Xia Yingxian, Director of the Department of Climate Change of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, said that green low-carbon emission reduction in steel, cement and aluminium smelting industries

On October 29, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment held a regular press conference in October. Xia Yingxian, Director of the Department of Climate Change of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, attended the conference to introduce the latest progress in China's response to climate change. Pei Xiaofei, spokesman of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and director of the Department of publicity and Education, presided over the press conference to inform the recent progress of the key work of ecological environment protection and jointly answer questions from reporters. Xia Yingxian, director of the Department of Climate Change of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, said that in March this year,

" How to use the carbon market to promote the green and low-carbon transformation of the three industries of steel, cement and aluminium smelting". The Ministry of Ecology and Environment issued the Work Program of the National Carbon Emission Trading Market Covering Cement, Steel and Aluminum Smelting Industries, formally incorporating the three industries of steel, cement and aluminum smelting into the carbon emission trading market, and realizing the first expansion of the carbon market. The inclusion of the carbon market will effectively promote the green and low-carbon transformation of these three industries. Mainly reflected in the following three aspects:

First, enhance the drive of emission reduction and consolidate the responsibility of enterprises for emission reduction. During the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, the national carbon emissions trading market will gradually shift from intensity control to total amount control. By 2027, priority will be given to the implementation of total quota control for industries with relatively stable total carbon emissions. After the three industries of iron and steel, cement and aluminium smelting are included, the emission reduction responsibility of enterprises will be effectively compacted through the total quota and allocation scheme, which will provide effective guarantee for the realization of the national greenhouse gas emission control target.

The two is to drive low carbon investment and accelerate the innovation and promotion of green low carbon technology. Since the launch of the national carbon market, key emission units in the power generation industry have established an internal control system for carbon emission management, incorporating carbon asset management into daily production and operation activities. Some enterprises have realized the turnaround of quotas through low-carbon technological transformation and optimization of production processes. The benefits of the carbon market can also feed back technological innovation and green low-carbon transformation. The expansion of the national carbon market will drive more enterprises to reduce carbon emissions through technological innovation, energy-saving technological transformation and improvement of management efficiency, thus effectively driving the R & D and investment of low-carbon, zero-carbon and negative-carbon technologies, and providing technical and financial support for the green low-carbon transformation of key emission units.

The three is to promote value discovery and enhance the cost-effectiveness of green low-carbon transformation. According to statistics, through carbon emission trading, the overall emission reduction cost of the power generation industry has been reduced by about 35 billion yuan in the first two performance cycles. After the three industries of steel, cement and aluminum smelting are included, the main body of the industry is further diversified, and the cross-industry resource allocation is promoted through the carbon emission trading market, which is conducive to reducing the emission reduction cost of the whole society. In addition, the price of the national carbon emissions trading market has fluctuated to a certain extent recently. Xia Yingxian said that the carbon price is spontaneously formed by the market through trading behavior, mainly affected by multiple factors such as supply and demand, market expectations, trading behavior and market psychology, and short-term fluctuations are normal.

Xia Yingxian said that the next step would be to further expand the coverage of the industry in accordance with the relevant work plan of the Opinions of the two offices, give priority to the implementation of total quota control in industries with relatively stable total carbon emissions, implement paid quota allocation, enrich trading subjects, and further tighten the quotas of the four industries. Through the above measures, we will further strengthen the pricing function of the carbon market, promote the formation of a carbon price that better reflects the real cost of emission reduction, and strive to optimize the allocation efficiency of carbon emission reduction resources and maximize the efficiency.