Chinese path to modernization: the breakthrough of green development Energy consumption | greenhouse gases | breakthrough
The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China pointed out that "Chinese path to modernization is a modernization in which people and nature coexist in harmony".From "building a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way" to "Chinese path to modernization with the harmonious development of man and nature" to "building China into a strong, prosperous, democratic, civilized, harmonious and beautiful modern socialist power", it means that we have entered a new historical period to realize the Chinese dream of great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
Breaking the Environmental Constraints of Western Capital Logic
Looking at the international arena, although the modernization of Western capitalist countries is at the forefront of human modernization development, the Western modernization model inherently contains limitations that the capitalist system itself cannot overcome. Capital's endless pursuit of profits leads to uncontrolled exploitation of nature, creating extremely abundant material wealth while also bringing unimaginable environmental trauma.
On the other hand, the huge population size and the latecomer nature of modernization in China determine that achieving modernization will face stronger resource and environmental constraints. China has abundant total resources, but the per capita resource share is far below the world average. For example, the per capita arable land area in China is less than half of the world average, and the land area with higher livability only accounts for 19% of China's land area; The per capita freshwater resources are only 1/4 of the world average, and their spatial and temporal distribution is extremely uneven; The per capita reserves of bulk minerals such as oil and gas, iron, and copper are far below the world average, and the degree of external dependence is relatively high.
The current basic national conditions of our country are a large population, relatively insufficient resources, and weak environmental carrying capacity. However, the ecological and environmental conditions have not been fundamentally reversed. To achieve modernization as a whole, a high consumption and high pollution development model is not feasible, and the pressure on resources and environment is also unbearable. Chinese path to modernization has abandoned the old western modernization path of taking capital as the center, expanding materialism, and pollution before treatment, opened up a new modernization path of harmonious coexistence between man and nature, and realized the scientific sublation and comprehensive transcendence of the western modernization development path.
Solving the Difficulties of Productivity Development and Industrial Transformation under Ecological Protection
Socialist modernization is a modernization of harmonious coexistence between humans and nature. Adhere to the policy of prioritizing conservation, protection, and natural restoration, form a spatial pattern, industrial structure, production methods, and lifestyle that conserve resources and protect the environment, and strive to build a beautiful China with visible mountains, water, and nostalgia.
On the surface, economic development may damage the ecological environment. Since the reform and opening up, China's economy has developed rapidly, but the extensive production with high energy consumption and emissions poses a threat to people's health and ecological environment. The severe situation of resource consumption and a significant decrease in economic growth rate have sounded the alarm for us: to protect the environment while developing the economy.
Essentially, improving the ecological environment is developing productivity. Man and nature are a community of life. The natural world is the foundation for the emergence and development of human society, and humans are a part of it. The facts from ancient and modern times, both at home and abroad, indicate that human harm to nature will ultimately harm itself. Only by respecting the laws of nature can we effectively prevent detours in the development and utilization of nature. Green mountains and clear waters are like mountains of gold and silver, and we should protect the ecological environment like protecting our eyes.
Since the 18th National Congress, under the leadership of the Party Central Committee, China has actively implemented the new development concept, promoted green development, made a series of major decisions and deployments, and made significant contributions to promoting green development, achieving significant achievements. Mainly manifested in the following aspects.
The adjustment of industrial structure has achieved significant results. The traditional manufacturing industry is accelerating its adjustment and optimization. During the 13th Five Year Plan period, it has accumulated over 150 million tons of excess steel production capacity and 300 million tons of excess cement production capacity; The advanced manufacturing industry continues to develop and grow. In 2021, the added value of China's high-tech manufacturing and equipment manufacturing industries accounted for 15.1% and 32.4% of the added value of large-scale industries, respectively, an increase of 5.7 and 4.2 percentage points compared to 2012.
The green supply capacity has significantly increased. The million kilowatt hydroelectric generator set has been successfully put into operation for power generation, with the global production of polycrystalline silicon, silicon wafers, and batteries accounting for more than 70%. The production and sales of new energy vehicles have ranked first in the world for 8 consecutive years. In 2022, the production of new energy vehicles exceeded 7 million, and the international market share of green power ships such as LNG and methanol is close to 50%... China has made fruitful achievements in promoting the strengthening of the green and low-carbon industrial chain and the reconstruction of the industrial foundation.
Actively carry out the construction of a beautiful China. Strengthen the joint construction, prevention, and governance of regional ecological environment, create a green development highland and a leading area for beautiful China, build the first batch of 18 beautiful rivers and lakes, 8 beautiful bays, and carry out the construction of "waste free cities" in 113 prefecture level and above cities and 8 special areas. At present, 468 national ecological civilization construction demonstration zones and 187 "green mountains and clear waters are invaluable assets" practice and innovation bases have been established nationwide, vividly showcasing the colorful picture of beautiful China.
Cracking the Difficulty of Choosing a New Path for Green Development under the Background of "Dual Carbon"
On September 22, 2020, China officially proposed the goals of peaking carbon emissions by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060 at the 75th United Nations General Assembly. This is a key action taken by China to proactively address global climate change, and it is also a solemn commitment to the people of the world, fully reflecting China's responsibility and responsibility as a major country. Faced with unprecedented changes in a century, there are still many problems in the ecological environment. Realizing the "dual carbon" goal, reducing carbon emissions, is conducive to the collaborative governance of traditional pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions, and is conducive to the improvement of environmental quality and the synergistic enhancement of greenhouse gas control.
As of the end of 2022, the installed capacity of wind and photovoltaic power generation in China has exceeded 700 million kilowatts, ranking first in the world in both wind and photovoltaic power generation; In 2022, the newly installed wind and photovoltaic power accounted for 78% of the country's total new installed capacity, and the newly added wind and photovoltaic power generation accounted for more than 55% of the country's newly added electricity generation that year. China's production scale of wind and photovoltaic power generation equipment and the total investment in clean energy in 2021 both ranked first in the world. At present, the construction of a 450 million kilowatt large-scale wind and photovoltaic base with a focus on deserts, Gobi, and desert areas is progressing smoothly. The first batch of approximately 100 million kilowatt projects have all started construction, and the second and third batches of projects are also being gradually promoted. Since the 21st century, about 1/4 of the world's newly added green area has come from China. China is the first country in the world to achieve "zero growth" in land degradation, and "dual reduction" in desertification and desertification land areas; The forest coverage and forest volume have maintained a "double growth", contributing more "Chinese green" to the world.
The basic situation of global carbon economy issues at the current stage is mainly reflected in the following three aspects: firstly, carbon emissions are highly correlated with the total economic output, industrial structure, and energy supply structure, and both in terms of total output and structure, it is still difficult to decouple. Secondly, some countries are beginning to experience a trend of decoupling carbon emissions from economic growth. Thirdly, in the global carbon economy, cities are the main producers of carbon emissions, the main body of energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, and an important entity in carrying out carbon reduction actions and implementing low-carbon development strategies.
The main problem with China's current carbon economy is in terms of carbon emissions: firstly, the total amount of carbon emissions is huge, and at the same time, it is the largest net exporter of trade implied carbon emissions. Secondly, from the supply side perspective, China's coal based energy structure is an important reason for the high total emissions and intensity. Thirdly, from the perspective of terminal demand, manufacturing is the main force of economic growth and also the main force of carbon emissions. The energy consumption of China's manufacturing industry is far greater than that of agriculture, construction, and living sectors, accounting for more than 50% of the energy consumption of all industries. Fourthly, there are significant differences in the development level and corresponding carbon emissions among different cities in China, indicating a prominent imbalance. Carbon emissions are related to the level of economic development, and there are significant differences in carbon emissions among cities with different levels of development and different income groups.
To overcome development difficulties and explore practical paths, we can start with policy solutions: firstly, the carbon market should cooperate with carbon taxes to promote the achievement of the dual carbon goals. The key to achieving the "dual carbon" goal is to guide China's economic development to decouple from carbon emissions through appropriate mechanisms. Internalizing the external costs of carbon emissions in economic decision-making before large-scale carbon reduction technologies are mature can help achieve the "dual carbon" goals. The second is to cultivate a green financial system and promote low-carbon economic development. The low carbonization of the economic system requires a large amount of resources and capital investment, which can be supported by fiscal funds, but mainly relies on financial channels to raise funds. The third is to improve social policies and promote the low-carbon transformation of low-carbon development. By implementing social policies such as subsistence allowances and transfer payments, we aim to enhance fairness in the process of low-carbon transformation. We will also prioritize resource oriented regions, high carbon industries, and related groups that are more severely affected by low-carbon transformation, in order to promote fair transformation. The fourth is to use international multilateral mechanisms and actively advocate for international organizations to implement project carbon neutrality strategies, enhance the carbon economic competitiveness of domestic industries, while balancing development and emission reduction.
