Shenzhen Business Daily · Reading Client reporter in Guangzhou Yao Jiali correspondent Zhang Jiaying Wu Yuqi Zhu Zhenjie
On July 26, the "International Day for the Protection of Mangrove Ecosystems", the 10-year mangrove carbon sink development right in Huidong was successfully traded on the Guangdong Environmental Rights Exchange, and was won by Guangdong Energy Group Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction Co., Ltd. for more than 4 million yuan, and the mangroves involved in the transaction are expected to fix a total of about 43,600 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in 10 years. This transaction set a record for the largest and highest amount of mangrove carbon sink trading in China, and also created a precedent for the trading of mangrove carbon sink development rights in China.
Under the witness of the leaders of the Department of Natural Resources of Guangdong Province, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of Guangdong Province, the Bureau of Natural Resources of Huizhou City, Huidong County, Guangdong Energy Group Co., Ltd., Guangdong Exchange Holding Group Co., Ltd. and other units, the People's Government of Huidong County and Guangdong Energy Group Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction Co., Ltd. successfully signed a contract. (Photo/Luo Shilan)
This is also a vivid practice of Guangdong's exploration of mangrove forests into "golden forests". In recent years, Guangdong has actively and orderly promoted the restoration of mangrove forests and the exploration of ways to realize the value of mangrove ecological products.
With the technical support of the Guangdong Provincial Marine Development Planning and Research Center, Huidong County has carried out a pilot project of mangrove carbon sequestration development rights trading, and realized mangrove carbon sequestration assets in advance through market-oriented and efficient allocation, so as to improve the efficiency of mangrove carbon sequestration resource utilization and value realization.
The subscription was carried out in the form of mangrove carbon sequestration development rights, which innovated the mangrove carbon sequestration trading and ecological product value realization model. The right to develop mangrove carbon sequestration refers to the right to develop mangrove carbon sequestration resources within a clear geographical area and within an agreed period of time in the sea area or land ownership and obtain mangrove carbon sequestration benefits.
Huidong County is the county with the most outstanding results in mangrove restoration in Guangdong Province in recent years, and it is also the county that has won the first batch of national and provincial afforestation incentives for new construction land plan indicators. This time, Huidong County takes the construction of a 10,000-mu mangrove demonstration area as the starting point, excavates the mangrove carbon sink resources in the county, actively realizes the value of mangrove ecological products, and takes the lead in exploring the trading of mangrove carbon sink development rights, which is an important measure for Huidong County to implement the "Millions and Millions" project in depth.
The mangrove afforestation project involved in the transaction is located in the Kaozhouyang, Fanhegang and Pinghai Inner Harbor areas of Huidong County, with a total afforestation area of 204.85 hectares and a concession period from August 1, 2022 to July 31, 2032. According to the carbon sink potential accounting report issued by the Guangdong Provincial Marine Development Planning and Research Center and demonstrated by experts, the total emission reduction of afforestation projects during the 10-year transfer period is 43,600 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. The proceeds from the transaction will be used for the restoration and management of mangroves in the afforestation area of Huidong County.
Photo of the restoration of mangrove forests in Huidong County
The person in charge of Guangdong Energy Group Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction Co., Ltd. said that as the first state-owned energy conservation and carbon reduction operation entity in Guangdong Province, Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction Company actively implements the national "double carbon" strategy and the specific deployment of the provincial party committee's "1310", focuses on the "123 high-quality development strategy" of Guangdong Energy Group, resolutely shoulders the political and social responsibilities of energy conservation and carbon reduction, actively develops the business in the two major fields of energy conservation and "double carbon", and is committed to developing into a leading energy conservation and carbon reduction leading enterprise in Guangdong Province. It has made positive contributions to the development of energy-saving and carbon-reduction industries in various industries and fields in the province into a chain and on a large scale. Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction Co., Ltd. is very honored and proud to participate in this pilot project of mangrove carbon sequestration development rights, and will continue to fulfill its corporate responsibilities and missions in the future, help the ecological construction of Lumei Guangdong, serve the green, low-carbon and high-quality development of Guangdong, and fully promote the implementation of the "Millions and Millions" project. He said that the successful signing of the transaction is the result of the joint efforts of many parties, and he believes that the mangrove carbon sink trading platform built by the government will attract more and more enterprises to deeply participate in the protection of mangroves.
In this regard, the relevant person in charge of the Department of Natural Resources of Guangdong Province also said that the transaction has important pilot significance, promoting the realization of the value of mangrove ecological products in a market-oriented way, not only accurately connecting the supply and demand of ecological products, but also realizing the two-way "value-added feeding" of ecological protection and carbon sink economy, contributing to a virtuous cycle of economic development and ecological protection, and playing an important demonstration role in introducing social capital to participate in mangrove protection and restoration.
According to the technical staff of the Guangdong Provincial Marine Development Planning and Research Center, in January this year, the long-awaited national voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction trading (CCER) was officially restarted, and in November 2023, the first batch of methodologies including the "Greenhouse Gas Voluntary Emission Reduction Project Methodology Mangrove Construction" was released, which is used in this emission reduction accounting. The winning target of this auction can be developed through CCER and other mechanisms in a timely manner according to market conditions, and used to offset the company's own carbon emissions.
In the next step, Guangdong will continue to give full play to the background advantages of marine resources, focus on the protection, restoration and sustainable utilization of mangroves, continue to promote the realization of the value of mangrove ecological products, strive to broaden the transformation channels of "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets", vigorously promote green and high-quality development, and create a model of beautiful China in Guangdong.
Image source: Courtesy of the correspondent