Discussed at this important conference | Beijing | Carbon Peaking
The National Conference on Ecological Environment Protection was held in Beijing from July 17th to 18th.
The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China clearly states that achieving carbon peak and carbon neutrality is a broad and profound systemic economic and social transformation.A comprehensive and accurate understanding of the economic and social systemic changes brought about by carbon peaking and carbon neutrality will help to form a carbon consensus, and based on China's energy and resource endowments, adhere to the principle of first establishing and then breaking, implement carbon peaking actions in a planned and step-by-step manner, and achieve carbon neutrality goals.
Total carbon emissions have become the most important constraint variable for human civilization progress
In the process of human development, the transformation of production tools is the driving force. Especially after the First Industrial Revolution, steam engines, internal combustion engines, and electric motors greatly improved production efficiency. Due to different natural resource endowments, various countries engaged in fierce competition and even brutal wars for resource and energy control. At the same time, as fossil fuels are consumed more and more per unit of time, carbon emissions have repeatedly reached new highs, greenhouse gases have surged, the greenhouse effect has become more pronounced, and extreme weather has significantly increased. The human society has entered a vicious cycle of rapid development, high carbon emissions, rapid warming, and frequent disasters, forming the "efficiency paradox".
After a significant increase in production efficiency, the balance between plant photosynthesis, carbon sequestration and oxygen release, and human energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions formed over billions of years on Earth has been disrupted. Scientific data shows that before the Industrial Revolution, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere was about 280ppm. Since 1958, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has been gradually increasing from 310ppm. Multiple monitoring stations of the World Meteorological Organization have found that the current concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has exceeded the threshold of 400 ppm. At the same time, compared to 1958, the average annual temperature on the Earth's surface has increased by 2-3 ℃, the sea level has risen by about 1 meter, frequent wildfires, increasingly fierce ocean cyclones, and more severe weather.
For the highest benefit of human survival, reducing carbon dioxide emissions, achieving carbon peak as early as possible, striving to achieve carbon neutrality, and controlling global warming have become the consensus of the international community. International conventions such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement have made binding provisions for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but replacing traditional fossil fuels with low-cost clean energy is a long process. Currently, the total carbon emissions are still increasing, and the turning point of carbon peak has not yet emerged, making the greenhouse effect increasingly evident. Therefore, the total carbon emissions have become the most important constraint variable for the progress of human civilization.
Low carbon development becomes a new symbol of Chinese path to modernization
The modernization of humanity is a process of development without an end, with distinct characteristics in different periods, such as mechanization, industrialization, digitization, intelligence, urbanization, and low-carbon. After more than 70 years of struggle, China has transformed from a backward agricultural country to the only country in the world with all the industrial categories listed in the United Nations Industrial Classification. It has built a modern industrial system with complete and independent categories, and its industrial economy has jumped to the top in the world. We have completed the industrialization process that developed Western countries have gone through for hundreds of years in decades, creating miracles of rapid economic development and long-term social stability. As Chinese path to modernization enters a new stage of high-quality development, building a beautiful China has been placed in a prominent position in the construction of a strong country and national rejuvenation.
So far, China's modernization has entered a new stage of low-carbon development. Low carbon and zero carbon emissions have become a new symbol of Chinese path to modernization and a new symbol of high-quality development.
Accurately grasping the multiple goals of systematic changes in carbon strategy
Therefore, it is necessary to accurately grasp the multiple goals of the systematic transformation of carbon strategy.
Systematic goals for change. Human carbon emissions are the activities of every individual throughout their entire life cycle, covering all aspects of life and production. The carbon peak and carbon neutrality strategy is a process of reducing production capacity in high carbon industries, upgrading traditional industries, promoting new industrialization, and popularizing green lifestyles. It will inevitably lead to interest adjustments, social restructuring, government reforms, and changes in existing lifestyles and production methods, which will have a wide and profound impact on the economy and society.
The urgency of change goals. Carbon peaking is closely related to carbon neutrality. The former is the foundation of the latter, and the timing and height of the peak directly affect the duration and difficulty of achieving carbon neutrality. The latter is a tight constraint on the former. The time for carbon peak in major developed countries such as Europe and America is concentrated around the 1990s to 2000. The goal of carbon neutrality is mostly 2050, and the carbon interval is mostly between 50-60 years, with a 43 year interval in the United States and a 71 year interval in the European Union. The carbon interval in China is set at 30 years, which is both proactive and urgent in reducing carbon emissions.
Long term goals of change. The average time a species stays in the atmosphere before entering and being cleared is its atmospheric lifespan, also known as residence time. According to calculations, carbon dioxide remains in the atmosphere for an average of 200 years. Therefore, the "dual carbon" goal must be promoted year by year and persisted in the long term.
The diversity of change objectives. Carbon emissions are related to a country's right to survival and development. The traditional industrialization model will inevitably lead to a rapid increase in total carbon emissions, and the international community will repeatedly play games on carbon control goals such as per capita carbon emissions, cumulative carbon emissions, and total carbon emissions. Therefore, to handle the relationship between high-quality development and high-level protection well, it is necessary to maintain large-scale industrial production, reach carbon peak as early as possible, reduce stock, strive to achieve carbon neutrality, and ultimately find a way to solve the "efficiency paradox".
The goal of change is technological. The urgent task for carbon peaking is to reduce increment, which requires enhancing the technological content of traditional industries, adjusting energy structure, reducing fossil energy consumption, and increasing the proportion of renewable energy utilization. Solar photovoltaic power generation is the most ideal new energy source, and data shows that the cost of photovoltaic power generation in China has been reduced to within 0.3 yuan/KWh. China's photovoltaic industry has a global leading manufacturing capacity and a complete industrial chain. In terms of new energy storage that is matched with green energy, the growth of installed capacity is accelerating, and the trend of diversified technological development is obvious.
Ecological transformation goals. The fundamental goal of carbon neutrality is to enhance the carbon sequestration capacity of ecosystems. The maturity and cost reduction of digital technology have led to the emergence of plant factories that can precisely control water, gas, fertilizer, temperature, and light. A plant factory is an efficient agricultural system that uses digital technology and remote terminals to achieve high-precision environmental control and promote continuous crop production. It automatically controls the temperature, humidity, light, carbon dioxide concentration, and nutrient solution of plant growth, making the growth and development of plants in the facility unrestricted by natural conditions, and achieving rapid ecological carbon sequestration, greatly improving carbon sequestration efficiency. Our country's plant factory technology is mature and reliable, and has completed the space cultivation experiment of the entire life cycle of rice from seed to seed for the first time internationally.
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