To address the challenges of climate change and solve the climate crisis, General Secretary Xi Jinping proposed at the 75th United Nations General Assembly the commitment that "China will strive to peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060." This commitment not only sets a timeline and clear requirements for China's energy development but will also bring about a major transformation in the economy, society, and environment, profoundly changing the lives of every ordinary person.
Wind energy, solar energy, and others will take the lead in electricity generation.
For a century, to obtain energy such as electricity and heat, humans have long been accustomed to burning fossil fuels mainly coal and oil. However, the carbon dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse gases they produce are the main causes of climate change and global warming. Therefore, the goal of carbon neutrality first points to an energy revolution.
"Our existing energy can be divided into three major categories: coal, oil, and natural gas are fossil fuels; hydropower, wind power, solar energy, geothermal energy, and biomass energy are renewable energies; in addition, nuclear energy is also a type of new energy." Liu Zhongmin, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, introduced that in recent years, energy decarbonization and zero-carbonization have become international trends, and the goal of carbon neutrality will directly promote the construction of a new energy system in China and the transformation and upgrading of related industries.
"There is now a view that since there are still 10 years until the carbon peak, our carbon emissions can still surge to a peak. However, carbon peaking is not about surging to a peak but is a foundational step toward carbon neutrality; these two goals essentially represent a low-carbon transition. China will shift from fossil fuel dominance to non-fossil fuel dominance, marking another profound energy revolution." said Du Xiangwan, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. He pointed out that we must re-recognize China's energy resource endowment. While fossil fuels are "rich in coal, deficient in oil, and scarce in gas," abundant non-fossil energy resources must be regarded as an important part of China's energy resource endowment. According to carbon neutrality target calculations, by 2030, non-fossil energy should account for 25% of total energy demand, which will promote the gradual establishment of a low-carbon energy system dominated by non-fossil energy in China, and the power industry long dominated by thermal power will gradually reduce emissions.
"Over the past 10 years, the production costs of new energy power such as photovoltaics and wind power in China have been continuously decreasing. China will have a new energy power system dominated by non-fossil energy power, which also requires a series of revolutionary changes in the power system's structure, mechanisms, and management operations." said Du Xiangwan.
Transportation, buildings, and homes will all shift toward electrification.
Compared with directly burning fossil fuels, non-fossil energy power is undoubtedly a clean energy that produces no carbon emissions. Regarding the "big emitters" of carbon emissions — industry, Du Xiangwan pointed out that the carbon neutrality goal will promote the electrification of China's industry. Boilers in light industry and blast furnaces in heavy industries such as steel will gradually be replaced by electric furnaces. Various regions will also suppress the impulse to develop high-energy-consuming industries, with energy saving and efficiency becoming key words for industrial development.
The same applies to transportation. In recent years, new energy vehicles have developed rapidly in China. With the establishment of the carbon neutrality goal, the promotion of new energy vehicles will only accelerate. "Emission reduction in the transportation sector depends on green travel. We will gradually build a decarbonized transportation energy system for a beautiful China," said Du Xiangwan.
To achieve carbon reduction, buildings must also follow suit. Professor Jiang Yi from Tsinghua University introduced that in the future, residential and office buildings across regions must achieve electrification in construction and operation. Photovoltaic equipment will be installed on the surfaces of various buildings as much as possible to generate solar power, distributed energy storage will be used within buildings, and surrounding parking lots will connect with new energy vehicles through intelligent charging piles. Buildings will be equipped with direct current distribution and achieve flexible electricity use. For the large carbon emissions caused by centralized heating in northern China during winter, electrification replacement will be gradually realized through technological exploration to achieve zero-carbon heat sources for winter heating.
"Electrification is key to building emission reduction." said Du Xiangwan. In the future, heating, cooling, lighting, cooking, and home appliances will all shift to electrification, which will foster more energy-saving and emission-reducing smart homes and even enable self-generated and self-used electricity. "Through these methods, we will have a large number of energy 'prosumers' who can not only change and optimize the energy structure but also cultivate new business formats and patterns."
In addition, Du Xiangwan emphasized that strong emission reduction and energy carbon reduction in industries such as industry, transportation, and buildings will also be coordinated with the "Blue Sky Protection Campaign." In the future, we will see continuous improvement in air quality, and the public will gain more sense of blue sky and happiness.
Garbage sorting and energy saving and emission reduction will be thoroughly integrated into life.
A few years ago, there was a popular online game that calculated your carbon emissions based on your daily eating, drinking, excretion, and daily life activities. Now, with the clear carbon neutrality goal, everyone’s emission reduction and green low-carbon habits will undoubtedly be further deeply integrated into the lives of all Chinese people.
Du Xiangwan pointed out that reducing carbon emissions requires developing a circular economy. The degree of resource utilization of solid waste in each city is an essential indicator of its modernization. Therefore, to reduce landfill and achieve high resource utilization, garbage sorting at the source must be done well. "Currently, some cities in China have piloted 'zero-waste cities,' striving to minimize the environmental impact of solid waste. In the future, we will move toward a 'zero-waste society.'" said Du Xiangwan.
The path to achieving the carbon neutrality goal includes not only emission reduction but also carbon sequestration. Afforestation and increasing forest carbon sinks are powerful measures. It is foreseeable that environmental protection concepts such as "strengthening afforestation, increasing vegetation coverage, and letting nature become a carbon transporter" will become more deeply rooted in people's hearts and reflected in actions. In addition, Du Xiangwan pointed out that policy tools and new technologies guiding carbon reduction, such as carbon trading, climate investment and financing, energy transition funds, carbon removal, and carbon utilization technologies, will also form new investment hotspots and industrial development opportunities, affecting the lives of the general public.
Many attending scientists believe that the social scope involved in establishing the carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals is extremely broad, far beyond specific fields such as energy and transportation. The future transformation brought to human society is no less significant than the birth of the steam engine, electricity, atomic energy, and electronic computers. Achieving the goals requires the joint efforts of the entire society from top to bottom. "It will profoundly promote economic and social progress and ecological civilization construction, achieving a win-win and sustainable development of economy, energy, environment, and climate." said Du Xiangwan.
Source: Guangming Daily
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