Promoting energy conservation and carbon reduction based on local conditions is a key requirement for advancing carbon peak and carbon neutrality. A recent State Council executive meeting emphasized the need to carry out this work at a higher level and with better quality, coordinating efforts, anchoring overall goals, and adapting measures to local conditions to promote green transformation amid economic development and achieve better development within green transformation.
Energy conservation and carbon reduction are crucial for achieving carbon peak and carbon neutrality. Currently, China’s work in this area has entered a new stage of systematic promotion and key breakthroughs. Since the 14th Five-Year Plan period, under the systematic deployment of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, significant results have been achieved, with an average annual energy consumption growth of 3.3% supporting an average economic growth of 6.1%. More encouragingly, the green industry has become a new driver of economic growth. China has built the world’s largest and most complete new energy industry chain, providing 80% of global photovoltaic modules and 70% of wind power equipment, contributing to the global energy transition.
Despite these achievements, challenges remain. Different regions in China have varying development stages, economic structures, and resource endowments, which means that a one-size-fits-all approach to energy conservation and carbon reduction is not feasible. It is essential to adhere to the principle of adapting to local conditions, anchor overall goals, combine specific realities, and implement precise policies to address development challenges.
Targeted efforts should be based on local industrial endowments. Both incremental and existing resources should be emphasized to promote green industrial transformation. On one hand, vigorously develop green and low-carbon industries to make them new growth points. For example, regions with abundant wind resources can develop industries such as wind power equipment manufacturing, power generation, transmission, and storage. On the other hand, eliminate outdated and inefficient production capacity, and deepen energy conservation and carbon reduction transformations in key industries, especially those with high carbon emissions and energy consumption. Since the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the proportion of energy-efficient benchmark production capacity in industries like steel, cement, oil refining, and ethylene has increased by an average of 6 percentage points. Additionally, a combination of policies, including investment, pricing, fiscal, tax, and financial measures, should be improved to continuously strengthen the energy conservation system.
Precise policies should focus on key areas. For instance, during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, electricity consumption for computing infrastructure has grown nearly 20% annually, exceeding 250 billion kilowatt-hours, making it a rapidly growing key energy-consuming area. To address this, it is necessary to strengthen the control of new projects from the source, enhance the review and evaluation of energy conservation and carbon reduction for new projects, and improve the green and low-carbon level of computing infrastructure from the start. Additionally, increase the renovation of existing facilities, optimize the structure of computing infrastructure, and strengthen the recovery and utilization of waste heat resources to ensure full recovery and maximum use.
Market mechanisms should be utilized to encourage participation from all sectors. Energy conservation and carbon reduction are not a solo performance but a collective effort of the entire society. The internal driving force for promoting green and low-carbon development still needs to be strengthened, and the potential for market-driven transformation has not been fully released. Further optimize the market allocation mechanisms for green factors such as carbon emission rights, energy use rights, water use rights, and pollution discharge rights, and bring more industries under quota management. Use market forces to force the orderly exit of high-energy-consumption and high-emission production capacity, creating a more dynamic institutional environment for green technology innovation and industrial upgrading.
Energy conservation and carbon reduction are a long-term battle that cannot be achieved overnight. Only by adapting to local conditions and promoting measures based on specific realities can we coordinate the national strategy and take local initiatives, deepening and solidifying the work of energy conservation and carbon reduction.
