Li Junfeng, director of the Academic Committee of the National Center for Climate Change Strategy Research and International Cooperation: To achieve carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, we must reduce the proportion of coal and the total consumption

Per reporter: Li Keyu Per editor: Chen Xing

At present, low-carbon sustainable development has become a global consensus. The establishment of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals has ushered in a new era of low-carbon development in China's economy. What is our path to carbon peaking and carbon neutrality?

On June 27, in the live broadcast of the "Tsinghua Wudaokou Online Lecture Hall" launched by the Wudaokou School of Finance of Tsinghua University and the Daily Economic News, Li Junfeng, director of the Academic Committee of the National Center for Climate Change Strategy Research and International Cooperation, pointed out that in order to achieve carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, it is necessary to reduce the proportion of coal and the total consumption.

<h2>Carbon peaking and carbon neutrality are important driving forces for China's energy transition</h2>

Li Junfeng pointed out that for a long time, coal has played a pivotal role in the history of human development, and coal has played a very important role in the process of human industrialization. However, in order to control air pollution and achieve carbon neutrality, coal reduction is the trend of the times.

From a historical point of view, in the last century, some of the world's major industrial cities have serious soot pollution, some developed countries have introduced relevant regulations on clean atmosphere, human beings began to restrict the use of coal, so the proportion of coal in the global energy structure ushered in the first decline, the proportion of global coal fell from about 70% to about 30% in the 1970s.

Li Junfeng also introduced that after the adoption of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1992, the second round of coal reduction began worldwide. As of 2019, the share of coal in the energy mix of most countries in the world has dropped from 30% in the 1970s to less than 20%, of which the proportion of coal in the United States and the United Kingdom has dropped to about 10% and 3% respectively. Numerous studies, such as the World Energy Forum, believe that in order to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality, the proportion of coal should be basically cleared in 2050.

For China, carbon peaking and carbon neutrality are an important driving force for China's energy transformation, and also an important opportunity for China's energy transformation, and its path should start from how to solve the problems of energy bias, structural weight and low efficiency.

<h2>It is necessary to form an institutional guarantee to promote the low-carbon transformation of energy</h2>

For China, how much coal needs to be cut in order to achieve carbon peaking and carbon neutrality?

In this regard, Li Junfeng said that in order to implement the goal of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, China has made it clear that it will strictly control coal and coal power, strictly control the growth of coal consumption during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, and gradually reduce it during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period. How much coal is retained in the energy consumption structure depends first and foremost on the overall requirements for carbon neutrality, the total amount of forest carbon sinks and CCS (carbon capture and storage), but also on the transition to development and the transition of the energy system.

To achieve the goal of coal reduction, how should China exert its strength?

In this regard, Li Junfeng pointed out that in the future, it is necessary to gradually reduce the direct combustion of loose coal and industrial kilns, boilers and other coal, followed by controlling the development rhythm of coal power, slowing down, stopping, and reducing, leaving room for the development of non-fossil energy.

At the same time, it is necessary to form an institutional guarantee to promote the low-carbon transformation of energy. Specifically, it is necessary to deepen the reform of the power system, adapt to the requirements of building a power system with new energy as the main body, pay close attention to the formulation of regulations in the energy field, escort the construction of a clean, low-carbon, safe and efficient energy system, and establish a policy guarantee system for the fair withdrawal of coal.

Li Junfeng also stressed that in the traditional concept, we believe that China's energy structure is "rich in coal, poor in oil and gas", but if we consider the factors of renewable energy, in fact, China's renewable energy distribution conditions are much better than in Europe, if we develop renewable energy well, especially in technological innovation, our performance in carbon peaking and carbon neutrality is not necessarily worse than that in Europe.

Li Junfeng also stressed that coal reduction cannot be achieved overnight, it is necessary for all walks of life to gather consensus and work together, and the coal and coal power industry must have a historical responsibility, and while continuously reducing coal consumption, it will assume the heavy responsibility of ensuring energy security. While the new energy industry continues to grow itself, it must have an inclusive understanding of the problems and difficulties in coal transformation, and support the fair transformation of the coal industry. In the process of energy transformation, we will ensure energy security and economic security and achieve a smooth transition。

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