The pressures impacting the eco-environment in China are structural, deep-rooted, and ever-changing, and relief is yet to be sighted. However, the effort that is being extended to combat climate change and protect the environment has made it clear that a strong synergy exists between control measures and the homogeneity of GHG emissions and other sources of environmental pollutants in China. The Central Committee Central Economic Work Conference in 2021 further set out clear requirements on important matters. These matter included pollution and carbon reduction action to be taken in key industries, the increased application of pollution and carbon reduction technology, and the rapid formation of strict pollution and carbon reduction restrictions.
The Conference also issued a statement declaring that China was entering a critical era with the 14th Five-Year Plan; key carbon reduction strategies, the promotion of pollution and carbon reduction synergy, and pushing forward with plans to make economic society more green are the only ways to realize actual quality-over-quantity improvements in the ecological environment and build an Ecological Civilization.
As the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) dawned, China began actively exploring ways to improve pollution and carbon reduction collaboration, and several pilots have already been conducted in priority regions, industries, and work units. The first step along this new journey of pollution and carbon reduction synergy is marked by the release of the Implementation Plan for Increased Pollution and Carbon Reduction Collaboration, which was jointly released by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and 10 other ministries and bodies.
1. Major Policies, Regulations and Standards released in Recent Years
A summary of all major new pollution and carbon reduction collaboration policies, regulations and standards issued by the Chinese Central Government and regional governments in recent years can be found below.
Table 1 Major New Pollution and Carbon Reduction Policies Post-2021
| Document Name | Issue Date | Issuing Authority | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central Government | |||
| 14th Five-Year Plan: Specific Plan for Ecological and Environmental Technical Innovation | 09/19/2022 |
|
|
| Implementation Plan for Increased Pollution and Carbon Reduction Collaboration | 06/10/2022 |
|
|
| Guiding Opinions on Integrating and Strengthening Climate Action and Ecological and Environmental Protection Work | 01/11/2021 |
|
|
| Regional Governments | |||
| Henan Province Action Plan for Pollution and Carbon Reduction Collaboration | 02/24/2023 |
…and 5 other Departments |
|
| Hebei Province Implementation Plan for Increased Pollution and Carbon Reduction Collaboration | 02/07/2023 |
…and 4 other Departments |
|
| Shanghai Implementation Plan for Increased Pollution and Carbon Reduction Collaboration | 01/18/2023 |
…and 6 other Departments |
|
| Shanxi Province Implementation Plan for Increased Pollution and Carbon Reduction Collaboration | 01/10/2023 |
…and 5 other Departments |
|
| Jiangsu Province Implementation Plan for Increased Pollution and Carbon Reduction Collaboration | 01/09/2023 |
…and 4 other Departments |
|
| Hunan Province Implementation Plan for Increased Pollution and Carbon Reduction Collaboration | 12/20/2022 |
…and 5 other Departments |
|
| Zhejiang Province Implementation Plan for the Construction of Collaborative Pollution and Carbon Reduction Innovation Zones | 12/12/2022 |
…and 7 other Departments |
|
| Tianjin Implementation Plan for Increased Pollution and Carbon Reduction Collaboration | 12/07/2022 |
…and 4 other Departments |
|
| Hubei Province Implementation Plan for Increased Pollution and Carbon Reduction Collaboration | 12/05/2022 |
…and 5 other Departments |
|
| Jilin Province Implementation Plan for Increased Pollution and Carbon Reduction Collaboration | 10/21/2022 |
…and 5 other Departments |
|
| Jiangxi Province Implementation Plan for Increased Pollution and Carbon Reduction Collaboration | 09/29/2022 |
…and 5 other Departments |
|
| Fujian Province Implementation Plan for Increased Pollution and Carbon Reduction Collaboration | 07/29/2022 |
…and 4 other Departments |
|
1.1 The 14th Five-Year Plan: Major Pollution and Carbon Reduction Collaboration Targets and Tasks
In June 2022, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology jointly issued the Implementation Plan for Increased Pollution and Carbon Reduction Collaboration together with seven other governmental bodies. The Plan emphasizes collaborative efforts (synergy) across different regions and fields for achieving targets, completing tasks, creating policies, enabling effective monitoring, and more. The major tasks and targets needed to implement Peak Carbon Emissions and Carbon Neutrality work groups and create the Ecological Civilization and Beautiful China promised in the 14th Five-Year Plan are also laid out in the Plan.
Ministry of Ecology and Environment & 6 others Implementation Plan for Increased Pollution and Carbon Reduction Collaboration (June 10, 2022)
Major Targets
By 2025, there should be:
-
- Fundamentally complete collaborative work patterns for pollution and carbon reduction;
- Visible results from structural optimization and green, low-carbon development in key regions and fields;
- Experience-based implementation models that can be replicated at scale; and
- An increased level of pollution and carbon reduction synergy and efficiency.
By 2030, there should be:
-
- Significantly increased levels of collaboration in pollution and carbon reduction and capacity (making it possible to achieve Peak Carbon Emissions targets);
- Significantly improved air quality thanks to collaborative Peak Carbon Emissions efforts in key atmospheric pollution prevention and control regions; and
- Notably increased levels of collaboration between different pollution prevention and control fields including those covering water, soil, and solid waste.
Major Tasks
-
- Strengthen Prevention and Control at Source
- Strengthen eco-environment zoning management and control;
- Strengthen eco-environment access management;
- Promote the conversion to green energy and low-carbon resources; and
- Accelerate the creation of a green way of life.
- Strengthen Prevention and Control at Source
-
- Highlight Key Fields Promote collaboration and synergy across industry, transportation and logistics, urban and rural construction, and agriculture.
- Optimize Environmental Management Promote collaborative environmental control between the fields of air pollution control, aquatic environmental control, soil pollution control, and solid pollutant control.
- Innovate Enable collaboration between regions, cities, enterprises, and industry and science parks to innovate pollution and carbon reduction work.
- Strengthen Supports and Guarantees Increase R&D into collaborative tech and its application; improve pollution and carbon reduction regulations and standards; strengthen collaborative pollution and carbon reduction management; strengthen pollution and carbon reduction economic policies; and improve the fundamental capacities needed for pollution and carbon reduction.
- Strengthen Organizational Implementation Strengthen organizational leadership; increase public education; strengthen international cooperation; and strengthen assessment and supervision systems.
1.2 Micro and Macro Aspects of Implementing Collaborative Pollution and Carbon Reduction
During the 14th Five-Year Plan, China will work towards achieving the ‘3060’ goals of Peak Carbon Emissions by 2030 and Carbon Neutrality by 2060. To that end, a series of measures is being explored with the goal of uncovering a path to Peak Carbon Emissions.
Ministry of Ecology and Environment: Guiding Opinions on Integrating and Strengthening Climate Action and Ecological and Environmental Protection /Work (January 11, 2021)
In January 2021 the Ministry of Ecology and Environment issued the Guiding Opinions on Integrating and Strengthening Climate Action and Ecological and Environmental Protection Work. The Opinions formally introduced base requirements to combine environmental protection and climate change response efforts under one umbrella, bringing planning, delegation, implementation, and inspection responsibilities together. Strategy, policy and regulation, systems, pilot programs, international cooperation and other fields were assigned clear targets and tasks, and pollution and carbon reduction work was pushed from the ‘loose collaboration’ to the ‘strong joint event’ column.
Ministry of Ecology and Environment & 6 others: Implementation Plan for Increased Pollution and Carbon Reduction Collaboration (June 10, 2022)
On June 10, 2022, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, NDRC, and 6 other Ministries jointly issued the Implementation Plan for Increased Pollution and Carbon Reduction Collaboration. The Plan clarifies step-by-step plans for the source control, geographical collaboration, technological optimization, and policy innovation needed to achieve Peak Carbon Emissions by 2030.
When it comes to preventing and controlling pollution at the source, the Plan views structural improvements and increased green energy conversion as the fundamental path to pollution and carbon reduction. Energy supply systems should be converted to clean and low-carbon sources, final energy consumption should be electrified, and recycled metal use is to be increased. The Plan also includes directions on moving away from road transport and increasing the importance of railways and waterways in national logistics. Efforts must be made to accelerate the creation of green ways of living. The supply and consumption of green, low-carbon products must increase, a consistent system of accrediting and identifying green products must be constructed, and the creation of industry structures, production systems, and consumption models conducive to pollution and carbon reduction must be accelerated.
In terms of geographical collaboration, the Plan proposes to strengthen eco-environmental zoning controls, enhance the guiding role of regional environmental quality improvement goals on energy and industry distribution decision-making, and incorporate Peak Carbon Emissions and Carbon Neutrality goals into the Three Lines One List management system. Heavily polluted regions are required to strengthen their abilities to optimize systems and distribution, and efforts to help key regions and basins with exit production capacities to recover will be accelerated. In addition, an industry access and exit list system oriented towards regional environmental improvement and achieving Peak Carbon Emissions goals must be researched and established.
On the technological innovation front, the Plan calls for coordinated GHG emissions requirements and standardized governance of water, air, soil, and solid waste elements, as well as optimized treatment targets, processes, and technological pathways to strengthen the collaborative control of multi-pollutant air pollution and greenhouse gases.
Ministry of Science and Technology & 4 others: 14th Five-Year Plan: Specific Plan for Ecological and Environmental Technical Innovation (September 19, 2022)
The 14th Five-Year Plan: Specific Plan for Ecological and Environmental Technical Innovation released in September 2022 clearly included collaborative pollution and carbon reduction technology on the list of eco-environment technology development requirements. The Plan calls for the accelerated development of refined energy-atmosphere dynamic coupling and pollution and carbon reduction assessment models. Research must be made into collaborative air pollutant and greenhouse gas pollution and carbon reduction technologies, as well as breakthrough harm-free resource reclamation technologies precise whole-process control measures for conventional industrial pollutants. Other concrete requirements included calls for research into breakthrough collaborative technologies for precise control of land and sea pollution and carbon reduction.
1.3 Top-Down Implementation Plans tailored for Local Conditions
Starting in the latter half of 2022, provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions began to introduce their own implementation plans for increasing pollution and carbon reduction collaboration one after another on the tail of the central Implementation Plan for Increased Pollution and Carbon Reduction Collaboration.
Department of Ecology and Environment of Fujian Province & 5 others: Fujian Province Implementation Plan for Increased Pollution and Carbon Reduction Collaboration (July 29, 2022)
Fujian Province focuses on marine protection and other baseline restrictions, and proposes a bi-pole, bi-belt, tri-axle and six-bay mainframe for the optimization of geographical and spatial strategies of all kinds.
Department of Ecology and Environment of Jiangxi Province & 6 others: Jiangxi Province Implementation Plan for Increased Pollution and Carbon Reduction Collaboration (September 29, 2022)
By 2025, Jiangxi aims to have increased renewable energy generation across the province to 32,000 MW by 2025 and the share of non-fossil fuel consumption to 18.3%.
Department of Ecology and Environment of Jilin Province & 6 others: Jilin Province Implementation Plan for Increased Pollution and Carbon Reduction Collaboration (October 21, 2022)
In the agricultural sector, Jilin focuses on resource reclamation of straw. The province has launched major projects under slogans like ‘Return Straw to the Fields’ and ‘From Straw to Meat’ and implemented a strict ban against the burning of straw. Jilin has made concrete construction plans for key ecological projects, such as the Wanli Green Water Corridor, ecological corridors to connect wetlands with forests and grasslands, and the Changbai Mountain Forest Restoration Project. The combined aim of these projects is to create a solid buffer to ensure ecological security and increase the number of carbon sinks.
Department of Ecology and Environment of Hubei Province & 6 others: Hubei Province Implementation Plan for Increased Pollution and Carbon Reduction Collaboration (December 05, 2022)
Hubei plans to:
- Implement the negative list requirements for Yangtze economic zone development guided by regional environmental improvements and Peak Carbon Emissions targets;
- Continue to promote the use of railways and waterways over roads for the transport of bulk cargo offloaded at major ports along the Yangtze itself;
- Promote the comprehensive processing of livestock and poultry manure along the Yangtze and crop straw waste resource reclamation
to create an inclusive cyclic ecological agricultural model for rice and fisheries; and - Promote the construction of integrated urban/forest areas in the Middle Yangtze and the middle and lower reaches of the Han River.
Tianjin Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment & 5 others: Tianjin Implementation Plan for Increased Pollution and Carbon Reduction Collaboration (December 07, 2022)
Tianjin will:
- Increase the share of non-fossil fuel energy consumption to a minimum of 11.7% by 2025;
- Increase the number of green producers to 300;
- Increase the share of electric arc furnace steel to around 25%;
- Increase the energy efficiency of key fields such as metallurgy, petrochemical and chemical industry to benchmark levels;
- Increase the proportion of production capacity for said key fields to over 30%; and
- Increase the sales of NEV to approx. 25% of all new vehicles sold.
Department of Ecology and Environment of Zhejiang Province & 7 others: Zhejiang Province Implementation Plan for the Construction of Collaborative Pollution and Carbon Reduction Innovation Zones (December 12, 2022)
By 2025, Zhejiang intends for all cities with districts and 60% of counties, cities, and districts to pass a zero-waste city assessment, and for cities with districts to have increased pollution and carbon reduction indices by 10%. The province will heavily promote the national collaborative pollution and carbon reduction innovation zones being constructed and use these as a guide to achieve their goals, with a focus on collaboration in production structure optimization, pollution control, ecological protection, climate change response measures, and the collaborative promotion of carbon reduction, pollution reduction, green expansion, and increase growth. By 2030, the province aims to increase accumulated pollution and carbon reduction indices by 20% for cities for districts.
Department of Ecology and Environment of Hunan Province & 6 others: Hunan Province Implementation Plan for Increased Pollution and Carbon Reduction Collaboration (December 20, 2022)
Hunan plans to strengthen the protection of areas with key ecological functions (under the ‘one river, one lake, three mountains, and four waters’ slogan), normalize the compilation of GHG emissions lists, and guide cities and autonomous prefectures create and implement these lists.
Department of Ecology and Environment of Jiangsu Province & 4 others: Jiangsu Province Implementation Plan for Increased Pollution and Carbon Reduction Collaboration (January 09, 2023)
Jiangsu proposes the promotion of the Yangtze Economic Belt Development and an integrated development and innovation model for the Yangtze River Delta, and will actively explore pollution and carbon reduction mechanisms in different regions across the province.
Department of Ecology and Environment of Shanxi Province & 6 others: Shanxi Province Implementation Plan for Increased Pollution and Carbon Reduction Collaboration (January 10, 2023)
Shanxi intends to vigorously promote the clean and efficient utilization of coal, collaborative development between coal and renewable energy, and the electrification of final energy consumption. Accelerate the transformation of existing coal-fired power stations to energy-saving, flexible, shared heating units, and push for in-depth governance and transformation of coal-fired power stations. Actively promote the development of advanced large-capacity, high-parameter, and low-pollution coal-fired generators.
Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment & 6 others: Shanghai Implementation Plan for Increased Pollution and Carbon Reduction Collaboration (January 18, 2023)
Shanghai proposes to vigorously develop alternatives to fossil fuels, optimize how fossil fuel energy is structured, and promote the use of smart collaborative technology for pollution and carbon reduction, eco-environmental protection, urban and rural construction, solid waste recycling and other fields.
Department of Ecology and Environment of Hebei Province & 4 others: Hebei Province Implementation Plan for Increased Pollution and Carbon Reduction Collaboration (February 07, 2023)
Hebei establishes a clear cooperation with the Capital Economic Zone cognizant of its duties as part of the Three Zone/One Base designation. Pollution and carbon reduction efforts with Beijing and Tianjin are strengthened, as are technological and systematic innovations. A zoned production system featuring green and low-carbon solutions will be promoted together with energy systems with the aim of meeting regional green and low-carbon development goals.
Department of Ecology and Environment of Henan Province & 6 others: Henan Province Implementation Plan for Increased Pollution and Carbon Reduction Collaboration (February 24, 2023)
Henan plans to support the construction of affordable wind power plants in low hills and other areas, promote the construction of model zones for large-scale utilization of geothermal heating; and promote the construction of pilot zones for national agricultural high-tech industry, national agricultural green development, and provincial agricultural green development.
2. Future Developments
2.1 Create Efficient Work Models for Collaborative Pollution and Carbon Reduction
The Implementation Plan for Increased Pollution and Carbon Reduction Collaboration provides directions for collaborating on pollution and carbon reduction work, but more detailed policies, standards, and regulations are required before each item can be fully implemented.
Key areas, cities, enterprises, and science and technology parks are currently exploring collaborative pollution and carbon reduction innovations with the aim of creating experience-based implementation models and multi-featured methods that can be replicated at scale. Research will be conducted into establishing a useful system to evaluate pollution and carbon reduction collaboration,
with the aim of creating references that can be used to optimize work priorities and promotion strategies, and economic policies, statistical systems, monitoring systems, verification systems, etc. will be established and refined to guide the delegation of various tasks under the Plan.
2.2 Liability will be assigned to Enterprises, and Enterprises will Increase R&D in Key Collaborative Pollution and Carbon Reduction Technologies
Enterprises with ultra-high energy consumption are required by law to implement mandatory clean production audits, and enterprises in key industries must convert to clean production models. The number of independent sintering and hot rolling enterprises will gradually decrease.
At the same time, existing policies encourage enterprises in key industries to explore the use of collaborative control technology for multi-pollutant air pollution and greenhouse gas, and promotes the industrial application of carbon capture and utilization and storage technologies. Policy incentives, raised standards, and incentives to adopt advanced technology will be used to encourage enterprises in key industries to engage in pilot pollution and carbon reduction work. Incentivize enterprises to substantially cut the amount of air, water, solid waste, GHG emissions and other pollutants produced via measures such as process improvement, the use of alternative energies, energy efficiency improvements, and general management practices. In this way, enterprises can significantly improve their environmental performance, and become industry leaders in pollutant and carbon emissions control.
