ZHIKUYAOLAN
Editor's note
The meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee held on April 30 pointed out that it is necessary to solidly promote green and low-carbon development. Recently, some domestic research institutions have released the progress of the mainland in carbon peak and carbon neutrality, as well as the development of related industries. There are also international organizations that have published research on global emissions reductions. In the face of global ecological and environmental challenges, the international community should strengthen cooperation and work together to safeguard the sustainable development of the earth's homeland.
There is great potential for global space for emission reduction and climate cooperation
Reading tip: Recently, a number of institutions have published research on global emissions reduction trends. The World Bank report notes that there is a huge opportunity for global agrifood systems. Changing the way agriculture and food is produced could reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by one-third. The IEA's research argues that batteries can be combined with renewable energy sources to become a competitive, safe, reliable and sustainable alternative technology compared to using fossil fuels to generate electricity. In the face of global ecological and environmental challenges, no country is immune. The research by the Xi Jinping Research Center for Ecological Civilization Thought, the National Energy Conservation Center, the Xinhua News Agency Research Institute, and the Institute of Science and Technology Strategy Consulting of the Chinese Academy of Sciences summarized the achievements and achievements of China-EU environmental and climate cooperation, and provided an outlook for China-EU environmental and climate cooperation.
World Bank:
Changing the way agriculture and food is produced
It could reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by one-third
Affordable, ready-made actions to make food more secure and climate-resilient will reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by nearly one-third and continue to feed a growing population, according to the World Bank's May 8 report, Secrets for a Liveable Planet: Achieving Net Zero Emissions from Agrifood Systems.
The report acknowledges that countries will achieve their climate goals in different ways and proposes a menu of solutions to choose from.
High-income countries can take the lead by providing more support to low- and middle-income countries to adopt low-emission agricultural production methods and technologies.
Middle-income countries have a vital role to play in curbing three-quarters of global agrifood system emissions by adopting greener practices, such as reducing emissions from livestock and rice production, investing in improved soil health, reducing food loss and waste, and improving land use efficiency.
Low-income countries can chart a different path forward – avoiding the mistakes of rich countries and seizing the opportunities of climate-smart development to build greener, more competitive economies.
All countries should take action to reduce emissions from food systems through an integrated approach, including net zero emissions across fertilizer and energy, crop and livestock production, and packaging and distribution along the entire value chain, from farm to fork.
The report finds that the returns on investment in reducing emissions from agrifood systems far outweigh the costs. To meet the goals of halving agrifood system emissions by 2030 and reaching net-zero emissions by 2050, annual investment needs to increase to US$260 billion per year. Currently, twice as much is spent annually on various agricultural subsidies, many of which are damaging to the environment.
More than $4 trillion will be reaped by these investments, including improving human health, food and nutrition security, providing better jobs and profits for farmers, and sequestering more carbon in forests and soils.
International Energy Agency:
Batteries are critical to achieving global climate and energy goals
On April 25, the International Energy Agency (IEA) released the Transition to Battery and Energy Security (hereinafter referred to as the "Report"). This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the entire battery technology ecosystem.
The deployment of batteries in the power sector more than doubled year-on-year in 2023, outpacing almost all other clean energy technologies, thanks to cost reductions, innovation and supportive industrial policies. Battery technology is critical to meeting climate and energy goals.
The report argues that batteries can be combined with renewable energy sources to become a competitive, safe, and sustainable alternative to fossil fuel power generation, while also driving the decarbonization of road transport by powering electric vehicles.
In less than 15 years, battery costs have fallen by more than 90 percent, according to the report. The most common type of battery is lithium-ion batteries, which are often associated with consumer electronics. Today, demand from the energy industry accounts for more than ninety percent of total battery demand. Last year, battery deployments in the power sector increased by more than 130% year-on-year, adding 42 gigawatts of power to the global power system. In the transportation sector, battery technology has driven EV sales to soar from 3 million units in 2020 to nearly 14 million units last year, with further strong growth expected in the coming years.
The report predicts that battery deployments will need to scale up significantly between now and 2030 to put the world on track to meet energy and climate goals. In this scenario, by 2030, the world's total energy storage capacity will increase sixfold, and 90% of this increase will come from battery energy storage capacity.
The report highlights the versatility of battery energy storage. As part of the clean energy transition, batteries can cost-effectively support power security; In the power sector, batteries help eliminate the volatility of renewable electricity generated by technologies such as wind and solar. In addition, battery energy storage can alleviate grid congestion during peak power supply periods, providing an outlet for capturing and storing excess renewable electricity.
Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization Research Center and other institutions:
There are broad prospects for EU-China cooperation on environment and climate
On May 3, the Xi Jinping Research Center for Ecological Civilization Thought, the National Energy Conservation Center, the Xinhua News Agency Research Institute, and the Institute of Science and Technology Strategy Consulting of the Chinese Academy of Sciences jointly released the "China-EU Environment and Climate Cooperation: Progress and Prospects" (hereinafter referred to as the "Report").
According to the report, in the face of ecological and environmental challenges, China and the EU, as the largest developing country and the largest consortium of developed countries, must shoulder their responsibilities, carry out environmental and climate cooperation, and work together to safeguard the sustainable development of the earth's homeland. Based on a comprehensive review of the history of China-EU environmental and climate cooperation, the report summarizes the achievements and effectiveness of China-EU environmental and climate cooperation, and provides an outlook for China-EU environmental and climate cooperation.
According to the report, China-EU environmental and climate cooperation has become a new highlight, a new pillar and a new engine for the China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership and China-EU cooperation. China and the EU share common ideas and broad consensus on promoting green and low-carbon development, and the cooperation foundation is solid, and the two sides are highly complementary in the field of environment and climate, and have broad prospects for cooperation. China-EU environmental and climate cooperation not only serves the interests of both sides, but also highlights its strategic and global significance in the context of the intensifying global climate crisis and the world economic downturn.
According to the report, green is the most distinctive background color of China-EU cooperation. China-EU environmental and climate cooperation is a model of bilateral green cooperation, which not only enriches and develops the China-EU comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, but also directly promotes environmental governance, trade and investment between China and the EU, and benefits the whole world.
Looking ahead, the report said, China-EU environmental and climate cooperation has broad prospects and is full of opportunities. China and the EU should work together to promote more in-depth and pragmatic cooperation, further strengthen the synergy between environmental and climate policies through high-level dialogues and cooperation mechanisms, establish a long-term cooperation framework, and promote global environmental governance and climate action.
The report recommends further strengthening the China-EU green partnership, strengthening cooperation mechanisms, innovating cooperation models, broadening the scope of cooperation, enriching cooperation forms, and working together to build a shared future for all life on earth, so as to contribute to building a clean and beautiful world.
China has taken multiple measures to accelerate the process of decarbonization
Reading tip: China's path to decarbonization has attracted the attention of many think tanks. New energy storage will become an important part of the new power system. According to the research of China Electric Power Research Institute, the ecology of the mainland energy storage industry has been initially formed, and the family of new energy storage technologies has been growing, and the trend of diversified development is obvious. According to the research of the National Association of Financial Market Institutional Investors of China, with the emergence of diversified investment tools such as green funds, green wealth management and green insurance, the investment market ecosystem of environmental protection, social responsibility and corporate governance (ESG) with Chinese characteristics is rapidly being cultivated. Tsinghua University used the location of truck operations (all areas in transit) as the dimension of carbon emission estimation and statistics, and conducted a study and analysis of the carbon emission trend of heavy-duty trucks.
China Electric Power Research Institute:
China's new energy storage diversification is booming
According to the "Research Report on New Energy Storage Technology and Application (2023)" (hereinafter referred to as the "Report") released by China Electric Power Research Institute on April 30. At this stage, the diversification of new energy storage is booming, and opportunities and challenges coexist.
The report shows that the ecology of the energy storage industry in mainland China has been initially formed, and the family of new energy storage technologies is growing, and the trend of diversified development is obvious. Among them, lithium-ion battery technology is at the international leading level, with the highest degree of industrialization, and is in the stage of large-scale application; Technologies such as all-vanadium flow batteries, compressed air energy storage, and flywheel energy storage are at the international leading or follow-up level, and are in the transition stage from large-capacity demonstration applications to the early stage of commercialization. The sodium-ion battery energy storage technology is at the international leading level, and the technology as a whole is in the engineering demonstration stage.
There are various routes for new energy storage technologies, with different maturity and economy. The lithium-ion battery energy storage technology standard system and application management system are becoming more and more perfect, and the controllable and safe application is also gradually improving, and the electricity cost is expected to reach 0.15 yuan/kWh in 2030; Sodium-ion batteries are currently in the stage of small-scale demonstration application, and the LCOE is expected to be close to 0.10 yuan/kWh after large-scale application. Flow battery and compressed air energy storage is one of the options for large-capacity energy storage technology, which is in the demonstration application stage of 100 megawatt projects, and the cost of electricity is expected to be close to pumped storage around 2030, reaching 0.25 yuan/kWh to 0.3 yuan/kWh.
Continental has gradually built a new energy storage technology standard system to basically meet the large-scale application of new energy storage. In the future, it is necessary to further strengthen the formulation and implementation of technical standards and specifications for the whole energy storage industry chain, establish and improve the safety and quality management system for the whole life cycle of energy storage power stations, and establish and improve the new energy storage safety management and emergency response mechanism.
The new energy storage will become an important part of the new power system, and its main function is to "ensure safety, supply, and consumption", and the positioning of each stage is different. Strengthen the innovation of new energy storage technology, and promote the rapid, high-quality and safe development of new energy storage technology from basic theory, ontology manufacturing, system integration to engineering application.
National Association of Financial Market Institutional Investors (NAFMII):
The ESG investment market ecosystem with Chinese characteristics is rapidly being cultivated
As one of the five major articles on building a financial power, green finance carries the important mission of promoting high-quality economic development and can provide green momentum for new quality productivity. In 2023, a total of 472 green bonds will be issued in mainland China, with a total amount of 828.3 billion yuan, maintaining a leading position in the world and guiding the continuous flow of financial "living water" to green and low-carbon fields.
The National Association of Financial Market Institutional Investors (NAFMII) organized market members to review the development of the domestic and overseas green bond markets in 2023, and recently released the 2023 China Green Bond Market Development Report (hereinafter referred to as the "Report") to show the development trend of the green bond market in an all-round way.
According to the report, in 2023, many important international climate-related conferences will be held, and sustainable development has become a global consensus. In China, from the report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China to the Central Financial Work Conference, to a series of policies on green finance by relevant ministries and commissions, the "1+N" policy system for carbon peak and carbon neutrality has been basically established, and the top-level design of green finance has been continuously improved.
According to the data, the scale of global green bond issuance in 2023 will be about US$587.32 billion, reversing the downward trend in 2022.
At the same time, with the emergence of diversified investment tools such as green funds, green wealth management and green insurance, the environmental protection, social responsibility and corporate governance (ESG) investment market ecosystem with Chinese characteristics is rapidly being cultivated.
According to the report, innovative products at home and abroad continue to develop in depth, typical cases continue to emerge, and the application scenarios of green financial products continue to be enriched, empowering the green development of the real economy.
Tsinghua University and other institutions:
The rollout of clean energy vehicles will further reduce carbon emissions
Tsinghua University and CCCC Xinglu jointly released the "China Road Freight Big Data Carbon Emission Report" (hereinafter referred to as the "Report") in early May. The report found that the carbon emissions of heavy-duty trucks show the following four trends, including the promotion of clean energy vehicles will further reduce carbon emissions.
In the past three years, the carbon emissions of trucks have generally shown a trend of first increasing and then stabilizing. From 2018 to 2023, the annual carbon emissions of heavy trucks will generally show a trend of first rising and then stabilizing, with a total of about 133 million tons, 164 million tons, 196 million tons, 232 million tons, 215 million tons and 223 million tons respectively. From 2018 to 2021, the average annual growth rate of annual carbon emissions of heavy trucks was 20.5%, which was in the rapid growth range; This trend reversed in 2022, with carbon emissions from heavy-duty trucks declining before rebounding slightly in 2023.
Truck carbon emissions show strong seasonal variations. For example, most of the peak carbon emission periods occur in the second half of the year, especially around November, and various e-commerce festivals stimulate consumption growth while further driving the vitality of the freight industry; From January to February every year, due to the Lunar New Year, the country's production activities are at a low point, and the carbon emissions of trucks are also in a low state.
Truck carbon emissions are susceptible to factors such as regional industrial structure and policies. The analysis found that the trend of truck carbon emissions in each city is consistent with the overall national trend, but it is also closely related to the local industrial structure, environmental protection policies, and the new crown epidemic. On the whole, the change in the trend of domestic truck carbon emissions reflects the comprehensive impact of economic activities, policy regulation and external factors.
The implementation of China VI emission standards for automobiles and the promotion of clean energy vehicles will further reduce carbon emissions. For example, industrial concentration zones and important transportation hubs such as North China, the Bohai Rim region, the Yangtze River Delta region, the Pearl River Delta region and Chongqing Municipality have high emissions. With the implementation of China VI emission standards for automobiles and the promotion and application of new energy vehicles, the growth of carbon emissions from trucks will be further controlled.
Chief Producer丨Wang Hui and Che Haigang
Producer丨Li Piguang, Wang Yu, Liu Weimin
Editor-in-Chief丨Mao Jinghui Editor丨Gu Yun