Salon Introduction
June 5th is World Environment Day 2023, and the fourth edition of the China Energy Modeling Forum (CEMF) Salon focuses on "Multilevel Pollution Reduction and Carbon Emission Reduction: Exploring Collaborative Innovation Pathways." The salon is hosted by Dr. Lei Yu, Director of the Atmospheric Sciences Institute and Director of the Carbon Peak and Carbon Neutrality Research Center at the Institute of Environmental Planning, Ministry of Ecology and Environment. The discussion panel includes Professor Teng Fei, Associate Director of the Institute of Energy, Environment, and Economy at Tsinghua University, Dr. Li Bing, Senior Engineer and Director of the Low Carbon Development Research Center at the Institute of Metallurgical Industry Planning, Deputy Director Zhou Yuanchi of the Ecological Environment Bureau of Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area, and Dr. Chen Dan, Deputy Director of the Climate Change and Energy Transition Program at Peking University's Institute of Energy Research. The following are the experts' insights and perspectives shared during the salon.
Group photo of experts
Live playback
What new changes have the synergistic effect of pollution reduction and carbon reduction bring to some management work of ecological environment protection?
Zhou Yuanchi, Deputy Director of the Ecological and Environmental Bureau of the
Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area, stated that China has relatively strict emission standards for traditional pollutants on a global scale. In recent years, with the rapid development of various new monitoring equipment and technologies such as online monitoring and mobile monitoring, the comprehensive supervision of polluting enterprises has become more accurate. As the efficiency of pollution control projects improves, achieving 99% or even zero emissions requires higher economic investment and approaches a hidden ceiling. Therefore, the concept of "pollution reduction and carbon mitigation" has brought a new perspective and direction to the environmental protection departments. By considering both pollutant emissions and carbon emissions, the management of pollutant emissions is extended from downstream to the entire process of industries and expands to various sectors of economic and social development, including industry, transportation, agriculture, construction, and daily life, opening up new horizons.
Zhou Yuanchi
Deputy Director, Bureau of Ecological Environment, TEDA
What is the overall impact of carbon reduction on the energy sector?
Teng Fei, Deputy Director of the Institute of Energy, Environment and Economy at
Tsinghua University, stated that in the past year, controlling environmental pollutants and greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide has become an important task for China. These emissions mainly originate from activities in the energy sector such as fossil fuel production, industrial processes, and transportation, and they exhibit a high degree of homogeneity and spatiotemporal consistency. From the perspective of emission control, there is synergy among these sources. Since the introduction of coordinated measures for pollution reduction and carbon mitigation, significant progress has been made in the development of clean energy in China. Non-fossil energy and natural gas, in particular, account for nearly 26% of energy consumption. In the power sector, non-fossil energy constitutes almost 50% of the total installed capacity. In the first quarter of this year, this proportion exceeded 50%. Non-fossil energy generation represents nearly one-third of the total electricity generation. In terms of incremental capacity, non-fossil energy accounts for approximately 80% of the country's total new installations, and in the first quarter of this year, the proportion approached 90%. In the industrial sector, energy consumption per unit of high-energy-consuming products continues to decline, making significant contributions to pollution reduction and carbon mitigation. The transportation sector is also noteworthy, with electric vehicle adoption reaching 20% of the passenger car market. When considering other types of new energy vehicles, the proportion reaches close to 26%.
Teng Fei,
Deputy Director of the Institute of Energy, Environment and Economy at Tsinghua University.
What new progress has been made in the steel industry since the implementation of synergistic effect plan this year?
Li Bing, Director of the Low Carbon Development Research Center at the Metallurgical Industry Planning and Research Institute, emphasizes the crucial role of the steel industry in the process of reducing pollution and carbon emissions. As a major source of carbon emissions, the steel industry not only contributes to a significant amount of carbon emissions and energy consumption but also generates a substantial amount of pollutant emissions. Therefore, the steel industry must play a leading role in energy conservation, carbon reduction, environmental protection, and pollution reduction.
In recent years, many steel companies have implemented energy-saving measures and actively developed and implemented low-carbon plans. Particularly, an increasing number of steel companies are adopting clean energy sources like solar power to reduce reliance on traditional energy sources. These efforts have made significant contributions to achieving decarbonization goals in the steel industry.
Furthermore, the application of hydrogen energy in the steel industry is showing a noticeable growth trend. Hydrogen metallurgy and hydrogen-powered heavy-duty trucks have become important applications in the steel industry. By adopting hydrogen metallurgy technology, steel companies can significantly reduce carbon emissions and achieve more environmentally friendly production processes. Additionally, the use of hydrogen-powered heavy-duty trucks can reduce exhaust emissions during transportation, further reducing environmental impact. Many steel companies have already begun innovative initiatives in the field of hydrogen energy and have achieved remarkable results.
The steel industry has undergone a series of reforms and innovations throughout the entire production chain, establishing a green manufacturing design system that encompasses the entire lifecycle. The goal is to achieve decarbonization and environmental protection through process optimization and resource utilization. Moreover, some companies have explored new models of pollution reduction and carbon reduction, such as steel-gel hydrogenation. These models have proven to be effective and serve as examples and references for other industries.
Steel companies actively respond to national and local government policies on pollution reduction and carbon reduction, increasing investment in the transformation of super-emitting sources. However, it is inevitable that the process of transforming super-emitting sources will lead to increased energy consumption. Therefore, companies not only need to consider compliance requirements but also pay attention to achieving the lowest energy consumption and costs during the transformation of super-emitting sources.
Li Bing
Director of Low Carbon Development Research Center at the Metallurgical Industry Planning and Research Institute, Senior Engineer
In terms of theory, what are the new contents of pollution reduction and carbon reduction in academia?
Li Bing from the Low Carbon Development Research Center at the Institute of
Metallurgical Industry Planning emphasized the crucial role of the steel industry in the process of pollution reduction and carbon mitigation. As a major emitter of carbon and pollutants, the steel industry carries significant emissions and energy consumption, making it imperative for the industry to take the lead in energy efficiency, carbon reduction, environmental protection, and pollution reduction. In recent years, many steel enterprises have implemented energy-saving measures and developed low-carbon plans. Particularly, there has been an increasing adoption of clean energy sources such as solar power to reduce reliance on conventional energy in the steel industry. These efforts have made significant contributions to achieving carbon reduction goals in the industry. Additionally, the application of hydrogen energy in the steel industry has shown a clear growth trend. Hydrogen metallurgy and hydrogen-powered heavy trucks have become important application scenarios in the industry. By adopting hydrogen metallurgy technology, steel enterprises can significantly reduce carbon emissions and achieve more environmentally friendly production processes. Moreover, the use of hydrogen-powered heavy trucks can reduce exhaust emissions during transportation, further minimizing environmental impacts. Many steel companies have been innovating in the field of hydrogen energy and have achieved remarkable results. The steel industry has also undergone a series of reforms and innovations throughout the entire production chain, establishing a green manufacturing design system that encompasses the entire lifecycle. The aim is to optimize production processes and resource utilization to achieve carbon reduction and environmental goals. Furthermore, some companies have explored new pollution reduction and carbon mitigation models such as steel-joint hydrogen. These models have proven effective in practice and serve as examples for other industries to learn from. Steel enterprises have actively responded to national and local government policies on pollution reduction and carbon mitigation, intensifying efforts in super-emission reduction transformations. However, it should be noted that the process of super-emission reduction may increase energy consumption. Therefore, during the super-emission reduction process, companies not only need to meet compliance requirements but also prioritize achieving the lowest energy consumption and cost.
Chen Dan is the Deputy Director of the Climate Change and Energy Transition Program
at Peking University's Energy Research Institute."
In the process of promoting coordinated and efficient reduction of pollution and carbon emissions,
Where are the biggest challenges likely to occur?
What are the key issues that require breakthroughs?
Teng Fei expressed concerns about the potential negative synergy or even conflicts
among different policies in the future. He emphasized the need for a more systematic collaboration in pollution reduction and carbon emission reduction, beyond just the coordination of policy effects. In the past, policies were often implemented independently, resulting in limited synergistic effects. For example, addressing scattered coal use can reduce pollutant emissions but may increase carbon dioxide emissions. Similar conflicts may arise in other areas, such as the electrification of transportation leading to increased electricity demand. If the increase in non-fossil energy sources cannot keep up with the growth in electricity consumption, further coal-fired power generation may be needed to compensate. To address these issues, it is essential to strengthen the coordination of pollution reduction and carbon emission reduction throughout the entire process, including goal-setting, policy design, route planning, and evaluation, in order to achieve progress in dual objectives. Continuing with fragmented approaches will limit the achievement of future environmental and greenhouse gas reduction targets.
Chen Dan believes that China needs to extend collaboration from being result-oriented
to the design of the entire system. In this process, numerous balancing issues need to be addressed. For example, the energy system needs to balance economic viability, security, and cleanliness. Additionally, different regions face different pressures in terms of energy transition and environmental goals. Western regions, in particular, face significant challenges as important coal bases, making it difficult to achieve low-carbon energy transitions and coordinate economic growth. They may also face constraints related to water resources. Overall, a comprehensive balance needs to be struck, and a systemic approach needs to be taken from a holistic perspective. It is worth noting that pollution reduction and carbon emission reduction should not be limited to traditional pollutants but should be considered within the larger ecological and environmental system. A more comprehensive perspective should be adopted, considering multiple constraint factors.
Zhou Yuanchi emphasized the importance of capacity building for management
departments, with "breakthrough" as a keyword. For grassroots management departments, achieving synergies and balancing various demands in the implementation process requires high work capacity and knowledge reserves. Under the guidance of pollution reduction and carbon emission reduction action plans, preliminary synergies have been achieved. However, specific pathway choices require extensive work in practical implementation. The complexity and technicality of the issues associated with pollution reduction and carbon emission reduction have surpassed the capacity and responsibilities of traditional ecological and environmental protection departments. The involvement of sectors such as energy, transportation, construction, and finance requires the coordination of various government departments to collectively break through in terms of regulations, responsibilities, technology, and infrastructure.
From the perspective of the steel industry, Li Bing mentioned the need to achieve
pollution reduction and carbon emission reduction through measures such as ultra-low emission transformation, promoting electric furnace steelmaking with short processes, optimizing raw material structure, and utilizing circular economy principles. Collaboration with other industries, such as the construction materials industry, is also important to enhance low-carbon metallurgical technologies and achieve synergistic effects. However, the challenge lies in implementing these pathways with high quality, while ensuring economic viability, stability, and data transparency. Especially during an economic downturn in the steel industry, enhancing competitiveness becomes a significant challenge. This requires designing incentive mechanisms that allow companies to reduce carbon emissions while showcasing their brand value and maintaining competitiveness.
Challenges in Pollution Reduction and Carbon Emission Reduction under Economic
Recovery and New International Circumstances?
Teng Fei proposes that alongside pollution reduction and carbon mitigation,
considerations of safety and development are also necessary. Safety goals encompass energy, food, industrial chain, supply chain, and financial security, among others, and pollution reduction and carbon mitigation can contribute to these safety objectives. Time scale is also crucial, as China needs to undergo rapid transformation within a short period compared to developed countries. However, fast-paced transformation can bring about other challenges, thus requiring fair considerations for affected industries, enterprises, and regions. Just and equitable transition is a critical issue at present.
Chen Dan believes that in the current dynamic energy landscape and climate
governance environment, various factors may influence the choices for China's pollution reduction and carbon mitigation pathway. However, overall, there are more opportunities than challenges. China needs to think about how to respond to and change the current landscape, and self-reliance is the ultimate goal of all paths. In the long term, China needs to be competitive in international competition, particularly in resource utilization and the green energy industry. It should seize favorable opportunities to promote progress in pollution reduction and carbon mitigation. Even under the pressure of legislation and policies in Europe and the United States, China can leverage the large-scale application of renewable energy to gain cost advantages. In the international discourse system where the value of carbon is increasing, China can establish its own international discourse power.
Li Bing stated that the steel industry faces a different competitive environment
compared to the power generation industry, with policies like the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) potentially leading to carbon trade frictions. However, it is precisely in such challenging competitive environments that the steel industry will be more proactive in promoting green and low-carbon transformation to enhance international competitiveness. Taking conscious action against climate change is essential, which requires strengthening rule-making, international certification, and telling a compelling story about China's steel industry. This can be achieved through achieving ultimate energy efficiency to save energy, reduce consumption, and lower costs, while also transitioning towards high-quality production through product structure adjustments.
Zhou Yuanchi shared the experiences and insights from Tianjin Economic-Technological
Development Area (TEDA). He emphasized that TEDA has been closely focused on the challenges faced by enterprises in carbon emission reduction and has prioritized synergistic and efficient approaches to support their economic growth. Green and low-carbon development, as well as climate change, present opportunities for cooperation between China and the United States and are crucial aspects of showcasing China's role as a major global player. As mentioned by Li Bing, China should tell a compelling green story, particularly at the national-level economic development zones, which bear the responsibility of demonstrating China's level of green economic development.
What is the pathway for synergistic effect of pollution reduction and carbon reduction?
Teng Fei proposed three considerations. Firstly, from an energy perspective, it is
necessary to transform the multi-objective problem into a single-objective problem and design pollution reduction and carbon mitigation pathways through cost-benefit analysis. Secondly, while in the past there has been a reliance on end-of-pipe treatment to reduce pollution, the future requires a combination of upstream energy conservation, energy transformation, and stricter end-of-pipe treatment measures. This entails strengthening end-terminal electrification, low-carbonization, and adopting alternative fuels for emission reduction. Simultaneously, achieving energy transformation goals requires behavioral changes and improvements in material efficiency to reduce end-terminal demand. Thirdly, in addition to focusing on carbon dioxide, future carbon neutrality goals should include other greenhouse gases such as methane. Reducing emissions of these greenhouse gases not only contributes to the synergistic goals but also buys more time and space for carbon dioxide reduction and energy transformation.
Chen Dan believes that the atmospheric environment is a complex system that
requires the use of systematic methodologies to study it. It is important to provide a comprehensive toolkit from the perspectives of policy and practice to optimize pollution reduction and carbon mitigation. In terms of regional considerations, it is necessary to not only focus on key areas in the eastern region but also identify suitable pollution reduction and carbon mitigation paths for the western region, energy-intensive areas, energy-exporting areas, and resource-depleted cities. Coordinated solutions should be designed to harmonize pollution reduction pathways with economic development, leading to replicable and scalable experiences. Additionally, cost issues can be addressed through policy measures such as internalizing the cost of carbon dioxide or utilizing low-cost renewable energy sources.
Li Bing proposed that China needs to introduce an integrated policy for pollution
reduction and carbon mitigation, involving comprehensive planning and collaborative cooperation across various industries. In industrial sectors such as steel, it is necessary to build an ecological circle for the entire industry chain and establish unified pricing and assessment mechanisms. Pollution reduction and carbon mitigation work requires comprehensive consideration of industry development, energy support, and the synergistic effect of upstream and downstream industries. By ranking the synergistic potential of enterprise technologies for pollution reduction and carbon mitigation, quantifiable evaluation methods can be developed to facilitate inventory formulation and effective implementation. For different categories of enterprises, such as leading enterprises, distinctive enterprises, and homogeneous enterprises, corresponding measures for constructing industry chains and reducing costs while increasing efficiency should be adopted.
Zhou Yuanchi responded to the question from a grassroots perspective. He emphasized
that the capacity building for carbon emission verification in enterprises is still in its early stages. In terms of the legal and regulatory framework, there is a need to further improve the management framework, especially in the management of carbon emissions. The industry has diverse demands in terms of technology selection and economic considerations, and it requires collaborative cooperation with the scientific research community to assess the feasibility and promotion potential of technologies. The financial sector also needs to deepen its understanding of pollution reduction and carbon mitigation, considering the actual effects of pollution reduction and carbon mitigation rather than solely relying on traditional industry classifications to evaluate green projects. In summary, from policy support to data accounting, from technology assessment to financial support, the mobilization of various forces is necessary to ensure a smooth and unimpeded path for pollution reduction and carbon mitigation, and to successfully achieve the goal of collaborative emissions reduction.
Video replay of the live session is available by scanning the QR code provided
China Energy Modeling Forum (CEMF)
The China Energy Modeling Forum (CEMF) is jointly initiated and established by the School of Public Administration and the Center for Industrial Development and Environmental Governance (CIDEG) at Tsinghua University, and EDF. It aims to provide an interactive platform for domestic and international modeling teams and decision-makers, promote dialogue in the fields of energy, economy, environment, human health, and climate change, and enhance the capacity building of energy and environmental modeling in China. The forum aims to elevate the scientific level of energy and environmental decision-making in China
