We will promote green, low-carbon and high-quality development in a coordinated manner

Source: Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference

Editor's note:

The Analysis of the development trend of population, Resources and Environment is an important platform for the Committee of Population, Resources and Environment of the CPPCC National Committee to consult with the national ministries and commissions, and an important channel for the Human Resources and Environment Committee and the members of the related sectors to know about the government and make suggestions. Since its inception in 2008, the Situation Analysis Conference has been held 15 times, with one theme each year, focusing on major issues in the field of ecological civilization construction, and contributing to the wisdom and strength of the CPPCC.  Focus on "overall promotion of green, low-carbon and high-quality development" advice, capital and government, and build consensus. The editor has excerpted members' speeches for readers' enjoyment

Yi Jun, Deputy Director of the Committee of Population, Resources and Environment of the CPPCC National Committee, former Vice Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development:

Promote green and low-carbon transformation of the construction industry

General Secretary Xi Jinping stressed at the National Conference on Ecological and Environmental Protection that it is necessary to accelerate the transformation of green and low-carbon development methods, adhere to green and low-carbon development as a solution to ecological and environmental problems, accelerate the formation of green production methods and lifestyles, and strengthen the green background of high-quality development.

According to the "2023 China Building and Urban Infrastructure Carbon Emissions Research Report", the total carbon emissions of the whole process of housing construction (including infrastructure construction) in 2021 will be 5.01 billion tons of CO2, accounting for 47.1% of the country's energy-related carbon emissions, making it a major carbon emitter. With the process of urbanization, China's carbon emissions in the construction sector will continue to rise in the next 10 years. To this end, we must take practical and effective measures to promote green and low-carbon transformation in urban and rural construction.

First, adhere to planning first, and integrate green and low-carbon concepts into urban and rural development. In the planning stage, the sustainability of resources, environment and ecology should be fully considered, and the consumption of natural resources and environmental damage should be reduced as much as possible. For example, promoting green buildings and community planning, optimizing urban transportation layout, and improving the coverage and convenience of public transportation.

Second, strengthen scientific and technological innovation and promote the research, development and application of green and low-carbon technologies. China adds about 2 billion square meters of new construction area every year, of which about 80% of the buildings have low energy efficiency and high carbon emissions. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the research and development of major key technologies in the field of "dual carbon", and carry out special technological research on energy substitution, energy saving and carbon reduction, and recycling. Vigorously develop new construction methods, and accelerate the promotion of ultra-low energy consumption, (near) zero energy consumption buildings, zero carbon buildings and building energy-saving renovation, assembly decoration and other green and high-quality development of new paths. We will vigorously promote green and low-carbon building materials, accelerate the construction of a recycling system for construction waste, and promote the construction of ecological and environmental protection projects and the development of environmental protection industries.

Third, strengthen policy guidance to promote the implementation of green and low-carbon transformation. Governments can encourage businesses and individuals to take green and low-carbon actions by developing relevant policies and standards. For example, through increasing financial input, developing green finance, ecological compensation mechanisms and other policy measures, comprehensively promote the transformation and upgrading of industrial structure, energy structure, transportation structure, and accelerate the realization of smart construction and green low-carbon transformation development. At the same time, the supervision of urban and rural construction should be strengthened to ensure the implementation and promotion of green and low-carbon transformation.

Fourth, strengthen international cooperation and promote the new model of low-carbon green development of China's construction industry. Try to establish a global low-carbon, green building standards and evaluation system to promote the green development of the global construction industry. In the face of the challenges of global climate change and environmental issues, we will tell the Chinese story of the green and low-carbon development of the construction industry, contribute Chinese wisdom to the green and low-carbon development of the construction industry, and contribute to the global construction industry emission reduction cause. It is necessary to actively explore energy-saving and low-carbon construction modes, coordinate all aspects of planning, design, procurement, production and construction, coordinate all elements of building materials, machinery and equipment, and building operation and maintenance, realize the whole life cycle management of construction projects, and promote the green and low-carbon development of the construction industry.

The fifth is to strengthen publicity and improve the awareness of green and low carbon in the whole society. The government will strengthen policy guidance and formulate more specific regulations and policies to encourage enterprises to adopt low-carbon and green technologies and products. For example, carbon incentive mechanisms such as carbon credits, social interaction rewards, and carbon reduction ranking rewards are adopted to promote the active participation of the public and raise awareness of energy conservation and carbon reduction. Enterprises focus on the layout of green low-carbon industry projects in key areas, attach importance to green investment markets, and actively incorporate carbon performance indicators into the enterprise performance assessment system.

Ge Quansheng, member of the CPPCC National Committee and former Director of the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences:

Respect the law and make use of opportunities to comprehensively promote the building of a beautiful China

Since the 18th CPC National Congress, great achievements have been made in building a beautiful China.

However, at present, the structural, root and trend pressures of ecological construction and environmental protection in China have not been fundamentally alleviated, and the contradiction between protection and development still exists. Here are some suggestions for implementing the "Opinions of the CPC Central Committee and The State Council on Comprehensively Promoting the Construction of a Beautiful China" :

First, we must respect the laws of natural geography and implement differentiated governance policies. China spans 50 latitudes from north to south and 62 longitudes from east to west. The terrain is high in the west and low in the east, with a three-step drop of 4200 meters. The climate features are diverse and the geographical environment is complex. The watershed units with different characteristics and functions formed by various ecological systems of mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes, grasses and sand are linked by water. Once the original natural chain is destroyed, the remote management technology and model are difficult to be effective. We should respect the laws of regional natural geography, adapt to local conditions, and conduct differentiated governance.

Second, we should take advantage of the opportunity of climate warming to enhance the carrying capacity of resources and the environment. The latest data show that last year was the hottest in recorded human history, with a warming of 1.4 ° C over the pre-industrial period (1850-1900). A warming climate will lead to more extreme events, but it will also provide new opportunities. According to research, in 2035, China's average annual temperature will rise by 1.5℃~2.6℃ compared with 1961-1990, the precipitation will increase by 3%~5%, the climatic zone will move 100 kilometers north from the current basis, the spring phenology will advance by 2 weeks, and the Qinghai-Tibet and Mongolian plateau will become warmer and moister. If the scientific water allocation, the Loess Plateau and Taihang Mountain area is likely to add 300,000 square kilometers of suitable forest land, Xinjiang and other northwest areas to add 0.3 million mu of arable land, Northeast, North China multiple cropping index increased by 10% to 20%, the national resources and environmental carrying capacity is expected to increase by 10%. It is recommended to strengthen research to make full use of the new opportunities brought by climate change.

Third, we need to open wider to the outside world and "open the door" to build a beautiful China. China's resource and environment carrying capacity per unit area is only 1/3 of the global average level, and the "contradiction between man and land" has existed for a long time. The stable import of food and energy on the current scale has made irreplaceable contributions to the construction of a beautiful China, and is an important help to ensure the smooth realization of the goal of building a beautiful China. The next step is to make full use of external markets and resources to create favorable conditions for the construction of a beautiful China.

Fourth, we need to enhance our ability to support science and technology to build a beautiful China. In recent years, China's energy consumption, water consumption and pollutant discharge per 10,000 yuan of GDP have decreased rapidly, but the absolute value is still on the high side. It is necessary to speed up the breakthrough of key technologies for reducing pollution and carbon "stuck neck"; Taking regional differences into account, scientific decomposition of forest coverage rate, soil and water conservation rate and other indicators; Relying on the national star Link and surface monitoring network, we will build a multi-scale planning, testing and evaluation system for the construction of a beautiful China based on AI technology, and comprehensively improve the level of territorial space governance.

Cui Lijuan, member of the CPPCC National Committee and Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Forestry:

Stabilize reserves, improve quality and enhance ecosystem carbon sink function

Climate change has become a common challenge facing all countries in the world, and China has also taken the "dual carbon" goal as an important national medium - and long-term strategic goal. Establishing a good ecosystem carbon cycle is one of the most important ways to mitigate climate change, and improving the ecosystem carbon sink capacity is an important measure to achieve this goal. Specific suggestions are as follows:

First, stabilize reserves and improve quality.

Forests are the largest terrestrial ecosystem carbon reservoir, accounting for most of the carbon storage in the global terrestrial ecosystem. Wetlands are also important carbon reservoirs. Four types of wetlands - peatlands, mangroves, salt marshes and seagrass beds - account for only 1% of the Earth's surface but store 20% of the world's organic carbon. To this end, it is necessary to stabilize the carbon storage of existing high-carbon natural ecosystems such as forests, grasslands and wetlands. Combined with the control of land space use and the delineation of ecological protection red lines, the construction of a territorial space protection pattern conducive to the realization of the "dual carbon" goal. Further improve the management level of protected natural areas, protect natural ecosystems and their natural ecological processes with high quality, and ensure that carbon reserves in natural ecosystems do not decrease and maintain the trend of continuous accumulation.

At the same time, the degradation of natural ecosystems caused by improper human activities will also lead to the reduction of carbon sink capacity, and even some ecosystems, such as wetlands, will change from "carbon sink" to "carbon source". The quality of degraded ecosystems and their function as carbon sinks should be steadily improved. The quality and health of damaged natural ecosystems will be improved and the carbon sink function of forests, grasslands and wetlands will be enhanced through the overall planning of major ecological restoration projects and the comprehensive management of mountains, rivers, forests, forests, forests, forests, forests, forests, forests, forests, grasslands, and wetlands.

Second, synergistic and multi-functional, promoting the carbon sink increase plan.

It is necessary to enhance the carbon sink function of the ecosystem while increasing the multiple functions of the ecosystem. In addition to increasing vegetation coverage, plant allocation should be made, while maintaining biodiversity and promoting soil conservation and water conservation. Improve the carbon storage rate and effective storage capacity of wetland; The implementation of sustainable forest management, through stand optimization, forest tending, etc., to enhance the ability of forests to resist pests and natural disasters, so that forests become more effective long-term carbon sinks.

Enhancing ecosystem carbon sequestration through nature-based ecological engineering measures; Promoting CO2 capture and storage or recycling; Screening and breeding efficient and resistant carbon sequestration plants to improve carbon sequestration capacity in barren areas; Promote the national scale ecosystem carbon sequestration plan, and carry out stable storage and sequestration projects in different regions.

Third, continue to carry out research on carbon sink methodology and establish a scientific accounting system.

Continue to carry out in-depth research on the methodology of carbon storage and carbon sink capacity estimation of natural ecosystems, establish fixed sample sites for carbon sink estimation, clarify the key parameters of carbon measurement for different types of ecosystems in different regions, promote the formulation of carbon sink accounting methods and standards in China, and improve the estimation accuracy of carbon storage and carbon sink capacity of ecosystems. Strengthen the construction of terrestrial ecosystem positioning observation and research stations, improve the investigation and long-term tracking and monitoring capacity of carbon storage and carbon sink, promote the networking research of carbon sink, accumulate first-hand data of carbon sink research, and provide basic data support for accurate estimation of carbon storage and carbon sink capacity in China.

Zhao Jianze, Member of the CPPCC National Committee and Chairman of Shanxi Coking Coal Group:

Promote the harmless disposal and large-scale utilization of coal gangue

The "Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and The State Council on Comprehensively Promoting the Construction of Beautiful China" proposes to "accelerate the construction of waste recycling system", which provides a fundamental basis for the high-quality development and modernization of the coal industry.

At present, China's coal industry still faces some problems in the overall promotion of green, low-carbon and high-quality development, especially there is still a gap in the disposal and utilization of coal gangue. Since April last year, I and relevant people have focused on the topic of "harmless disposal of coal gangue and large-scale utilization" to carry out investigation and research, and have learned about the relevant situation through in-depth visits to coal enterprises such as National Energy and Shandong Energy, and widely listened to opinions.

It is found that in recent years, the production of coal gangue in China has increased rapidly, and the cumulative stacking amount has reached 7.6 billion tons at the end of last year. At present, the domestic coal gangue disposal and utilization has diversified characteristics: about 57.5% of ecological management methods such as land reclamation and land filling, about 22.6% of them are stacked and disposed of in waste disposal sites, about 10.7% of them are extended to produce new building materials, about 4% of them are used as low caloric value fuel in power plants, and about 2.5% of them are underground filling of coal gangue. Generally speaking, in the eastern and southern regions where coal resources are relatively short, the main way of utilization is to prepare building materials and power plant fuel. However, in Jin, Shaanxi, Mongolia and other areas with rich coal resources, land reclamation and land filling are mostly used for disposal.

In the process of disposal and utilization, there are some practical problems:

First, it is difficult to handle formalities for large-scale utilization projects of coal gangue. Restricted by the policy, coal enterprises can sometimes only rent the surrounding villages for disposal, and there is a risk of violation. In addition, there is no unified standard for the disposal of coal gangue landfill in China, resulting in uneven disposal levels.

Second, it is difficult to land underground filling. Under the influence of environment, technology, economy and other factors, the underground filling of coal gangue not only has high cost, but also reduces mining efficiency while mining, and even brings some hidden dangers to safety production.

Third, the utilization rate of resources is still low. In terms of power generation, the national approval policy for coal gangue power plants has been tightened, and with the improvement of coal washing technology, the caloric value of coal gangue has been unable to meet the needs of power plants. In terms of brick making, it is restricted by market fluctuations and its utilization is very limited. According to statistics, the proportion of coal gangue resource utilization in China is less than 10%.

In response to these problems, it is suggested that:

First, we will introduce differentiated supporting policies. For example, in the ravines and ravines of Shanxi, Shaanxi, Mongolia and other areas, the use of coal gangue for ditch filling and ecological restoration, so as to improve the comprehensive environmental and economic benefits; Increase policy support for the preparation of cement and building materials from coal gangue in East China and other plain areas.

Second, classification and step by step implementation of coal gangue underground filling. Formulate corresponding technical specifications, implement them in different categories, and promote them step by step. For example, for the relatively complex production mine system can be a small number of pilot, for the new mine in the optimization of the system at the same time, moderate promotion, in the railway, water and buildings under the "three" coal pressure of the mine focus on promoting. At the same time, complete the financial and tax preferential policies for underground filling.

Third, establish and improve market-based mechanisms. Give full play to the guiding role of governments at all levels to achieve the deep integration of comprehensive utilization of coal gangue and regional economic development. For example, to guide enterprises to develop coal gangue preparation of activated carbon, white carbon black and other high value-added products research; Further improve the accuracy of market guidance and enhance the competitiveness of coal gangue comprehensive utilization projects.

Lu Tiezhong, Member of the CPPCC National Committee and Chairman of China Nuclear Power Co., LTD. :

We will promote the high-quality development of nuclear power with a high level of safety

Nuclear power, as a zero-carbon base load power supply, plays an indispensable role in helping China's energy transformation, successfully realizing the "double carbon" goal, and building a beautiful China.

In 2023, China's nuclear power generation will be about 430 billion KWH, equivalent to reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 320 million tons, and equivalent to afforestation of 1.29 million hectares (about 8,000 scenic areas of Fragrant Hills Park). From a global perspective, China's nuclear power generation accounts for about 5% of the country's total power generation, far lower than the level of developed countries in the world (18%), but also lower than the world average (10%), the development of space and potential is huge.

China's nuclear power units have maintained the world's leading safety operation record for eight consecutive years, and the average full score ratio and comprehensive index of nuclear power units rank first in the world. In 2023, China has also achieved a large number of major scientific and technological innovation achievements such as fast reactor, multi-purpose modular small reactor Linglong 1, and a new generation of "artificial sun". China's fourth-generation nuclear power technology has made a major breakthrough, with excellent inherent safety, known as "non-meltdown reactor" high temperature gas cooled reactor demonstration project successfully shipped, expanding China's nuclear power development space.

Promoting the high-quality development of nuclear power with a high level of safety is the only way to fully help the country achieve its "dual carbon" goal. It is suggested to take building a nuclear power country as the overall goal, actively promote the system reconstruction of nuclear power innovation and application, management optimization, and social support, and promote the high-quality development of nuclear power with a high level of safety.

First, accelerate the application and promotion of safer and advanced nuclear power technologies. In the "14th Five-Year Plan" and in the medium and long term, unswervingly implement the three-step strategy of "hot reactor - fast reactor - fusion reactor" in the development of nuclear energy. It is suggested to continue to use the independent third-generation nuclear power technology represented by "Hualong One" and advanced fourth-generation nuclear power technology such as high-temperature gas-cooled reactor and sodium-cooled fast reactor, and accelerate the pace of batch approval. Support the coupling development of high-temperature gas-cooled reactors with high-energy-consuming industries such as petrochemical and steel, and play a major role in the future field of nuclear hydrogen production. According to the China Nuclear Energy Industry Association speculated that in order to achieve carbon neutrality, by 2060, China needs to build about 400 million kilowatt nuclear power units, if only the development of thermal reactors, will put greater pressure on the supply of uranium resources and spent fuel treatment. The fast reactor can realize the transformation of spent fuel into raw material and back-end into front-end, increase the utilization rate of uranium resources by more than 60 times, break the resource bottleneck of nuclear power development, and greatly reduce the dependence on uranium resources.

Second, tighten the nuclear security responsibility system to ensure absolute nuclear security. From the perspective of industry development, adhere to independent innovation and safe development, strengthen key and basic scientific research on nuclear safety, and promote the intelligent transformation of nuclear energy; Give full play to the effect of group reactor intensive management, optimize the safety production management system, and strengthen the construction of nuclear power operation and technical support core capabilities. From the perspective of safety supervision, we will steadily promote the comprehensive strengthening of nuclear safety management in the nuclear power industry, do a practical job in the safety supervision of nuclear facilities, comprehensively strengthen the safety and quality management of nuclear power projects under construction, continue to improve the safety level of the nuclear industry chain and supply chain, accelerate the improvement of radiation environment monitoring capabilities, and vigorously strengthen scientific and technological support for nuclear safety.

Gao Jixi, member of the CPPCC National Committee and Director of the Satellite Environment Application Center of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment:

We will strengthen source control and promote green, low-carbon and high-quality development

The "Opinions of the CPC Central Committee and The State Council on Comprehensively Promoting the Construction of a Beautiful China" clearly states that accelerating the green transformation of development mode is an important measure to achieve a beautiful China. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, China's efforts to promote green, low-carbon and high-quality development have been significantly strengthened, and the construction of ecological civilization has undergone a historic, watershed and overall change. However, overall, China's source control efforts are still insufficient, and the energy consumption per unit of GDP is 1.5 times the world average. To this end, it is still imperative to strengthen source control and promote green, low-carbon and high-quality development.

At present, the source governance to promote green, low-carbon and high-quality development still faces some challenges: first, the lack of systematic planning, there are still weak awareness of source governance, insufficient top-level design and other problems, resulting in the source governance and green, low-carbon and high-quality development of the disconnect. Second, the unreasonable industrial structure and layout have led to high resource and energy consumption and large pollutant emissions, which has a huge impact on promoting green and low-carbon development. Third, the innovation capacity of green technology is not strong, and the research and development of green technology and market cultivation still need to be strengthened. Fourth, the product certification system, promotion system and supervision system that support green consumption are not perfect, resulting in low public awareness and participation in green consumption.

To this end, it is recommended that:

First, the system design, based on the ecological environment carrying capacity as a whole planning China's industry "a game of chess" reshaping the layout. With systematic, strategic and long-term goals, based on China's ecological carrying capacity and resource and environmental endowments, we should coordinate production space, living space and ecological space, optimize regional industrial structure and industrial chain, and effectively form an industrial structure, industrial layout and industrial development scale consistent with ecological carrying capacity.

The second is to trace the roots to the source of key industries to guide the green and low-carbon development of China's industries. Establish a scientific evaluation method, systematically comb and analyze each industry, dig deep into the causes of large resource consumption, high pollution emissions, and serious ecological damage, find out the problems, propose remediation plans for the source management of each industry, and greatly improve the degree of green and low carbonization of each industry.

The third is to build consensus and promote the transformation of ecological and environmental protection from the pollution control of a single ecological and environmental department to the collaboration of multiple departments.

The fourth is collaborative innovation, relying on science and technology to control pollution emissions and resource consumption from the source. On the basis of scientific analysis and accurate judgment of the trend of scientific and technological innovation in source control and the demand for green, low-carbon and high-quality development, we will develop scientific and technological innovation technologies in source control to reduce pollution emissions from the source and promote green and low-carbon development.

Fifth, the participation of all people, with public green consumption to promote the source of governance of the whole society. We will introduce a green consumption standard system, clarify the boundaries of green consumption, advocate a green and low-carbon lifestyle, reduce the pressure on the ecological environment management generated by the social consumption side of life, and explore a new way to promote green, low-carbon and high-quality development.

Editor: Qin Yun