Economic Daily Jin Guanping: Carbon peak is both a constraint and an opportunity

Recently, the State Council issued the "15th Five Year Plan for Carbon Peak Action", which clarifies the roadmap and construction schedule for the decisive stage of carbon peak. The Action Plan proposes to integrate the green and low-carbon orientation into various fields and links of the national economic cycle, accelerate the formation of green production and lifestyle, and cultivate more green economic growth points. This sends a clear signal: carbon peaking is not a "tight spell" that restricts development, but a "catalyst" that promotes high-quality development. Behind the rigid constraints lies enormous development opportunities.

Realizing carbon peak and carbon neutrality is a major strategic decision made by the Party Central Committee. Striving to peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 means that China, as the world's largest developing country, will achieve the world's largest reduction in carbon emission intensity.

Change breeds new opportunities, and transformation contains dividends. To dialectically grasp the internal logic of carbon peak work, rigid constraints are the external yardstick for calibrating development direction, and green transformation will bring incremental dividends to industries, technology, and markets. A comprehensive and profound green transformation will reshape China's economic development structure and unleash new growth momentum.

The peak of carbon emissions is forcing traditional industries to upgrade and revitalize the existing economy. Traditional high energy consuming industries are the main battlefield for carbon reduction and industrial upgrading. Under the guidance of the carbon peak target, traditional industries are accelerating their transformation towards green, intelligent, and high-end. At the same time, major projects for energy conservation and carbon reduction in key industries have been deeply implemented, and the "two highs" projects have been effectively controlled. The elimination of outdated and inefficient production capacity is accelerating, and a large number of existing renovation projects will continue to release engineering, equipment, and operation and maintenance needs.

Carbon peak opens up a green emerging industry track and expands the incremental economy. Green and low-carbon has become a global trend of industrial transformation, with industries such as photovoltaics, wind power, energy storage, pumped storage, smart grids, and green hydrogen production developing at a much faster pace than expected. According to estimates, the current scale of China's green and low-carbon industry is about 11 trillion yuan, and it is expected to double or even achieve greater growth in the next five years. The outline of the 15th Five Year Plan proposes to build around 100 national level zero carbon parks. This will bring huge development space for green and low-carbon industries.

Carbon peak drives green technology research and solidifies the foundation of innovation. The achievement of carbon peak depends on technological innovation driven, and technological progress can effectively reduce the green premium and promote transformation with steady progress. Objectively speaking, compared with the international advanced level, the overall development of green and low-carbon technology in China is still in a state of "following the trend". Promoting carbon peak will help accelerate the popularization and application of advanced and mature green and low-carbon technologies, advance the research and development deployment of cutting-edge green and low-carbon technologies, strengthen the key technology research and development, engineering demonstration, and achievement transformation of low-carbon, zero carbon, and negative carbon, and consolidate the foundation of scientific and technological self-reliance and self-improvement.

Carbon peak reshapes the international competitive landscape and expands open space. The new growth path characterized by low-carbon development has become an important direction for the development of the world economy, and low-carbon advanced technologies, industrial systems, and governance capabilities have become one of the core competitiveness of economic development in various countries. Actively and steadily promoting carbon peak, actively benchmarking international green standards, and participating in the formulation of global climate rules can help foreign trade entities break through trade restrictions such as green tariffs and carbon barriers, comprehensively enhance the green added value and international competitiveness of "Made in China", and enable China to seize development opportunities and take the initiative in the global low-carbon transformation wave.

Realizing carbon peak is not a single task of ecological environment governance, but a broad and profound systemic change in the economy and society. The 15th Five Year Plan is a critical period for accelerating the comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development, as well as a decisive period for achieving the goal of peaking carbon emissions. We need to deeply understand the requirements of the Action Plan, seize opportunities for green development, promote transformation through carbon reduction, cultivate momentum through transformation, and improve quality and efficiency through momentum. We should integrate the green and low-carbon orientation into various fields and links of the national economic cycle, accelerate the formation of green production and lifestyle, and continuously expand new spaces for high-quality development.