Carbon emission reduction potential in renewable resources deserves attention
The General Office of the State Council recently issued the "Work Plan for Accelerating the Construction of a Dual Control System for Carbon Emissions", requiring accelerating the construction of a dual control system for total carbon emissions and intensity, actively and steadily promoting carbon peak and carbon neutrality, and accelerating the green transformation of development methods. The use of renewable resources instead of virgin materials can effectively reduce greenhouse gases emitted during the mining process and is an important way to reduce the total amount and intensity of carbon emissions. Data from the China Material Recycling Association shows that the total amount of renewable resource recycling nationwide in 2023 will be close to 400 million tons, and the carbon emission reduction potential will account for about 30% of the total carbon emission reduction.
Taking the disposal of waste electrical and electronic products as an example, in 2023, Sichuan Province alone will dispose of 6.4 million units of waste electrical and electronic products, totaling 154,000 tons, producing 62,000 tons, 6,000 tons, 6,000 tons and 40,000 tons of recycled iron, recycled copper, recycled aluminum and recycled plastics respectively. According to the group standard "Technical Specifications for Project-Based Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Assessment and Resource Utilization Process in the Field of Circular Economy", the corresponding carbon emission reduction potential is 150,000 tons. However, at present, since the country has not released a voluntary carbon emission reduction methodology and related standard system in the field of renewable resources, the carbon emission reduction benefits brought by the recycling of these renewable resources have not been recognized by the carbon market. The carbon emission reduction management system in the field of renewable resources should be improved as soon as possible, and the carbon emission reduction effect of renewable resources should be incorporated into the product carbon footprint certification and carbon emission accounting system to improve the market competitiveness of renewable resources.
Give full play to the leading role of the ecological and environmental department and accelerate the construction of a carbon footprint support system for the recycling of renewable resources. Guide and encourage industry associations, colleges and universities, scientific research institutes, technical institutions, leading enterprises, etc. to actively participate in the research on the carbon footprint factors of renewable resource products and the carbon footprint factors of various product disposal processes, and establish and improve waste electrical and electronic products, waste photovoltaics The carbon footprint factors of waste materials such as recycling, sorting, and dismantling of components, used power batteries, and scrapped motor vehicles. In view of the current problems of serious missing carbon footprint factor data for recycled materials and difficulty in accounting for carbon emission reduction of downstream products, it is necessary to speed up the research on carbon footprint factors of bulk recycled materials such as recycled aluminum, recycled copper, and recycled plastics, and promote the carbon footprint of products containing recycled materials. Accounting.
Encourage production enterprises to increase the proportion of renewable resources used in their products. Connect with international standards, incorporate the recycling of renewable resources into the carbon footprint certification system, and provide support in terms of tax incentives, carbon emission reduction accounting, etc. Introduce standard requirements for the proportion of renewable resources used in products such as power batteries, automobiles and photovoltaic modules, and increase the proportion of cobalt, lithium and nickel recycled materials in lithium-ion batteries, and the content of recycled plastics in automobiles. Guide production enterprises to include the amount of renewable resources used in their products into carbon footprint evaluation to improve the low-carbon competitiveness of their products. Promote the recycling of renewable resources through carbon footprint evaluation to form a virtuous cycle of low-carbon production of products and efficient utilization of renewable resources.
Actively promote the development of greenhouse gas emission reduction projects in the renewable resources industry. Formulate and release a methodology for voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction projects from renewable resources as soon as possible, and stipulate applicable conditions, emission reduction accounting methods, monitoring methods, project approval and emission reduction verification requirements, etc. Promote the inclusion of relevant methodologies into China's voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction (CCER) system, and promote the certified voluntary emission reductions of the output of relevant emission reduction projects to enter the carbon market for trading and realization. At the same time, we encourage the development and certification of renewable resource greenhouse gas emission reduction projects that meet the International Certified Emission Reduction Standards (VCS) to tap the benefits of renewable resource carbon reduction.
Author's units: Shang Min, Liu Yi, Chen Jing, Sichuan Province Solid Waste and Chemicals Management Center; Jiang Zhilan, China Quality Certification Center Co., Ltd
