Greenhouse gas control is included in environmental assessment management! Thermal power industry construction projects will be implemented from July 1
On May 29, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment issued the "Technical Guidelines for Environmental Impact Assessment of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Thermal Power Industry Construction Projects (Trial)"(hereinafter referred to as the "Guidelines"), incorporating greenhouse gas control into environmental impact assessment management and standardizing greenhouse gas emissions in key industries. Technical methods for environmental impact assessment. This guide will come into effect on July 1, 2024.
New thermal power projects must consider synergy in pollution reduction and carbon reduction
The thermal power industry is the main source of air pollutants and carbon dioxide emissions. Under the "double carbon" goal, the thermal power industry has entered a new period of green transformation. Newly added thermal power projects must take into account the coordinated emission reduction of environmental pollutants and greenhouse gases, and formulate a nationwide unified environmental impact assessment of greenhouse gas emissions from construction projects in the thermal power industry. Technical guidelines can constrain enterprises 'environmental governance behaviors on the same scale, benchmark advanced standards based on evaluation results, find gaps, and promote the demonstration, application and promotion of advanced low-carbon technical measures and management requirements. Further improve the green development level of the thermal power industry. At the same time, the formulation of a national unified technical guide for environmental impact assessment of greenhouse gas emissions from thermal power industry construction projects will also help further implement the pilot requirements for greenhouse gas environmental impact assessment of construction projects, and promote coordinated pollution reduction and carbon reduction of thermal power industry construction projects from the source.
The "Guide" focuses on the main greenhouse gas emission sources of the industry, and has not yet put forward requirements for the environmental impact assessment of greenhouse gas emissions from thermal power industry construction projects that coordinate the disposal of solid waste.
The EIA results are connected to the national carbon market and only account for greenhouse gas emissions during the normal production and operation phase of construction projects.
Taking into account the continuous deepening of the construction and operation of the national carbon market, the environmental impact assessment results of future construction projects can provide important data support and incremental early warning functions for the national carbon market quota total target and allocation. In order to make a good overall connection and ensure Accounting boundaries and results are both unified and comparable. This guide divides the accounting boundaries into two types: main boundaries and other boundaries. Among them, the main boundaries are consistent with the current carbon market control accounting boundaries (power generation facilities).
The guide clarifies that only greenhouse gas emissions during the normal production and operation phase of construction projects will be accounted for. According to the requirements of relevant policy standards, greenhouse gas emissions accounting methods for fossil fuel combustion, industrial production processes, purchased electricity and heat consumption, and greenhouse gas recycling (disposal) are given. Among them, for existing thermal power companies that are not included in the carbon market, or where existing thermal power companies use "high limit" parameters to calculate greenhouse gas emissions, this guide proposes relevant parameter values in the form of an appendix based on relevant documents to standardize and unify the relevant accounting results of greenhouse gas emissions from existing projects to avoid "amplifying" the benefits of eliminating and shutting down existing projects in greenhouse gas emission reduction. In addition, if the carbon capture, storage, and comprehensive utilization projects of construction projects cannot ensure long-term stable operation, these greenhouse gas emission reductions cannot be included. The guidelines require thermal power projects to summarize the changes in environmental pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions after project construction based on existing projects, proposed construction projects,"bringing the old with new", reduction and substitution, etc. The accounting results of greenhouse gas emissions must be calculated according to the main boundaries and other boundaries.
In addition, from the perspective of promoting the clean transportation of bulk materials in the thermal power industry, optimizing transportation methods, and reducing environmental pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions in the whole society, we encourage the accounting of greenhouse gas emissions during off-site transportation of bulk materials such as coal, but this emissions are not included in the construction project. Total greenhouse gas emissions. By setting up "double boundaries" for accounting, on the one hand, it serves the carbon market for its reference. On the other hand, based on the goal of improving environmental quality, it optimizes the design and operation control conditions of pollution control facilities for new thermal power projects, and improves the environment from the source. Reduce emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gases and enhance synergy capabilities.
How to make a feasibility demonstration?
The "Guide" requires that technical measures and management plans for greenhouse gas emission reduction to be adopted in construction projects in the thermal power industry be proposed from the aspects of source prevention and control (process design, equipment selection, floor layout, etc.), process control, terminal treatment, recycling, etc., and carry out comparative analysis of multiple plans for technical measures for pollution prevention and control such as exhaust gas and wastewater and environmental risk prevention and control based on coordinated pollution reduction and carbon reduction. Considering that the current comparison and selection of technical measures for collaborative pollution reduction and carbon reduction is still in the initial exploration stage, and there is a lack of relevant technical guidelines and other guidance, it only proposes to "analyze and adopt greenhouse gases after selection" from the aspects of "technical measures" and "emission changes". Type and process of gas control measures, and account for the resulting changes in environmental pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions." Technical and economic feasibility demonstration is required for the green energy-saving processes, products and control measures to be adopted by the project to ensure that the technology can be implemented and the collaborative emission reduction effect will not be compromised.
