls greenhouse gas emissions through market mechanisms and contributes to the green and low-carbon transformation of the economy and society. If the carbon allowances that can be obtained by the emission control enterprises are greatly reduced due to the need to complete the relevant compliance work, the enterprises need to pay a certain amount of additional quota purchase fees in order to meet the requirements of the compliance work, which will have a great impact on their operating costs. Therefore, in order to reduce the cost of compliance, enterprises included in the carbon market need to reduce carbon emissions and improve production efficiency. At present, the national carbon market has been included in the power sector, and the benchmark value of the quota allocation plan for the first and second compliance cycles has been gradually reduced, and the recently released "2023 and 2024 National Carbon Emission Trading and Power Generation Industry Quota and Allocation Plan (Draft for Comments)" (Huanban Memo [2024] No. 216) also shows that the benchmark value of the power sector has further declined. This is to further promote the in-depth energy conservation and emission reduction work of enterprises in the power industry and reduce carbon emissions. It is expected that the allocation of allowances for industries that will be included in the national carbon market will also be tightly formulated.
In terms of improving the assessment index system, in the future, when the time is ripe, the management level and control results of carbon emission control in key industries will be included in the assessment index system of relevant government departments, and then relevant departments will be required to grasp the key points when carrying out dual carbon work, and strictly control the carbon emission level and change trend of key industries.
5. Improve the management system of energy conservation and carbon reduction of enterprises
Improve the rules and management systems for corporate carbon emissions. Data quality is the lifeline to ensure the healthy and orderly development of the national carbon market, and is the foundation and premise for the healthy operation of the market. However, with the significant increase in the demand for carbon emission accounting data in various regions, fields and industries, a series of problems such as slow data update of the current domestic carbon emission accounting system, different accounting calibers, and lagging basic emission factors have also begun to become prominent. Therefore, the "work plan" starts from the two aspects of strengthening standards and grasping management, on the one hand, it proposes to formulate and revise the carbon emission accounting rules and standards for enterprises in key industries such as electric power and iron and steel, and provide a scientific and technical basis. On the other hand, the requirements for carbon emission control will be incorporated into the current management system of key energy-using units, and the management requirements for energy and carbon reduction will be strengthened, as well as the equipment and verification and calibration of energy and carbon emission measuring instruments to ensure the authenticity and reliability of data.
Give play to the role of market mechanisms in regulation and control. The "Work Plan" proposes corresponding mechanism construction routes for the carbon market, CCER market and green certificate markets, that is, "improve the regulation and control mechanism of the national carbon emission trading market, gradually expand the coverage of the industry, and explore the paid allocation mechanism of allowances." Improve the national voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction trading market, gradually expand the scope of support, and promote a wider range of emission reductions. Accelerate the improvement of the green certificate trading market and promote green electricity consumption. "The National Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Trading Market (CCER) market promotes the development and utilization of carbon emission reduction projects (especially renewable energy projects) with authenticity, uniqueness and additionality, and connects with the carbon emission trading market to achieve a win-win situation of CCER carbon emission reduction benefits and reduced quota performance costs. The green certificate and green power mechanism is equivalent to the certification of the environmental attribute of "zero emission" renewable electricity, and encourages users who are willing to assume more social responsibilities to directly trade with wind power and photovoltaic power generation projects. The three types of markets will gradually work together to inject sustained impetus into carbon emission reduction.
6. Carry out carbon emission evaluation of fixed asset investment projects
Improve the energy-saving review system for fixed asset investment projects. The "work plan" requires that "the relevant requirements of carbon emission assessment be included in the energy-saving review of fixed asset investment projects, and a comprehensive evaluation of project energy consumption and carbon emissions shall be carried out". The energy-saving review of fixed asset investment projects is an important system for improving the energy efficiency of projects and reducing energy waste at the source. Among them, the construction unit shall not start construction of the project that has not been reviewed in accordance with the provisions of the energy-saving review, and the project that has been completed shall not be put into production and use. In March 2023, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) revised and issued the Measures for the Review of Energy Conservation in Fixed Asset Investment Projects (Order No. 2 of 2023 of the National Development and Reform Commission), increasing the requirements for the compilation and review of carbon emission data. For the purpose of strict source control, strengthen the role of carbon emission evaluation.
Improve the environmental impact assessment system for construction projects. The environmental impact assessment system is the environmental access threshold for construction projects, and under the "dual carbon" goal, high-emission industries have entered a new era of green transformation, and new projects must consider the coordinated emission reduction of environmental pollutants and greenhouse gases. The work plan proposes to "incorporate greenhouse gas emission control into the environmental impact assessment, predict and evaluate the greenhouse gas emissions and emission levels of construction projects, and carry out environmental impact assessments of greenhouse gas emissions in key industries such as electric power, steel, building materials, nonferrous metals, petrochemicals, and chemicals". In addition, on May 29, 2024, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) issued the Technical Guidelines for Environmental Impact Assessment of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Construction Projects in the Thermal Power Industry (Trial), which has included greenhouse gas control in the management of environmental impact assessments. According to the "work plan" proposed in the "development of key industry construction projects greenhouse gas emission environmental impact assessment technical specifications", it is expected that the later steel, building materials, nonferrous metals, petrochemical, chemical and other key industries will also be issued technical specifications, effectively standardize the technical methods of greenhouse gas emission environmental impact assessment in various industries.
7. Accelerate the establishment of a product carbon footprint management system
7.1 Meaning and Role
The carbon footprint of the product is not based on the main body of emissions, but on the end product, so as to promote the green and low-carbon transformation of the industrial chain. Although the evaluation scope, subject and methodology are different from those at the regional and enterprise levels, the construction of the product carbon footprint management system will play an important role in the construction of the dual control system of carbon emissions in the mainland, mainly as follows:
Accurate quantification and monitoring, providing scientific data support. Product Carbon Footprint Management provides companies and regulators with accurate carbon emissions across the entire value chain by comprehensively tracking and quantifying carbon emissions throughout the life cycle of a product, from raw material acquisition, manufacturing, transportation, use, to final disposal or recycling. These data can help governments and enterprises to understand the sources and distribution of carbon emissions more accurately, and support the formulation of more precise carbon emission dual control targets and related policy actions.
Promote enterprise emission reduction and technology upgrading, and enhance the effectiveness of intensity control. Product carbon footprint management can help identify the level of carbon emissions in each link of the industrial chain, promote enterprises to adopt low-carbon production methods and technologies, and promote emission reduction across the entire value chain by reducing the carbon footprint of products. This systematic emission reduction measure will directly improve the effectiveness of carbon emission intensity control.
Promote international integration and cooperation, and provide support for the integration of the dual control system into the global framework. Improving the product carbon footprint management system can effectively improve the carbon emission measurement, statistics and detection capabilities of enterprises, enhance transparency and promote integration with international standards, and lay the foundation for the integration of the dual control system into the global framework.
7.2 Specific Task Requirements
The "Work Plan" puts forward three key tasks for the product carbon footprint management system, namely: formulating product carbon footprint accounting rules and standards, strengthening the construction of carbon footprint background database, and establishing a product carbon labeling certification system. These three tasks are consistent with the three key tasks of "establishing and improving the carbon footprint management system" proposed in the "Implementation Plan for the Establishment of a Carbon Footprint Management System" [4] jointly issued by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and other five departments in June this year, and further clarify and emphasize the relevant key contents in the "Work Plan", as follows.
7.2.1 Formulate product carbon footprint accounting rules and standards
In terms of the implementation path, it is clear that a unified general principle for the quantification of product carbon footprint will be issued at the national level, and relevant industry associations, enterprises, and scientific research units will be organized to formulate and publish industry standards or group standards in terms of specific standards for key industries and products. On the basis of ensuring national uniformity of principles and norms, the supply of carbon footprint standards will be increased.
In terms of key industries, the "work plan" clearly "focuses on key products such as electricity, fuel oil, steel, electrolytic aluminum, cement, fertilizer, hydrogen, lime, glass, ethylene, synthetic ammonia, calcium carbide, methanol, coal chemical industry, power batteries, photovoltaics, new energy vehicles, electronic appliances, etc." The above key products can be summarized into the following three categories: first, bulk commodities such as energy and raw materials; the second is products subject to international policies and regulations, including primary products covered by the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and lithium batteries covered by the EU Battery Act; The third is the products of manufacturing enterprises that are required by downstream international customers (chain owners) to disclose their carbon footprints or export-oriented commodities with large export volumes, such as new energy vehicles, electronic and electrical, etc. This reflects the goal and principle of giving priority to meeting the urgent needs of the market and promoting international convergence in the construction of the mainland's carbon footprint.
7.2.2 Strengthen the construction of carbon footprint background database
The National Greenhouse Gas Emissions Factor Database is the basis of the Product Carbon Footprint Factor Library. The plan clearly states that the construction of a national greenhouse gas database should be accelerated, and a regular update and release mechanism should be established to effectively support the construction of a background database of product carbon footprint.
In terms of construction paths and participants, the "Work Plan" proposes that "industry authorities and qualified regions can build carbon footprint background databases for key industries as needed, and encourage relevant industry associations, enterprises, and scientific research units to explore the construction of product carbon footprint background databases in subdivided industries." ”
The establishment of a unified and internationally credible carbon footprint background database is a key task and a major challenge for the development of a carbon footprint management system in China. The product carbon footprint factor data of subdivisions of regional, industry and enterprise research can help solve the problem of enterprises to deal with international trade barriers, and serve as a connection and supplement to the national database, but at the same time, attention should be paid to the quality of the data and the consistency between the databases in the construction process, so as to lay the foundation for promoting the wide acceptance of the continental database in the international community.
7.2.3 Establish a product carbon labeling certification system
In the previous "Implementation Plan on the Establishment of Carbon Footprint Management System" of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, it was clearly stated that a unified management method for product carbon labeling certification would be formulated, and this "Work Plan" further emphasized this. In addition, the "work plan" proposes to "organize qualified cities to focus on key products to carry out pilot trials, and encourage enterprises to carry out product carbon labeling certification in accordance with market-oriented principles." ”
On the one hand, it is clear that the state will continue to promote the unified and strict management direction of the carbon labeling certification system; On the other hand, by building a market-oriented and multi-party participation pattern, we can effectively mobilize the enthusiasm of enterprises to reduce emissions and promote the construction of a low-carbon green consumption system.
For the construction of the dual control system of carbon emissions, strict and unified carbon labeling certification management measures can further enhance the transparency and data quality of enterprise carbon emission data, improve the relevant measurement, statistics and monitoring capabilities, and lay the foundation for the construction of a systematic and complete carbon emission dual control system.
Concentrate:
[1]资料来源：专家解读《固定资产投资项目节能审查办法》，中国发展网[EB/OL]，2023/04/08[2024/08/03]，http://www.chinadevelopment.com.cn/news/cj/2023/04/1831961.shtml
[2]资料来源：ESG：碳排双控强化“双碳”目标 行业减碳格局或将重塑，新浪财经[EB/OL]，2023/08/30[2024/08/03]，https://stock.finance.sina.com.cn/stock/go.php/vReport_Show/kind/lastest/rptid/746745477161/index.phtml
[3] Source: Preliminary Study on the Construction and Design of Domestic Multi-level Carbon Market System, Industrial Research, 2023/05/05[2024/08/03]
[4] Source: Notice on Printing and Distributing the Implementation Plan for the Establishment of a Carbon Footprint Management System (Huan Climate [2024] No. 30), Ministry of Ecology and Environment, 2024/06/05, https://www.mee.gov.cn/xxgk2018/xxgk/xxgk03/202406/t20240604_ 1074986.html
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