Notice from the General Office of the State Council on Issuing the \"Work Plan for Accelerating the Establishment of a Dual-Control System for Carbon Emissions\"

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Notice of the General Office of the State Council on Issuing the “Work Plan for Accelerating the Establishment of a Dual-Control System for Carbon Emissions”
Guo Ban Fa [2024] No. 39

People’s governments of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government; all ministries and commissions of the State Council, as well as all institutions directly subordinate to the State Council:

The “Work Plan for Accelerating the Establishment of a Dual-Control System for Carbon Emissions” has been approved by the State Council. It is now issued to you. Please earnestly implement it in light of local circumstances. General Office of the State Council July 30, 2024 (Some content has been omitted) Work Plan for Accelerating the Establishment of a Dual Control System for Carbon Emissions In order to implement the decisions and arrangements of **** and the State Council, to establish a new mechanism for transitioning from dual control of energy consumption to dual control of carbon emissions, and to accelerate the development of a system for controlling both the total amount and intensity of carbon emissions (hereinafter referred to as dual control of carbon emissions), this work plan is formulated in order to promote carbon peak and carbon neutrality in a proactive and steady manner, as well as to accelerate the green transformation of the mode of economic development. I. General requirements: Guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, it is necessary to thoroughly implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and its second and third plenary sessions. The economic philosophy of Xi Jinping and his philosophy on ecological civilization should be fully implemented, as well as the new development concepts in their entirety and accurately. Efforts should be made to accelerate the establishment of a new development pattern and promote high-quality development. Carbon emission targets and related requirements should be incorporated into relevant plans. Policies, systems, and management mechanisms for local carbon assessment, industry-level carbon control, corporate carbon management, project carbon evaluation, and product carbon footprints need to be developed. These should be effectively integrated with the national carbon emission trading market, so as to create a comprehensive system for controlling carbon emissions and provide solid support for achieving the goals of carbon peak and carbon neutrality. By 2025, the system for tracking and accounting of carbon emissions will be further improved; a range of standards related to carbon emission accounting for various industries and enterprises, as well as standards for product carbon footprints, will be introduced and put into use. A database of greenhouse gas emission factors will be essentially established and regularly updated, while the capabilities in measurement, statistics, and monitoring will be enhanced, thereby laying the foundation for implementing dual controls on carbon emissions across the country during the 15th Five-Year Plan period. “During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, a dual control system for carbon emissions will be implemented, with intensity control as the main measure and total volume control as a supplementary measure. A comprehensive evaluation and assessment system for carbon peak and carbon neutrality will be established. Efforts will be made to enhance the capacity for calculating carbon emissions in key sectors and industries, improve the management systems for major energy-consuming entities and those with significant carbon emissions, conduct carbon emission assessments for fixed-asset investment projects, and develop a product carbon footprint management system and a product carbon labeling and certification system suited to China’s national conditions, so as to ensure the timely attainment of the carbon peak target. After reaching the peak in carbon emissions, a dual-control system for carbon emissions will be implemented, focusing on total amount control while also taking intensity control into account. An evaluation and assessment system for achieving carbon neutrality will be established to further strengthen the requirements for monitoring and managing carbon emissions in various regions, as well as in key sectors, industries, and enterprises. A management system for product carbon footprints will be improved, and a product carbon labeling and certification system will be introduced to help ensure a steady decline in total carbon emissions. II. Improve planning systems related to carbon emissions (1) Promote the inclusion of carbon emission targets in planning. Carbon emission targets should be incorporated into the plans for national economic and social development. By taking into full account factors such as economic development, energy security, the normal production and living needs of the population, as well as **self-determined contribution goals, carbon emission targets for the five-year planning period should be set reasonably, with coordinated arrangements made for key tasks and major projects. “During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, reducing carbon emission intensity will be set as a mandatory indicator for national economic and social development, and calculations of total carbon emissions will be carried out; energy consumption intensity will no longer serve as a mandatory indicator. (II) Formulate action plans related to achieving carbon peak and carbon neutrality. In line with the relevant arrangements outlined in the Outline of the Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development, we will study and formulate action plans related to carbon peak and carbon neutrality, and specify the measures, key tasks, and safeguard mechanisms for controlling carbon emission targets. “During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, we will further implement the arrangements outlined in the Action Plan for Achieving Carbon Peak Before 2030, to ensure that carbon peak is reached by 2030. (III) Improve the relevant laws, regulations, and systems regarding dual control over carbon emissions. Thoroughly review and remove from current regulations and policies those elements that are not in line with the requirements for dual control of carbon emissions. Accelerate the revision of regulations such as the Measures for Energy Conservation Review of Fixed Asset Investment Projects and the Measures for Energy Conservation Management of Key Energy-Consuming Entities, incorporating relevant requirements regarding dual control over carbon emissions. III. Establish an evaluation and assessment system for local carbon emission targets (4) Reasonably decompose the dual control indicators for carbon emissions. At the initial stage of the five-year plan, taking into account factors such as the level of economic and social development, regional and functional positioning, as well as industrial and energy structures, the dual control targets for carbon emissions are reasonably allocated to each province. Provinces can further break down the dual control targets for carbon emissions, thereby strengthening the responsibilities of cities and key enterprises in controlling emissions and reducing pollution. (5) Establish a comprehensive evaluation and assessment system for carbon peak and carbon neutrality. Formulate and implement comprehensive evaluation and assessment measures for carbon peak and carbon neutrality, clarify the procedures for evaluation and assessment as well as the ways to utilize the results, and conduct evaluations and assessments on all provinces. A comprehensive evaluation and assessment index system shall be established, focusing on indicators such as total and per-unit carbon emissions, while also including indicators related to the energy structure, energy consumption intensity, resource utilization efficiency, carbon sequestration by ecosystems, and green transformation in key sectors. (VI) Promote the establishment of a carbon emission budget management system at both provincial and municipal levels. It promotes regions to carry out carbon emission accounting in light of local conditions, guides provincial and municipal levels to establish carbon emission budget management systems, conducts annual analyses of carbon emission trends and target forecasts, and strengthens coordination with the national carbon emission trading market. By the end of 2025, guide all regions in conducting pilot efforts to formulate carbon emission budgets. “During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, regions will be guided to formulate carbon emission budgets based on their targets for reducing carbon emission intensity, and to make dynamic adjustments to these budgets. “During the 14th Five-Year Plan period and beyond, efforts will be made to urge all regions to establish strict mechanisms for controlling total carbon emissions, implementing comprehensive management of carbon emission budgets over the course of the five-year planning period as well as on an annual basis. IV. Exploring the early warning and control mechanisms for carbon emissions in key industries and sectors (7) Improving the carbon emission accounting mechanisms in key industries and sectors. Leverage the roles of industry regulatory authorities and trade associations. Focusing on industrial sectors such as power, steel, non-ferrous metals, building materials, petrochemicals, and chemicals, as well as fields like urban and rural construction and transportation, reasonably define the scope of carbon emission accounting within these industries. Relying on data from energy and industrial statistics, carbon emission accounting related to energy activities and industrial production processes, and the national carbon emissions trading market, conduct carbon emission accounting for key industries. (8) Establish a monitoring and early warning mechanism for carbon emissions in the industry sector. Determine the baseline levels of carbon emissions and their reduction potential in key industries and sectors. Conduct regular analysis and monitoring of the carbon emission situation, issue early warnings for industries and sectors experiencing rapid increases in emissions, and take measures as appropriate—such as imposing stricter scrutiny on new projects, exercising tighter controls over the national carbon emissions trading market, and enforcing stricter management of major energy-consuming entities and those with high carbon emissions. When conditions are ripe, the requirements for carbon emission control in key industries and sectors will be incorporated into the comprehensive evaluation and assessment indicator system for carbon peak and carbon neutrality. V. Improve the management system for energy conservation and carbon reduction in enterprises (9) Improve the management system for key energy-consuming and carbon-emitting entities. Formulate and revise rules and standards for calculating carbon emissions of enterprises in key industries such as power, steel, non-ferrous metals, building materials, petrochemicals, and chemicals. Formulate and issue management measures for energy conservation and carbon emission reduction in key energy-consuming and carbon-emitting entities; incorporate requirements for carbon emission control into the existing management systems for such entities; urge them to meet these energy conservation and carbon reduction requirements; and strengthen the provision, testing, and calibration of instruments for measuring energy use and carbon emissions. (10) Give play to the regulatory role of market mechanisms. Improve the regulatory mechanisms for the national carbon emission trading market, gradually expand the scope of industries covered, explore a paid allocation system for quotas, enhance the standards for reporting and verification, and encourage enterprises that are subject to these regulations to reduce their carbon emissions. Improve the national voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction trading market, gradually expand the areas of support, and promote emission reductions on a wider scale. Accelerate the development and improvement of the green certificate trading market to promote the consumption of green electricity. VI. Conduct carbon emission assessments for fixed-asset investment projects (XI) Improve the energy-saving review system for fixed-asset investment projects. Incorporate the relevant requirements regarding carbon emission assessment into the energy conservation review for fixed-asset investment projects. Conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the energy consumption and carbon emissions associated with these projects, and use the resulting review and evaluation findings as important references for the commencement of construction, completion acceptance, and operational management of such projects. (12) Improve the environmental impact assessment system for construction projects. Integrate greenhouse gas emission control into environmental impact assessments, predict and evaluate the volume and levels of greenhouse gas emissions from construction projects, conduct environmental impact assessments on greenhouse gas emissions in key industries such as electricity, steel, building materials, non-ferrous metals, petrochemicals, and chemicals, and strengthen coordinated control over pollution reduction and carbon emission cuts. Formulate technical specifications for environmental impact assessment of greenhouse gas emissions in construction projects in key industries, and improve the technical system for environmental impact assessment. VII. Accelerate the establishment of a product carbon footprint management system (13) Formulate rules and standards for calculating product carbon footprints. Formulate and issue standards such as general guidelines for quantifying product carbon footprints, to establish unified requirements regarding the principles for calculating product carbon footprints, the methods used for such calculations, and data quality. Adhering to the principle of giving priority to urgent needs, focusing on key products such as electricity, fuel, steel, electrolytic aluminum, cement, fertilizers, hydrogen, lime, glass, ethylene, synthetic ammonia, calcium carbide, methanol, coal chemicals, power batteries, photovoltaic materials, new energy vehicles, and electronic appliances, relevant industry associations, enterprises, and research institutions are organized to develop and issue industry standards or group standards for calculating the carbon footprint of these products. (14) Strengthen the development of the background database for carbon footprints. Accelerate the development of a national database on greenhouse gas emission factors, establish a mechanism for regular updates and releases, and provide benchmark data for local authorities and enterprises to calculate the carbon footprint of their products. Industry regulatory authorities and regions with the necessary resources can establish background databases on the carbon footprints of key industries as needed, and encourage relevant industry associations, enterprises, and research institutions to explore the creation of background databases on the carbon footprints of products in specific industry sectors. (15) Establish a product carbon labeling and certification system. Formulate management measures for product carbon labeling certification, develop relevant **standards for carbon labeling, organize cities with the necessary capabilities to carry out pilot projects on key products, and encourage enterprises to conduct product carbon labeling certification in accordance with market principles. VIII. Organization and implementation: Relevant regions and departments must thoroughly implement the decisions and arrangements of **** and the State Council, accelerate the establishment of a dual-control system for carbon emissions, refine implementation plans based on actual conditions, advance various key tasks in accordance with their respective responsibilities, and continuously strengthen the foundation for this work. **The Development and Reform Commission must effectively carry out its coordination responsibilities related to the \"dual carbon\" goals, strengthen supervision and promotion of implementation, conduct forward-looking policy research, promptly optimize relevant tasks and measures, swiftly address any shortcomings in the existing systems, and work together with relevant departments to enhance publicity, interpretation, and training. Seek guidance and submit reports promptly for major matters.