How to strengthen the promotion and application of low-carbon technologies? Interview with the relevant person in charge of the Department of Climate Change of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment

In order to give full play to the important role of low-carbon technologies in promoting the realization of the goal of carbon peak and carbon neutrality, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, together with the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Ministry of Transport, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, has formulated the Implementation Plan for the Solicitation and Promotion of National Key Low-carbon Technologies, and simultaneously launched the fifth batch of technical recommendations and solicitation of the Catalogue of Low-Carbon Technologies for National Key Promotion.

At present, what is the status of technical declaration and the progress of work? What is the effect of the promotion and application of the first four batches of technologies? What are our weaknesses in technology transformation and application of achievements? What will we focus on? On the above issues, this newspaper interviewed the relevant person in charge of the Department of Climate Change of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment. 

What are the key points of declaration? What are the hot spots for filing? 

China Environment News: The fifth batch of solicitation for the "National Key Promotion of Low-carbon Technology Catalogue" has been launched this year. What is the effect of the promotion and application of the first four batches of technologies?

Answer:In February this year, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, together with five departments including science and technology, industry and information technology, issued the "Implementation Plan for the Solicitation and Promotion of National Key Low-carbon Technologies", and simultaneously launched the collection of the fifth batch of national key low-carbon technology catalogs, and selected advanced demonstration technologies with forward-looking and great potential for carbon reduction and relatively mature promotion technologies suitable for large-scale application. The whole society responded enthusiastically to this technology collection, and the main body submitted a total of more than 1,000 low-carbon technologies, the scale of the declaration exceeded the past, and a total of 978 technologies were submitted to the Department of Climate Change after the initial screening of local ecological and environmental departments and other recommended institutions, including 407 technologies recommended by local governments, 446 technologies recommended by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, and 126 technologies recommended by associations, scientific research institutes and public institutions.

From the perspective of the reporting entity, enterprises accounted for 95.2%, and state-owned central enterprises and private enterprises were equally divided. From the perspective of the types of declared technologies, the green and low-carbon transformation technologies of traditional industries have become the focus of the declaration, and the technologies related to strategic emerging industries such as the "new three things" and digital intelligence innovation have become the hot spots of the declaration.

In the next step, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment will organize experts recommended by various departments to do a good job in the review and public consultation of low-carbon technologies, release the fifth batch of "National Key Promotion of Low-carbon Technology Catalogue" as soon as possible, accelerate the promotion of low-carbon technologies into parks and enterprises, do a good job in the promotion and demonstration of low-carbon technologies, and give full play to the leading role of technological progress in tapping the potential of enterprises to reduce carbon emissions and the low-carbon transformation of industries.

Since 2012, the "National Key Promotion of Low-Carbon Technology Catalogue" has been released in four batches, and 124 key low-carbon technologies in 6 fields have been selected and vigorously promoted, effectively promoting the technological upgrading and transformation of enterprises and the low-carbon transformation and development of industries, and social attention and influence are increasing day by day.

According to the estimation of CECEP Consulting, after the release of the technology catalog, the market penetration rate of related technologies has generally increased from about 1% to about 10%, driving about 1 trillion yuan of technology investment, and the carbon reduction effect is remarkable. Among them, the bamboo winding composite material technology included in the technology catalog has driven the development of the "bamboo instead of plastic" industry, and the solar thermal power generation technology has been transformed into a certified methodology for voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction, cultivating new industries and providing new kinetic energy for green and low-carbon transformation and development, and effectively contributing to the development of new quality productivity.

What is the role of the National Comprehensive Service Platform for the Transformation of Ecological and Environmental Scientific and Technological Achievements? 

China Environment News:What role does the National Integrated Service Platform for the Transformation of Ecological and Environmental Scientific and Technological Achievements play in strengthening the promotion and application of low-carbon technologies? What mechanisms are in place to ensure the promotion and application of selected low-carbon technologies?

Answer:Since the launch of the National Comprehensive Service Platform for the Transformation of Ecological and Environmental Scientific and Technological Achievements (hereinafter referred to as the platform), more than 10 technical service areas such as "Responding to Climate Change" have been opened, focusing on the promotion of low-carbon technologies.

On the one hand, the platform carries out various forms of low-carbon technology promotion activities, holds green and low-carbon technology roadshows and theme exhibitions with the theme of "green and low-carbon technologies create the future", and conducts online and offline exchanges and introductions on the demonstration and application effects of technologies and emission reduction potential. During the main event of the 2023 National Low Carbon Day, the platform organized an online live broadcast of the technology roadshow and a low-carbon technology exhibition to showcase the achievements of advanced low-carbon technologies and typical cases, and more than 3,000 people participated in the roadshow online and offline, and the social response was enthusiastic.

On the other hand, we will work extensively with industry associations and industry alliances to build a service carrier for the promotion and promotion of technological achievements, fully mobilize social and scientific and technological resources, and make low-carbon technologies "barrier-free" to local governments, industrial institutions and various enterprises across the country. With the help of the provincial interface of the platform's national achievement transformation, we have established low-carbon technology promotion channels with local governments and associations, formed an online and offline low-carbon technology service chain of "demand analysis, technology selection, engineering application, and industrial incubation", and promoted nearly 600 advanced and applicable technologies such as low-carbon technologies to improve the efficiency of low-carbon technology promotion and transformation. 

China Environment News:In the Implementation Plan for the Solicitation and Promotion of National Key Low-Carbon Technologies, we have seen policy safeguard measures, especially the requirements for the promotion of low-carbon technologies by green finance and climate investment and financing policies. At present, what role has the development of domestic green finance played in the industrialization and promotion of green and low-carbon technologies in China?

Answer:We are gradually establishing and improving the system and mechanism of strong government leadership, active participation of enterprises, and effective regulation of the market, so as to better stimulate the enthusiasm of the whole society to participate in the industrialization of green and low-carbon technologies. As early as 2016, the People's Bank of China and other ministries and commissions promoted the construction of a green financial system, focusing on promoting product innovation and practice such as green credit, green bonds, green insurance, and green funds, and providing financial support for green and low-carbon technology projects.

In October 2020, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) and five other government departments jointly issued the Guiding Opinions on Promoting Investment and Financing in Response to Climate Change to guide and leverage social funds to effectively support technology investment projects in the field of climate change and low-carbon response. In August 2022, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) and nine other departments jointly announced a list of climate investment and financing pilot projects, encouraging local governments to establish a climate investment and financing project library, explore high-quality low-carbon projects, promote institutional innovation and model innovation, establish a docking platform for enterprises and financial institutions, strengthen the integration of industry and finance, and provide financial support and guarantee for the promotion and application of low-carbon technologies. In April 2024, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) and nine other departments jointly issued the "Climate Investment and Financing Pilot Effectiveness Evaluation Plan" to guide pilot localities to focus on the main line of leveraging funds to support climate change actions, and give full play to the important role of climate investment and financing in helping the green and low-carbon transformation of local industries.

By the end of 2023, 3,086 pilot local projects have been put into storage, with a cumulative investment of 3,290.885 billion yuan, and it is expected to achieve an annual emission reduction of 32,986,600 tons after completion, and a total of 566 projects have been successfully docked with financial institutions, achieving a total credit of 455.384 billion yuan. Green financial products have played an irreplaceable role in providing strong financing guarantee and financial support for the development of China's green and low-carbon industries and technologies. 

There are still obstacles and difficulties in the entry of technology into enterprises, parks and industrial applications 

China Environment News:In your reply to reporters' questions, you also mentioned that by 2030, through the follow-up batch of the "National Key Promotion of Low-carbon Technology Catalogue", a systematic and panoramic low-carbon technology map will be gradually formed, and the path of carbon reduction, pollution reduction, green expansion, and growth synergy technology will be clearer, relevant support policies and management mechanisms will be more sound, and low-carbon technology and industrial advantages will be gradually enhanced. At present, what are the weak links in the transformation of technology and the application of achievements? What will we focus on?

Answer:Judging from the transformation and application of the first four batches of low-carbon technologies, the R&D capacity of green and low-carbon technologies is still insufficient, and there are still some obstacles and difficulties in the introduction of technologies into enterprises, parks and industrial applications.

From the perspective of technology research and development,The cycle of green and low-carbon technology from R&D to economic benefits is long, and it is difficult to sustain the R&D and application of green and low-carbon technologies only by relying on the market to promote small and medium-sized enterprises, and the vitality of enterprises as the main body of technological innovation is insufficient. According to the Global Green and Low-Carbon Patent Statistical Analysis Report (2023) released by the State Intellectual Property Office, from 2016 to 2021, the number of green and low-carbon patents granted in China is compared with that of international developed countries, and the research output of green and low-carbon technologies of Chinese enterprises accounts for only 5%, and green and low-carbon patents are dominated by large central enterprises and scientific research institutions, and the technological innovation situation of the whole society has not yet been formed.

From the perspective of technology promotion, first, the motivation of small and medium-sized enterprises to participate in the application and promotion of green and low-carbon technologies is insufficient.At present, the pace of green and low-carbon technology innovation and iteration is fast, the technical performance improvement cycle is short, and the corresponding industry standard formulation cycle is long, which affects the technical identity of small and medium-sized enterprises; Due to the lack of guarantees and mortgages, and the short average maturity of traditional credit, the investment cost and risk of green and low-carbon technology application and transformation projects for small and medium-sized enterprises are high.Second, the application cost of green and low-carbon technologies in large enterprises is high, and it is difficult to promote them.Most of the green and low-carbon technology applications will generate green premiums, due to factors such as investment scale, technical thresholds, and raw material supply, the proportion of enterprises implementing technological transformation and promoting application is low. In addition, the overall carbon price of the carbon trading market is low, lower than the cost of applying green and low-carbon technologies, and the coverage of industries is limited, which is not enough to fully encourage all types of enterprises to carry out low-carbon transformation technology application and upgrading.

We will strengthen the demonstration, promotion and industrial application of low-carbon technologies in the following three aspects.The first is the path of innovative technology promotion.The "Implementation Plan" proposes to encourage low-carbon cities, pilot areas for collaborative innovation in pollution reduction and carbon reduction, demonstration zones for ecological civilization construction (eco-industrial parks), zero-waste cities and other national pilot and demonstration areas to widely apply low-carbon technologies in the catalogue. Carry out the activity of "low-carbon technology into the park", and explore the low-carbon technology transformation and application mode of "park-enterprise" two-way interaction. Establish a tracking and feedback mechanism for the promotion of low-carbon technologies to enhance the demonstration effect of low-carbon technologies. Promote the establishment of a multi-party linkage mechanism for the promotion of low-carbon technologies by governments, scientific research institutions, and enterprises, and carry out systematic and regional integrated application demonstrations of low-carbon technologies in accordance with local conditions.The second is to strengthen policy support and guarantees.Support low-carbon technology application projects to participate in the national voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction trading market. Encourage banking institutions to increase support for upgrading and transformation projects using low-carbon technologies in the catalogue, and support eligible enterprises to issue bonds for direct financing for the research and development and application of low-carbon technologies. Strengthen the support of low-carbon technology in climate investment and financing, encourage pilot areas in climate investment and financing to include low-carbon technology application projects in the climate investment and financing project database, and explore ways to achieve financial support for the application and promotion of low-carbon technologies.The third is to strengthen technical publicity and exchanges.We will continue to do a good job in the online and offline promotion activities of low-carbon technologies on the "National Low-Carbon Day", and the ecological and environmental departments at all levels will jointly carry out low-carbon technology publicity and display activities, promote the exchange and promotion of low-carbon technologies, and enhance the understanding and cognition of low-carbon technologies in the whole society. Deepen international experience exchange and cooperation on low-carbon technologies, and promote the promotion and application of low-carbon technologies in South-South cooperation on climate change and the construction of a green Belt and Road Initiative.