National Development and Reform Commission: Promoting the Construction of a Unified Green Product Certification and Labeling System

On February 10, the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration issued the "Opinions on Improving the System, Mechanism, and Policy Measures for the Green and Low-Carbon Energy Transition." The opinions propose promoting the construction of a unified green product certification and labeling system, establishing a green energy consumption certification mechanism, and encouraging various social organizations to recognize certification results.

On February 10, the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration issued the "Opinions on Improving the System, Mechanism, and Policy Measures for the Green and Low-Carbon Energy Transition." It proposes that during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, a basic institutional framework for promoting green and low-carbon energy development will be established, forming a relatively complete system of policies, standards, markets, and supervision, and building a promotion mechanism for green and low-carbon energy transition led by the dual control of energy consumption and non-fossil energy target systems. By 2030, a complete basic institutional and policy system for green and low-carbon energy development will be basically established, forming an energy production and consumption pattern where non-fossil energy not only basically meets the incremental energy demand but also replaces fossil energy stock on a large scale, and energy security capabilities are comprehensively enhanced.

The full text is as follows:

People's governments of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government, Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, relevant departments of the State Council, relevant central enterprises, and relevant industry associations:

  Energy production and consumption-related activities are the main sources of carbon dioxide emissions. Vigorously promoting carbon reduction in the energy sector is an important measure to achieve carbon peak and carbon neutrality, as well as to accelerate the construction of a modern energy system. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, various regions and relevant departments have formulated a series of policies and measures around green and low-carbon energy development, promoting significant achievements in the development and utilization of clean energy such as solar, wind, hydropower, biomass, and geothermal energy. However, existing systems, mechanisms, policy frameworks, and governance methods still face some difficulties and challenges, making it difficult to meet the needs of promoting green and low-carbon energy transition under the new situation. To thoroughly implement the "Opinions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on Fully, Accurately, and Comprehensively Implementing the New Development Philosophy to Achieve Carbon Peak and Carbon Neutrality" and the "Action Plan for Carbon Peak before 2030" requirements, with the approval of the State Council, the following opinions are proposed to improve the system, mechanism, and policy measures for green and low-carbon energy transition.

  I. Overall Requirements

  (1) Guiding Ideology.

  Guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, fully implement the spirit of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and its plenary sessions, deeply implement Xi Jinping's ecological civilization thought, adhere to the general principle of seeking progress while maintaining stability, base on the new development stage, fully, accurately, and comprehensively implement the new development philosophy, build a new development pattern, deeply promote revolutions in energy consumption, supply, technology, and system, comprehensively strengthen international cooperation, start from national conditions, coordinate development and security, steady growth and structural adjustment, deepen reform and innovation in the energy system and mechanism, accelerate the construction of a clean, low-carbon, safe, and efficient energy system, promote high-quality energy development and comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development, and provide guarantees for scientifically and orderly promoting the timely achievement of carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals and building a modern economic system.

  (2) Basic Principles.

  — Adhere to a systematic perspective and coordinated advancement. Strengthen top-level design, leverage institutional advantages, properly handle the relationship between development and emission reduction, overall and local interests, short-term and medium- to long-term goals, and the complementary, coordinated, and substitutive relationships among different energy types at various stages of transition. Promote the optimal combination of coal and new energy, and coordinate the green and low-carbon energy transition nationwide and regionally.

  — Adhere to ensuring safety and orderly transition. Promote green and low-carbon energy transition in an orderly manner under the premise of ensuring energy security, establish before dismantling, adhere to the national "one game" approach, and strengthen risk identification and control during the transition. On the basis of accelerating the formation of reliable clean and low-carbon energy supply capacity, gradually achieve safe and reliable substitution of fossil energy.

  — Adhere to innovation-driven, intensive, and efficient development. Improve the innovation system and incentive mechanisms in the energy sector, enhance the innovation capability of key core technologies. Implement the priority of conservation, focus on reducing resource consumption and carbon emissions per unit of output, enhance the operation efficiency of the energy system and resource allocation, and improve the comprehensive benefits of the economy and society. Accelerate the formation of incentive and constraint mechanisms for pollution reduction and carbon reduction.

  — Adhere to market-led and government-guided approaches. Deepen reform of the energy system, fully leverage the decisive role of the market in resource allocation, and build a fair, open, and effectively competitive energy market system. Better play the government's role by strengthening guidance in planning, policy support, and market supervision to create a favorable development environment.

  (3) Main Goals.

  During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, basically establish an institutional framework to promote green and low-carbon energy development, form a relatively complete system of policies, standards, markets, and supervision, and build a promotion mechanism for green and low-carbon energy transition led by the dual control of energy consumption and non-fossil energy target systems. By 2030, basically establish a complete basic institutional and policy system for green and low-carbon energy development, forming an energy production and consumption pattern where non-fossil energy not only basically meets the incremental energy demand but also replaces fossil energy stock on a large scale, and energy security capabilities are comprehensively enhanced.

  II. Improve the Coordinated Promotion Mechanism for National Energy Strategy and Planning Implementation

  (4) Strengthen the guiding and binding role of energy strategy and planning. Guided by the national energy strategy, strengthen the leading role of national energy planning. Provinces (autonomous regions, municipalities) shall formulate local energy plans based on the national energy planning deployment and local realities, clarify the goals and tasks of green and low-carbon energy transition, strengthen coordination and mutual support among various energy types, upstream and downstream of the industrial chain, and regions during planning preparation and implementation, and overall improve the level of green and low-carbon energy transition and supply security. Strengthen monitoring and evaluation of energy planning implementation and improve the dynamic adjustment mechanism of planning.

  (5) Establish a monitoring and evaluation mechanism for green and low-carbon energy transition. Focus on monitoring and evaluating indicators such as energy consumption intensity, total energy consumption, proportion of non-fossil energy and renewable energy consumption, and carbon emission coefficient of energy consumption in various regions. Assess the implementation and actual effects of mechanisms and policies related to green and low-carbon energy transition. Improve the assessment mechanism for green and low-carbon energy development, strengthen related assessments according to energy-related binding indicators determined by the national economic and social development plan outline, annual plans, and energy plans. Encourage regions to meet national requirements for minimum renewable energy consumption proportions through regional cooperation or renewable energy power consumption trading.

  (6) Improve the organizational coordination mechanism for green and low-carbon energy transition. The National Energy Commission coordinates strategies, development plans, action plans, and policy systems related to green and low-carbon energy transition. Establish cross-departmental and cross-regional coordination mechanisms for energy security and development, coordinate the construction of cross-province and cross-region power, oil, gas energy transmission channels, reserves, and other infrastructure and security systems, strengthen the connection between energy planning, major projects, land spatial planning, and ecological environment protection special plans, and promptly study and resolve implementation issues. Establish annual ledgers for major policy implementation and major project construction related to green and low-carbon energy transition and security, and improve supervision and coordination mechanisms.

  III. Improve the System and Policy Framework to Guide Green Energy Consumption

  (7) Improve the dual control system for energy consumption and the non-fossil energy target system. Adhere to prioritizing energy and resource conservation, strengthen the management of binding indicators for reducing energy consumption intensity, effectively enhance the flexibility of total energy consumption management, exclude newly added renewable energy and raw material energy consumption from total energy consumption control, reasonably determine energy consumption intensity reduction targets for each region, and strengthen the connection between the dual control policy for energy consumption and the carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals. Gradually establish a carbon emission control mechanism in the energy sector. Formulate and revise mandatory national standards for energy consumption limits per unit product in key energy-consuming industries, and organize supervision and inspection of key energy-consuming enterprises' implementation. Study and formulate carbon emission accounting methods for key industries and key products. Taking into account the renewable energy resource status, development and utilization conditions, and economic development levels of each region, scientifically decompose the national medium- and long-term total and minimum proportion targets for renewable energy development and utilization to each province (autonomous region, municipality) for implementation, and improve the renewable energy power consumption guarantee mechanism. Promote local governments to establish and improve energy budget management systems and explore energy consumption output efficiency evaluation. Strengthen top-level design and overall coordination, accelerate the construction of national carbon emission trading market, energy use rights trading market, and green power trading market.

  (8) Establish and improve mechanisms to promote green energy consumption. Promote the construction of a unified green product certification and labeling system, establish a green energy consumption certification mechanism, and encourage various social organizations to accept certification results. Establish a promotion mechanism for electric energy substitution, strengthening technical guidance on electric energy substitution by improving relevant standards. Improve and promote green power certificate trading to encourage green power consumption. Encourage the whole society to prioritize the use of green energy and the procurement of green products and services, with public institutions setting an example. Each region should combine local realities, adopt advanced energy efficiency and green energy consumption standards, vigorously promote energy saving and green consumption concepts, and carry out green lifestyle creation activities in depth. Encourage qualified localities to carry out high-level green energy consumption demonstration projects and advocate energy saving throughout society.

  (9) Improve support policies for green energy consumption in the industrial sector. Guide industrial enterprises to carry out clean energy substitution to reduce carbon emissions per unit product, and encourage qualified enterprises to take the lead in forming low-carbon and zero-carbon energy consumption models. Encourage the construction of green energy industrial parks and enterprises, develop industrial green microgrids, support the development and utilization of clean low-carbon energy on owned premises, build distributed clean energy and smart energy systems, exempt cross-subsidies and system standby fees for comprehensive utilization power generation of waste heat, pressure, and gas, and improve price policies supporting self-generated and self-used distributed clean energy power generation. Under the premise of complying with power planning layout and grid safety operation conditions, encourage the realization of renewable energy power projects supplying power nearby to industrial parks or enterprises through innovative power transmission and operation methods, and encourage industrial parks or enterprises to purchase green power through the power market. Encourage emerging key energy-consuming sectors to mainly meet energy needs with green energy and fully utilize waste heat, pressure, and gas.

  (10) Improve policies for green energy use and clean heating in buildings. Enhance building energy-saving standards, promote the large-scale development of ultra-low energy consumption buildings and low-carbon buildings, advance and support energy-saving renovations of existing buildings, actively promote the use of green building materials, and improve the building energy consumption limit management system. Improve standards for the application of renewable energy in buildings, encourage photovoltaic building integration, and support the construction of renewable energy building energy supply systems using solar energy, geothermal energy, biomass energy, etc. Promote heating metering reform and intelligent heating facility construction in qualified areas, encourage heat-based charging, encourage electric heating enterprises and users to obtain low-price electricity during off-peak periods through the power market, and comprehensively use peak-valley electricity pricing, residential tiered electricity pricing, and transmission and distribution pricing mechanisms for support. Implement gas price policies supporting clean winter heating in rural northern areas.

  (11) Improve clean energy substitution policies in the transportation sector. Promote green and low-carbon transformation of transportation, optimize transportation structure, and implement green and low-carbon transportation facilities and equipment. Promote large-capacity electrified public transportation and clean energy vehicles such as electric, hydrogen, advanced bio-liquid fuel, and natural gas vehicles; improve the layout and service facilities of charging and swapping stations, hydrogen refueling stations, and gas (LNG) stations; reduce clean energy use costs in transportation. Support land and space for transportation energy supply station layout and construction, develop multi-energy integrated transportation energy supply stations, promote pilot demonstrations of new energy vehicles interacting with the power grid, and promote coordinated development of vehicle charging piles and ship shore power. For new energy facilities built along railways and highway service areas, encourage unified planning, implementation, and approval (filing) of projects within the same provincial region.

  4. Establish new mechanisms for energy development and utilization oriented towards green and low carbon.

  (12) Establish a clean low-carbon energy resource survey and information sharing mechanism. Based on resource endowment, land use, ecological protection, and territorial spatial planning, use city (county) level administrative regions as basic units to comprehensively carry out detailed surveys and comprehensive evaluations of national clean low-carbon energy resources, accurately identify developable clean low-carbon energy resources and integrate data, and improve and dynamically update the national clean low-carbon energy resource database. Strengthen connection with the territorial spatial basic information platform, timely incorporate spatial information such as the distribution of various clean low-carbon energy resources into the same-level territorial spatial basic information platform and the "one map" of territorial spatial planning, and share appropriately with local governments at all levels, enterprises, industry associations, and research institutions. Improve meteorological observation, resource evaluation, and forecasting and prediction technology capabilities related to renewable energy to support renewable energy resource surveys, project development, and power system operation. Build a national energy basic information and sharing platform, integrate information across the entire energy industry chain, and promote the development of the digital economy in the energy sector.

  (13) Promote the construction of an energy supply system dominated by clean low-carbon energy. Focus on desert, gobi, and desertified areas to accelerate the construction of large-scale wind and photovoltaic power bases, upgrade and transform existing coal power units in the region, explore establishing a coordination mechanism between sending and receiving ends to provide regulation for new energy power transmission, and support new energy power to be built, connected, and fully utilized. Each region should, according to national energy strategies and plans and sub-sector plans, comprehensively consider local energy demand and clean low-carbon energy resources, guide and organize the formulation of city (county)-level clean low-carbon energy development and utilization and regional energy supply implementation plans under the provincial energy planning framework. Regions should prioritize the development and utilization of local clean low-carbon energy resources based on proximity, actively introduce clean low-carbon energy from outside the region as needed, and form an energy production and consumption pattern that prioritizes meeting new energy demand with clean low-carbon energy and gradually replaces existing fossil energy. Encourage regions to build new energy systems that are multi-energy complementary, locally balanced, and dominated by clean low-carbon energy.

  (14) Innovate mechanisms for rural renewable energy development and utilization. Prioritize support for rooftop distributed photovoltaic power generation and biogas power generation and other biomass power generation connected to the grid in rural areas, with grid companies and others required to prioritize purchasing their power generation. Encourage the use of land suitable for dispersed development of wind and photovoltaic power in rural areas, explore investment and operation models for renewable energy projects featuring unified planning, dispersed layout, farmer-enterprise cooperation, and shared benefits. Encourage rural collective economic organizations to invest and operate renewable energy power generation projects jointly with specialized enterprises through land use rights equity participation, joint operations, and other lawful means, and encourage financial institutions to provide financing support for renewable energy power generation projects based on market and legal principles. Increase support for rural power grid construction, organize grid companies to improve rural power grids, strengthen innovation in rural power grid technology, operation, and power trading methods, support nearby trading of new energy power, and provide low-cost green energy for rural public welfare, living energy use, and rural revitalization-related industries. Improve support policies and guarantee mechanisms for large-scale biogas, biomethane, formed fuels, and geothermal energy development and utilization.

  (15) Establish a national spatial management mechanism for the development and utilization of clean and low-carbon energy. Focus on achieving carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals, comprehensively consider the land and sea use demands for clean and low-carbon energy development as well as energy transmission and storage infrastructure. Improve classification guidance policies for land use in energy project construction, adjust and optimize land and sea use requirements for renewable energy development, formulate land support policies for renewable energy power generation projects built on desert, gobi, and wasteland, improve the protection system for nuclear power and pumped storage plant sites and ensure their inclusion in national spatial planning. Coordinate land use demands for transmission corridors and oil and gas pipeline corridors in national spatial planning, and establish and improve mechanisms for sharing land-related information and collaborative management. Strictly regulate the collection of land (and sea) related taxes and fees for energy development according to law. Eligible offshore wind power and other renewable energy projects may apply for reductions or exemptions of sea area usage fees as stipulated. Encourage the promotion and application of land-saving technologies and models in the development and construction of wind power and other new energy sources.

  5. Improve the construction and operation mechanism of the new power system

  (16) Strengthen the top-level design of the new power system. Promote the clean energy sourcing and electrification of end-use energy consumption, formulate development strategies and overall plans for the new power system to meet the needs of new energy power development, and encourage various enterprises and entities to actively participate in the construction of the new power system. Conduct green and low-carbon adaptability assessments of the existing power system, enhance technologies and optimize the system in aspects such as grid architecture, power source structure, coordination of source-grid-load-storage, and digital intelligent operation control. Strengthen basic theoretical research on the new power system, promote breakthroughs in key core technologies, and develop relevant standards. Promote the integration of internet, digital, and intelligent technologies with the power system, foster the development of new technologies, new business models, and new formats, and build a smart energy system. Strengthen the construction of the new power system technology framework, carry out related technology pilots and regional demonstrations.

  (17) Improve the power grid system adapted to deep local utilization and wide-area transmission of renewable energy. Optimize the transmission network and power system operation as a whole, enhance the capacity to transmit and consume renewable energy power. Increase the transmission of renewable energy through existing transmission corridors as much as possible by optimizing power source configuration and operation, set clear minimum proportion targets and conduct assessments. Coordinate the layout of large power bases mainly for transmitting renewable energy power, optimize the allocation of regulating resources at the provincial grid level and above. Improve the coordination mechanism combining inter-provincial (autonomous region, municipality) government agreements and power market for renewable energy power transmission and consumption, strengthen inter-provincial and regional grid interconnection, further improve the cross-province and cross-region electricity price formation mechanism, and promote renewable energy consumption on a larger scale. Vigorously promote the construction of intelligent distribution networks that accommodate a high proportion of distributed new energy power, encourage the construction of integrated source-grid-load-storage, multi-energy complementary smart energy systems and microgrids. Grid companies should enhance their capacity to accept new energy power, dynamically publish capacity information for accepting new energy power within their operating areas and provide inquiry services, and connect new energy generation projects and distributed generation projects that meet planning and safety production conditions to the grid according to law and regulations, ensuring connection whenever possible.

  (18) Improve the market mechanism adapted to the new power system. Establish a unified national electricity market system, accelerate the construction of the electricity ancillary services market, promote pilot operation of electricity spot markets in key regions, improve the organic linkage mechanism among medium- and long-term, spot, and ancillary service electricity transactions, explore capacity market trading mechanisms, deepen reforms in key areas such as transmission and distribution, and promote green and low-carbon development of electricity through market mechanisms. Improve electricity trading mechanisms favorable to the priority use of renewable energy, carry out green electricity trading pilots, and encourage new energy power generation entities to sign long-term power purchase agreements with electricity users or power sales companies. Support emerging market entities such as microgrids, distributed power sources, energy storage, and load aggregators to independently participate in electricity trading. Actively promote market-based trading of distributed generation, support distributed generation (including energy storage, electric vehicles and vessels, etc.) to trade with electricity users within the same distribution network through electricity trading platforms nearby, with grid companies (including incremental distribution network companies) providing technical support for transmission, metering, and transaction settlement, and improve price policies and market rules supporting market-based trading of distributed generation. Improve electricity price policies supporting energy storage applications.

  (19) Improve the construction and operation mechanism of flexible power sources. Fully implement flexibility transformation of coal-fired power units, improve technical standards for minimum output of coal-fired units, and scientifically determine the deep peak regulation capacity of coal-fired units; build natural gas "dual peak regulation" power plants adapted to local conditions that meet power operation peak regulation needs and adjust for seasonal differences in natural gas consumption; actively promote the construction of watershed control reservoirs and capacity expansion of conventional hydropower stations, accelerate the construction of pumped storage power stations, explore the application of small and medium pumped storage technologies, and implement cascade hydropower energy storage; leverage the regulation role of solar thermal power, conduct research and demonstration of new energy storage projects such as abandoned mine transformation, and gradually expand the application of new energy storage. Fully promote enterprise self-owned power plants to participate in power system regulation, encourage industrial enterprises to utilize the regulation capacity of self-owned power plants to use new energy nearby. Improve price compensation mechanisms supporting the operation of flexible coal-fired units, natural gas peak regulation units, hydropower, solar thermal power, and energy storage regulation power sources. Encourage new energy power bases to enhance autonomous regulation capacity and explore integrated participation in power system operation. Improve mechanisms for pumped storage and new energy storage participation in the electricity market to better leverage the regulation role of related facilities.

  (20) Improve the electricity demand response mechanism. Promote market-based construction of electricity demand response, incorporate demand-side adjustable resources into electricity balance, utilize demand-side resources to shave peaks and fill valleys, promote power supply-demand balance, and adapt to new energy power operation. Broaden the implementation scope of electricity demand response, explore various ways to tap all kinds of demand-side resources and organize their participation in demand response, support user-side energy storage, electric vehicle charging facilities, distributed generation, and other user-side adjustable resources, as well as load aggregators, virtual power plant operators, and integrated energy service providers to participate in electricity market trading and system operation regulation. Clarify safety development standards for user-side energy storage and strengthen safety supervision. Accelerate market-based construction of demand response, explore establishing a market-based demand response compensation mechanism. Conduct comprehensive surveys and evaluations of demand response resources, establish graded and classified lists, and form a dynamic demand response resource database.

  (21) Explore the establishment of regional integrated energy service mechanisms. Explore multi-energy complementary and multi-energy joint supply regional integrated energy systems operated by the same market entity integrating power supply, heating (cooling), and gas supply, encourage localities to select regional integrated energy service investment and operation entities through competitive methods such as bidding. Encourage incremental distribution networks to increase the proportion of clean energy by expanding distributed clean energy within the region and accepting renewable energy from outside the region. Public grid companies and gas supply companies should provide reliable energy supply for integrated energy service operators and ensure the coordination of supporting facility operations. Encourage improving the level of smart energy collaborative services, strengthen platform-based services of common technologies and business model innovation, and rely fully on existing facilities to strengthen data resource openness and sharing under the premise of ensuring energy data information security.

  6. Improve the clean and efficient development and utilization mechanism of fossil energy

  (Twenty-two) Improve policies for clean coal development and utilization. Based on the fundamental national condition of coal dominance, leverage coal's foundational role in energy supply security according to different stages of energy development. Establish a long-term mechanism for green coal mine development, optimize coal production capacity layout, intensify efforts to "expand large mines and reduce small ones, improve quality and eliminate inferior mines," and vigorously promote clean and efficient coal utilization. Formulate support policies for mine optimization systems, improve standards for green intelligent coal mine construction, and establish a comprehensive support policy system for coal mine intelligent technology, equipment, and talent development. Improve policies supporting comprehensive utilization of coal gangue, mine water, underground coal mine gas extraction, and ecological governance and restoration of mining areas. Increase support for the promotion and application of coal mine filling mining technology, and encourage the development and construction of new energy and energy storage projects in abandoned mining areas. Accelerate the processing of environmental protection, land use, approval, mining, and other related procedures for high-quality capacity such as green intelligent coal mines and coal mines ensuring supply in accordance with laws and regulations. Scientifically assess the impact of coal enterprise production reduction and closure, and study and improve support policies for coal enterprise exit, transformation, and employment placement.

  (Twenty-three) Improve policies for clean and efficient coal power transformation. Under the premise of ensuring power supply security, coordinate and orderly control and reduce coal consumption, promoting coal power transformation to balance basic guarantee and system regulation power sources. According to the safe and stable operation and supply security needs of the power system, strengthen overall coordination between coal power units and non-fossil energy generation, natural gas generation, and energy storage. Promote energy-saving and efficiency improvement and ultra-low emission upgrades of coal power units, and reasonably build advanced coal power units based on energy development and supply security needs. Fully tap the heating potential of existing large combined heat and power enterprises, encourage cogeneration transformation of existing condensing coal power units within reasonable heating radius, encourage construction of coal-fired back-pressure heating units in areas allowing coal heating, and explore steam extraction and pumped storage transformation of coal power units. Orderly promote shutdown and integration of outdated coal power units, and intensify elimination of coal-fired boilers. In principle, no new enterprise coal-fired captive power plants will be added; promote fair social responsibility sharing by coal-fired captive units and intensify their energy saving and emission reduction efforts. Support the use of retired thermal power unit sites and related facilities to build new energy storage facilities or convert them into synchronous phase-shifting machines. Improve support policies for research, development, and pilot demonstration projects of carbon capture, utilization, and storage technologies in the thermal power sector.

  (Twenty-four) Improve mechanisms for clean and efficient oil and gas utilization. Enhance clean and efficient extraction capabilities of oil and gas fields, promote transformation and upgrading of the refining and chemical industry, and intensify coordinated efforts to reduce pollution and carbon emissions. Improve coordinated development mechanisms for oil and gas with geothermal, wind, solar, and other energy resources; encourage oil and gas enterprises to use their own construction land to develop renewable energy and build distributed energy facilities; and build multi-energy integrated regional energy supply systems within oil and gas field areas. Continue to promote fair opening of oil and gas pipelines and improve access standards; streamline natural gas supply links and reduce supply levels; under the premise of meeting safety and quality standards, support the access of clean fuels such as biofuel ethanol, biodiesel, and biomethane into oil and gas pipelines; explore efficient hydrogen transport methods such as hydrogen blending in gas pipelines, pure hydrogen pipelines, and liquid hydrogen transport. Encourage traditional gas stations and refueling stations to build integrated oil, gas, electricity, and hydrogen comprehensive transportation energy service stations. Strengthen promotion and demonstration of carbon capture, utilization, and storage technologies; expand application of carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery technology; and explore using underground spaces formed by oil and gas extraction for carbon dioxide storage.

  7. Improve the energy green and low-carbon transition safety and supply assurance system

  (Twenty-five) Improve energy forecasting and early warning mechanisms. Strengthen the construction of national and hierarchical classified energy production, supply, and consumption information systems; establish cross-departmental and cross-regional energy security monitoring and early warning mechanisms; provinces (autonomous regions, municipalities) should establish regional comprehensive energy monitoring systems; power grids, oil and gas pipelines, and key energy supply enterprises should improve energy supply monitoring platforms in their operating areas and promptly report relevant information to competent authorities. Strengthen monitoring and evaluation capabilities for energy forecasting and early warning; establish a joint response mechanism for extreme weather involving energy, emergency, meteorology, water conservancy, geology, and other departments; improve forecasting, prediction, and disaster defense capabilities. Improve energy supply risk response mechanisms; perfect emergency plans for energy supply under extreme conditions and collaborative regulation mechanisms during emergency states.

  (Twenty-six) Build a safe operation and comprehensive defense system for the power system. All types of generating units must strictly comply with laws, regulations, and technical standards such as the "Power Grid Dispatch Management Regulations." Establish a coal power unit exit review mechanism; coal power units supporting power system operation and supply security shall not exit operation without permission and may be converted to emergency standby units after evaluation based on unit performance and power system operation needs. Establish safety assessment systems for power planning at all levels; improve technical standards for grid connection of various power sources to control safety risks from the source. Improve power and electricity balance management; formulate annual power system safety and supply assurance plans. Establish information sharing and emergency linkage mechanisms between power enterprises and fuel supply and pipeline transportation enterprises to ensure energy supply under extreme conditions. Establish cross-departmental joint prevention and control mechanisms for important transmission channels to enhance operational safety assurance capabilities. Establish and improve emergency safety assurance power supply systems for load centers and mega cities. Improve power monitoring system security and protection systems; strengthen security protection of critical information infrastructure in the power industry. Strictly implement the main responsibilities of local governments and relevant power enterprises for power safety production and supply assurance; coordinate and promote power emergency system construction; strengthen accident prevention and handling capabilities for new energy storage facilities; and improve intrinsic safety levels. Improve power emergency guarantee systems; perfect power emergency systems, standards, and plans.

  (Twenty-seven) Improve energy supply assurance and reserve emergency systems. Coordinate green and low-carbon energy transition with energy supply security assurance; enhance energy supply assurance capabilities adaptable to economic and social development and various extreme situations; optimize energy reserve facility layout; improve coordination mechanisms for coal, power, oil, and gas supply assurance. Accelerate formation of an oil reserve system combining government reserves, corporate social responsibility reserves, and production and operation inventories organically and complementarily, integrating physical reserves, capacity reserves, and other reserve methods. Improve coal product, capacity, and emergency reserve systems; perfect emergency peak regulation capacity, adjustable inventory, and key power plant coal reserve mechanisms; establish a coal emergency reserve system led by enterprises and operated in a market-oriented manner. Establish and improve multi-level natural gas storage, peak regulation, and emergency systems with clear responsibilities for local governments, gas supply enterprises, pipeline transportation enterprises, and urban gas enterprises. Formulate support policies for coal-to-oil and gas technology reserves. Improve coal, oil, and natural gas production, supply, storage, and sales systems; explore establishing hydrogen production, supply, storage, and sales systems. Actively promote construction of leading reservoir hydropower stations in river basins according to plans; enhance reservoir energy storage, operational regulation, and emergency dispatch capabilities.

  8. Establish a scientific and technological innovation system supporting green and low-carbon energy transition

  (Twenty-eight) Establish a major scientific and technological collaborative innovation system for clean and low-carbon energy. Build and effectively utilize national laboratories in the energy field; form an energy technology innovation system led by national strategic scientific and technological forces, with enterprises as the main body, market-oriented, and deeply integrated in production, education, research, and application; accelerate breakthroughs in a batch of key clean and low-carbon energy technologies. Support leading industry enterprises to jointly build national energy research and innovation platforms with universities, research institutes, and upstream and downstream enterprises; promote sharing and optimal allocation of various scientific and technological resources. Conduct joint research on key technologies related to basic components and parts, basic software, basic materials, and basic processes in the energy field; implement major scientific and technological collaborative innovation research in energy. Strengthen research and development of safety technologies related to new energy storage; improve technical standards and specifications for equipment, facilities, planning layout, design and construction, and safe operation.

  (Twenty-nine) Establish a collaborative innovation mechanism for the clean low-carbon energy industry chain and supply chain. Promote the construction of a clean low-carbon energy technology innovation promotion mechanism guided by demand-side technological progress, deeply integrating production, education, research, and application, coordinating upstream and downstream, and collaborating across the supply chain. Relying on major energy projects such as large new energy bases, promote upstream and downstream enterprises to collaboratively carry out research, manufacturing, and application of advanced technological equipment, forming advanced technology and industrialization capabilities through engineering integration applications. Accelerate collaborative breakthroughs and industrial demonstration of key technologies for advanced renewable energy fuels such as cellulosic and other non-grain biofuel ethanol and bio-aviation kerosene. Promote high-quality development of the energy electronics industry, foster integration and innovation of information technology and products with clean low-carbon energy, and accelerate innovative upgrades in smart photovoltaics. Improve existing foundations to enhance clean low-carbon energy technology innovation service platforms, promoting deep integration of scientific and technological services such as R&D design, metrology testing, inspection and certification, and intellectual property services with the clean low-carbon energy industry chain. Establish evaluation, transformation, and promotion mechanisms for clean low-carbon energy technology achievements.

  (Thirty) Improve incentive policies for scientific and technological innovation in the green and low-carbon energy transition. Explore market-based approaches to attract social capital to support strategic clean low-carbon energy technology R&D and demonstration projects that require large investments and have high research difficulty. Organize major key technology breakthroughs through methods such as "listing challenges and appointing leaders," improve policies supporting the demonstration and application of the first set of advanced major energy technology equipment, and promote the promotion and application of major technological equipment in the energy sector. Strengthen energy-saving and low-carbon related assessments of state-owned energy enterprises, encourage enterprises to increase investment in energy technology innovation, promote the application of new technologies, and improve technological levels.

  9. Establish fiscal and financial policy support mechanisms to underpin the green and low-carbon energy transition.

  (Thirty-one) Improve diversified investment and financing mechanisms supporting the green and low-carbon energy transition. Increase investment and financing support for clean low-carbon energy projects and energy supply security projects. Use central budget investment to coordinate support for projects in the energy sector with high carbon reduction contributions, and include eligible major clean low-carbon energy projects within the scope of local government special bonds. The National Green Development Fund and existing low-carbon transition-related funds should prioritize support for clean low-carbon energy development and utilization, new power system construction, and green low-carbon transformation of fossil energy enterprises. Promote market-based investment and financing for clean low-carbon energy-related infrastructure projects, and study including clean low-carbon energy projects in the pilot scope of infrastructure real estate investment trusts (REITs). Central fiscal funds will further tilt towards rural energy construction, using existing funding channels to support rural energy supply infrastructure construction, clean heating in northern regions during winter, and building energy efficiency.

  (Thirty-two) Improve financial support policies for the green and low-carbon energy transition. Explore the development of supply chain finance in the clean low-carbon energy industry. Improve loan approval processes and rating methods for enterprises in the clean low-carbon energy industry, fully considering the long-term growth potential of related industrial chains and their contributions to carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. Innovate green financial products adapted to the characteristics of clean low-carbon energy, encourage eligible enterprises to issue green bonds such as carbon-neutral bonds, and guide financial institutions to increase support for projects with significant carbon reduction benefits; encourage issuance of sustainability-linked bonds and others to support green low-carbon transformation of fossil energy enterprises. Explore advancing the application of energy basic information to provide information service support for financial support of the green and low-carbon energy transition. Encourage energy enterprises to practice green development concepts and fully disclose carbon emission-related information.

  10. Promote international cooperation in the green and low-carbon energy transition.

  (Thirty-three) Promote green energy cooperation under the "Belt and Road" initiative. Encourage innovation in financial products and services, supporting clean low-carbon energy development and utilization under the "Belt and Road" initiative. Advance practical cooperation in green energy under the "Belt and Road," exploring the establishment of a collaborative development cooperation mechanism for upstream and downstream enterprises in the clean low-carbon energy industry chain. Guide enterprises to carry out foreign investment in the clean low-carbon energy field, emphasizing resource conservation, environmental protection, and safe production in related projects. Promote the construction of best practice projects in energy cooperation. Manage the production, circulation, and export of products with high carbon emission intensity in accordance with laws and regulations.
  (Thirty-four) Actively promote cooperation in green low-carbon transition development in global energy governance. Build and operate platforms such as the "Belt and Road" energy cooperation partnership and the International Energy Transition Forum, striving to play a better role in the global green low-carbon transition process. Rely on cooperation platforms such as China-Arab League, China-Africa Union, China-ASEAN, China-Central and Eastern Europe, and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Sustainable Energy Center to continuously support cooperation in talent training related to renewable energy, power, nuclear power, hydrogen energy, and other clean low-carbon energy technologies, and carry out capacity building, policy, planning, standards alignment, and talent exchanges. Enhance cooperation with international organizations such as the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), actively participate in and guide green low-carbon energy transition cooperation under multilateral frameworks such as the United Nations, G20, APEC, BRICS, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

  (Thirty-five) Fully utilize international elements to support domestic green low-carbon energy development. Implement the encouraged foreign investment industry catalog, improve related support policies, and attract and guide foreign capital investment in the clean low-carbon energy industry. Improve incentive mechanisms encouraging foreign capital integration into China's clean low-carbon energy industry innovation system, and strictly protect intellectual property rights. Strengthen international cooperation on green power certification, advocate establishing an international green power certificate system, and actively guide and participate in international standard research and formulation for green power certificate issuance, measurement, and trading. Promote the establishment of international cooperation platforms for clean low-carbon energy technology innovation such as the China-Europe Energy Technology Innovation Cooperation Platform, support multinational enterprises in setting up joint R&D centers for clean low-carbon energy technology in China, and promote joint breakthroughs, innovation, and demonstration applications in clean low-carbon, decarbonized, and carbon-free fields.

  11. Improve governance mechanisms related to green and low-carbon energy development.

  (Thirty-six) Improve the energy legal and standards system. Strengthen the legal construction for green and low-carbon energy development, revise and improve legal systems in the energy sector, and establish a legal system adapted to the needs of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality work. Enhance the pertinence and effectiveness of relevant laws and regulations, comprehensively review and remove content in current energy laws and regulations that do not align with carbon peaking and carbon neutrality requirements. Improve the standard system related to clean low-carbon energy, accelerate research and revision of technical and safety standards in fields such as clean and efficient thermal power, renewable energy power generation, nuclear power, energy storage, hydrogen energy, clean energy heating, and new power systems. Promote internationalization of standards in solar power generation, wind power, and other fields. Encourage regions, industry associations, and enterprises to legally formulate stricter local, industry, and enterprise standards. Develop a green low-carbon industry guidance catalog in the energy sector, and establish and improve technical standards and corresponding accounting standards for carbon emissions and carbon reductions related to the green low-carbon energy transition.

  (Thirty-seven) Deepen the "delegation, regulation, and service" reform in the energy sector. Continuously promote streamlining administration and delegating power, continue to delegate or cancel unnecessary administrative licensing items, further optimize the business environment in the energy sector, and enhance the innovation vitality of market entities. Remove various obstacles and hidden barriers restricting market competition, implement the negative list system for market access, and support all types of market entities to lawfully and equally enter energy fields outside the negative list. Optimize approval and filing processes for clean low-carbon energy projects, simplify management procedures for distributed energy investment projects. Innovate comprehensive energy service project construction and management mechanisms, encourage regions to establish multi-department joint review mechanisms for comprehensive energy service projects relying on the national online investment project approval and supervision platform, implementing one-stop acceptance and parallel approval.

  (Thirty-eight) Strengthen supervision in the energy sector. Enhance regulation of energy market transactions related to green and low-carbon energy development, as well as the use of clean and low-carbon energy, to maintain a fair and just energy market order. Steadily advance reforms in natural monopoly industries within the energy sector, and strengthen supervision of relevant enterprises in areas such as planning implementation, fair access, operational dispatch, service pricing, and social responsibility. Improve the assessment mechanisms for enterprises in natural monopoly segments such as power grids and oil and gas pipelines, focusing on evaluating their fulfillment of responsibilities in energy supply security, technological innovation, and ecological environmental protection. Innovate regulatory approaches for new industries and business models such as integrated energy services, new energy storage, and smart energy.