The State Council has recently issued the 2024-2025 Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction Action Program (hereinafter referred to as the “Program”), which deploys actions to reduce and replace the consumption of fossil energy, actions to enhance the consumption of non-fossil energy, and actions in 10 areas such as the iron and steel, petrochemical industry, non-ferrous metals, and building materials industries, with a total of 27 tasks.

Energy saving and carbon reduction is an important initiative to actively and steadily promote carbon peak carbon neutral, comprehensively promote the construction of a beautiful China, and promote comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development. The important action of carbon reduction is to effectively carry out fossil energy consumption reduction and replacement.

The Program proposes to strictly and reasonably control coal consumption. Strengthen the clean and efficient use of coal, and promote the low-carbon transformation and construction of coal power. Strictly implement the control of total coal consumption in key areas of air pollution prevention and control.

The Programme proposes to optimize the structure of oil and gas consumption. Reasonably regulate oil consumption and promote advanced bio-liquid fuels and sustainable aviation fuels. Accelerate the large-scale development of unconventional oil and gas resources such as shale oil (gas), coalbed methane and tight oil (gas). Guiding natural gas consumption in an orderly manner, prioritizing the protection of residential life and clean heating in northern areas.

In recent years, with the global energy transition, a new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial change to the depths of the strategic mineral resources has become a new field of strategic game of the world's major powers.

At present, China's oil and natural gas dependence on foreign countries exceeds 70% and 40% respectively. Cracking the path of excessive dependence on foreign oil and gas resources, in addition to strengthening the investigation, exploration and development and utilization of oil and gas minerals for unified planning, the establishment of safe and reliable energy and mineral reserves, supply and security system, but also to adjust the corresponding change in the domestic consumption of oil and natural gas concepts and patterns, improve the efficiency of the use of oil and gas resources, and the establishment of scientific and reasonable use of the model.

The Program emphasizes the green and low-carbon transformation and modernization of traditional industries such as iron and steel, chemical industry, etc., to create positive conditions for the promotion of dual-control of energy consumption to dual-control of carbon emissions, and to lay a more solid institutional foundation for sustained and good carbon peak carbon neutral work.

For the iron and steel industry energy saving and carbon reduction action, the “program” puts forward, strengthen the iron and steel production capacity production control. Strictly implement the replacement of steel production capacity, and strictly prevent the resurgence of “strip steel” production capacity. 2024 continue to implement the regulation of crude steel production. In-depth adjustment of iron and steel product structure. Accelerate energy-saving and carbon-reducing transformation of the iron and steel industry. 2024-2025, the energy-saving and carbon-reducing transformation of the iron and steel industry will result in energy savings of about 20 million tons of standard coal and carbon dioxide emission reduction of about 53 million tons.

The iron and steel industry is the foundation and pillar industry of China's economic development, and it is a key industry for the implementation of pollution reduction and carbon reduction, and its green, low-carbon and high-quality development is of great significance for the comprehensive construction of a modernized socialist country.

The task of the iron and steel industry is transformation and upgrading, and the direction of transformation is green and low-carbon. Green and low-carbon is not an important task of the industry, but a systematic project covering the whole field and running through the whole process. Taking energy efficiency enhancement, pollution reduction and carbon reduction as the gripping hand, optimizing the structure of the iron and steel industry, researching and applying advanced cleaner production technologies, improving the efficiency of resource and energy utilization, optimizing the operation level of pollution control facilities, and realizing a win-win situation in terms of both economic and environmental benefits have long been the rightful meanings for the iron and steel industry as a whole to achieve high-quality development.

For the non-ferrous metal industry's energy saving and carbon reduction actions, the Program proposes to promote energy saving and carbon reduction transformation in the non-ferrous metal industry. By the end of 2025, the proportion of production capacity above the energy efficiency benchmark level in the electrolytic aluminum industry will reach 30%, and the proportion of renewable energy use will reach more than 25%; the production capacity below the energy efficiency benchmark level in the non-ferrous metal industry will complete the technological transformation or be eliminated and withdrawn. 2024-2025, energy-saving and carbon-reducing transformation of the non-ferrous metal industry will result in an energy-saving of about 5 million tons of standard coal, and a reduction of carbon dioxide emissions of about 13 million tons.

As an important basic raw material industry, the non-ferrous metal industry is an important force to support economic development and national defense and military industry, and is also a key area for building a manufacturing power and upgrading high-tech industries. Carrying out energy saving and emission reduction of non-ferrous metals is of great significance to promote the early realization of the “double carbon” goal.

At present, most of China's non-ferrous metal enterprises are directly or indirectly using coal and other fossil energy, carbon reduction needs to build a clean low-carbon, safe and efficient energy system, to achieve the traditional fossil energy substitution.

At the same time, at present, the regional distribution of China's non-ferrous metal industry is relatively unbalanced, and there are large differences in carbon emissions from non-ferrous metal industry in different provinces. Therefore, optimizing the regional layout is an important way to reduce emissions in the non-ferrous metal industry. The relationship between the regional layout should be properly handled, and the coordination between the overall development of the industry and regional development should be strengthened.

China is a non-ferrous metal consuming country, but also a country with a shortage of non-ferrous metal resources. Insufficient supply of non-ferrous metal mineral resources is an important constraint on China's sustainable development. It is necessary to strengthen the recycling of non-ferrous metal resources, expand the proportion of renewable metals, and reduce energy consumption in the production chain.

Particularly noteworthy is that the Program also puts forward detailed initiatives for the management mechanism and support guarantee. For example, on the management side, it proposes to strengthen the target responsibility and evaluation and assessment of energy conservation and carbon reduction, strictly review energy conservation and approval of EIA for fixed asset investment projects, strengthen the management of energy conservation and carbon reduction in key energy-using units, and strengthen the statistical accounting of energy consumption and carbon emissions. In terms of safeguards, it is proposed to promote the revision of the Energy Conservation Law, improve the regulatory system of the national carbon market, improve pricing policies, strengthen scientific and technological leadership, and improve the market-oriented mechanism.

Article Source：China Mining News