To cope with climate change, countries around the world are facing the general trend of low-carbon energy and economic transition. How do countries transform their energy structures? What can China do?
He Jianjian, deputy director of the Climate Change Expert Committee and chairman of the Academic Committee of the Institute of Climate Change and Sustainable Development of Tsinghua University, gave his judgement at the forum on "Low Carbon Energy Transition Enabling Economic Development" held by China News Agency .

Great pressure on energy structure transformation

Since December 2018, the Paris Agreement has entered the stage of full implementation. To achieve the goal of the Paris Agreement to control the average temperature rise to within 2 degrees Celsius from the pre-industrial level, reverse the trend of greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible. For rapid decline.

However, He Jiankun believes that at present, in accordance with the voluntary contribution targets proposed by countries under the Paris Agreement in response to climate change, greenhouse gas emissions are still rising by 2030. With a gap of more than 100 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, in order to cope with climate change, efforts to accelerate the low-carbon transition have been accelerated.

The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's "Special Report on Temperature Rise at 1.5 ° C" previously issued in South Korea strengthened and advanced the goal-oriented and long-term low-carbon emission strategy and path selection of achieving "carbon neutrality" in the middle of this century.

The special report strengthens the urgency of tackling climate change. If the target of controlling temperature rise not exceeding 1.5 degrees Celsius can be achieved in the future, compared with the 2 degree Celsius target, the impact of climate change can be greatly reduced, but the 1.5 degree Celsius target must be achieved It will cost 3 to 4 times more than the 2 degrees Celsius target.

He Jiankun believes that in order to reduce the cost and cost of carbon emissions, the development of advanced and revolutionary technologies. At present, under the condition that the sustainable economic and social development can be maintained, how to coordinate the Paris Agreement to reduce carbon emissions goals and achieve a low-carbon path, while achieving the 2030 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, a balance between economic development, social progress and environmental protection Become the focus of the current society.

China's energy transition

What role and responsibility will China play in the low-carbon transition?

He Jiankun said that as a responsible big country, China is actively promoting the energy revolution, setting strong targets for independent contribution to reducing emissions, and economic transformation and upgrading.

In fact, if China is to achieve sustainable economic and social development, it must also embark on the path of green and low-carbon sustainable development. Implement coordinated governance of the economy, energy, environment and climate change.

At present, China is intensifying its energy revolution and low-carbon economic transition, and its economic development is changing from high-speed growth to high-quality growth.

Dai Yande, former director of the Energy Research Institute of the Development and Reform Commission, believes that the energy transition should be divided into two stages. Is to solve regional environmental pollution, from high carbon to low carbon, this step has basically completed all industrialization; energy transition, from low carbon to carbon-free, now this process is in progress, although countries are ambitious, but from the perspective of The situation facing the problem is very grim.

The major developed countries have completed the transition from high-carbon to low-carbon. As far as China is concerned, nearly 60% of energy is still coal. China must go from high carbon to low carbon, and from low carbon to carbon-free. These two steps must go at the same time. This is China's reality.

He Jiankun said that since the new normal of the economy, China's rapid growth in energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions has been effectively curbed.