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Title: 100 Q&As on Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality

100 Q&As on Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality

by Chen Ying (Author) Chao Qingchen (Author)
©2024 Monographs XXXII, 160 Pages
Theology & Philosophy

Summary

China announced the national goal of achieving carbon peaking before 2030 and carbon neutrality before 2060. The great cause of achieving carbon peaking and carbon neutrality requires relentless efforts of the whole society. 100 Q&As on Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality explains in simple language some core and key issues about achieving carbon peaking and carbon neutrality in the form of Q&As. This book will enhance the recognition and awareness of achieving carbon peaking and carbon neutrality among officials at all levels, enterprise personnel, and the general public.

Table Of Contents

  • Cover
  • Halftitle Page
  • Title
  • Copyright
  • About the authors
  • About the book
  • This eBook can be cited
  • Advisors
  • Lead Authors
  • Other Contributors
  • Contents
  • Foreword: Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality Leads the Energy Revolution
  • Preface
  • List of Figures
  • List of Tables
  • Chapter 1 The Significance of Achieving Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality
  • 1. What Is Carbon Peaking? What Is Carbon Neutrality?
  • 2. What Factors Are Behind China’s Proposal of Achieving Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality?
  • 3. What Are the Connections Between the Goal of Achieving Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality and China’s Two Centennial Goals?
  • 4. What Are the Connections Between Achieving Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality and the Construction of Ecological Civilization?
  • 5. How to Understand the Importance of Major Targets Set out in China’s 14th Five-Year Plan to the Goal of Achieving Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality?
  • Chapter 2 The Scientific Connotations of Achieving Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality
  • Section I: The Scientific Basis of Climate Change
  • 6. How to Correctly Understand the Definitions of Climate Change?
  • 7. How Has Climate Changed in the Past Century?
  • 8. What Are the Causes of Climate Change?
  • 9. Which Gases Are Defined as Greenhouse Gases?
  • 10. How Does the Earth’s Carbon Cycle Work?
  • 11. How to Measure Changes in Greenhouse Gases?
  • 12. What Is the Relationship Between Human-Induced Greenhouse Gases and Global Warming?
  • 13. How Do Clouds and Aerosols Affect the Climate System?
  • 14. Will the Melting of Permafrost or Warming of Oceans Exacerbate Global Warming?
  • 15. In Recent Years, Extremely Cold Weather Occurs Frequently in Many Areas of China in Winter. Is Global Warming Really Happening?
  • 16. How Do Scientists Predict Climate in the Coming Decades and Its Impacts?
  • 17. How Will Climate Change Evolve Without Any Human Control by the End of This Century?
  • 18. How to Measure the Space of Carbon Emissions?
  • Section II: Impacts of Climate Change
  • 19. Does Global Warming Do More Harm than Good or Vice Versa?
  • 20. Which Systems on the Earth Are More Sensitive to Climate Change?
  • 21. Has Global Warming Seriously Affected the World and China?
  • 22. What Is the Relationship Between Climate Change and Changes in the Environment?
  • 23. What Impacts Has Climate Change Exerted on Cities?
  • 24. Will Northwest China Turn into a Green Oasis from a Dry Land as It Has Become Warmer and Wetter in the Past 40 Years?
  • 25. Does Climate Change Trigger Chain Reactions in Countries Around the World?
  • 26. How Will Climate Risks Evolve in the Future?
  • 27. Will Impacts of Climate Change Be Any Different in the Case of a Warming of 1.5 Degrees Celsius or 2 Degrees Celsius?
  • Section III: Main Ways to Tackle Climate Change
  • 28. How Can humanity Tackle Climate Change?
  • 29. How Can Each Industry Reduce Emissions?
  • 30. What Are Negative Emissions Technologies?
  • 31. What Are the Pathways for Limiting Global Warming to 2 degrees Celsius or 1.5 degrees Celsius?
  • 32. On What Scale Should Negative Emissions Technologies Be Applied to Achieve Global Carbon Neutrality?
  • 33. How Can Climate Change Affect International Investments?
  • 34. Why Is It Still Essential to Make Relentless Efforts to Adapt to Climate Change Even if the 1.5 Degrees Celsius Target Is Achieved in the Future?
  • 35. How Should Coastal Communities and Populations Better Adapt to Climate Change?
  • Chapter 3 Policy Actions for Achieving Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality
  • Section I: Current Situations and Trends in Global and China’s Carbon Emissions
  • 36. What Are Current Situations of Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions?
  • 37. What Are Current Situations of China’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions?
  • 38. What Are the Main Factors Affecting Carbon Emissions?
  • 39. What Impacts Has International Trade Exerted on Carbon Emissions?
  • 40. Is Agriculture a Source or Sink of Carbon Emissions?
  • 41. How Does Land Use Change Affect Global Climate Change?
  • 42. How Much Carbon Emissions Have Decreased for the COVID-19 Pandemic? How Much Has the COVID-19 Pandemic Contributed to Mitigating Global Climate Change?
  • Section II: Global Climate Governance and China’s Contributions
  • 43. How Many Stages Does the International Climate Negotiation Process Have?
  • 44. How Has the Basic Landscape of International Climate Negotiations Evolved? What Are the Attitudes of Major Interest Groups in Response to Climate Change?
  • 45. What Role Has the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Played in Advancing the International Climate Process?
  • 46. What Is the Main Content of the Paris Agreement? What Is the Significance of the Paris Agreement?
  • 47. What Are Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)?
  • 48. How Big Is the Gap Between NDCs of Each Country and the 2 Degrees Celsius/1.5 Degrees Celsius Target?
  • 49. Which Countries Have Achieved Net Zero Emissions?
  • 50. How Many Countries Have Committed to Achieve Carbon Neutrality?
  • 51. What Does the European Green Deal Involve?
  • 52. How Did the Biden Administration Implement Its Climate Policies?
  • 53. What Contributions Have China Made to Global Climate Governance?
  • 54. What Is the Significance of International Cooperation to Global Actions on Climate Change?
  • Section III: Pathways for Transformation and Development Under the Vision of Achieving Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality
  • 55. What Targets Has China Set to Tackle Climate Change Since the 11th Five-Year Plan? How Have These Targets Been Implemented?
  • 56. Is It Possible for China to Achieve Carbon Peaking Ahead of Schedule During the 14th Five-Year Plan Period?
  • 57. What Acute Challenges China Has to Face in Achieving Carbon Neutrality?
  • 58. In the Context of Achieving Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality, What Acute Challenges China Has to Face amid Coal Phase-out?
  • 59. How Does Natural Gas Contribute to Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality?
  • 60. How Does Renewable Energy Contribute to Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality?
  • 61. How Does Nuclear Power Contribute to Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality?
  • 62. How Does Energy Storage Technologies Contribute to Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality?
  • 63. What Targets Does the Industrial Sector Need to Meet? How to Achieve Transformation and Development in the Context of Achieving Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality?
  • 64. What Targets Does the Transportation Sector Need to Meet in the Context of Achieving Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality?
  • 65. What Targets Does the Building Sector Need to Meet in the Context of Achieving Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality?
  • 66. What Is the Significance of Demand-Side Management to Achieving Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality?
  • 67. Without Any Control on Emissions Reduction, Can We Achieve Carbon Neutrality Through Afforestation and Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage?
  • 68. What Impacts Does Carbon Neutrality Have on Employment?
  • 69. Do Different Regions Have to Achieve Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality Simultaneously?
  • 70. What Special Responsibilities Do Cities Have in the Context of Achieving Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality?
  • 71. What Achievements Have Been Made in China’s Low-Carbon Cities Which Have Applied Pilot Schemes?
  • 72. Which Cities Have Joined China’s Alliance of Peaking Pioneer Cities? Which Year Has Each Member City Set for Achieving Carbon Peaking?
  • 73. Which Industries or Enterprises Have Proposed Targets for Achieving Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality? What Lessons Can They Learn from Each Other?
  • 74. What Impacts Will China’s New Infrastructure Have on Carbon Emissions?
  • 75. Is There Any Existing Technology Available for Achieving Carbon Neutrality? Which New Technological Breakthroughs Are Needed?
  • 76. What Is the Hydrogen Economy? What Is Green Hydrogen? How Can They Contribute to Achieving Carbon Neutrality?
  • 77. How to Reduce Other Greenhouse Gases Besides CO
  • 78. What Is Carbon Emissions Trading? How Did Global Carbon Markets Evolve?
  • 79. How Does China’s Carbon Market Contribute to Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality?
  • 80. How Does Green Finance Contribute to Achieving Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality?
  • Section IV: The Synergy Between the Goal of Achieving Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality and Sustainable Development Goals
  • 81. How Do Actions on Climate Change Contribute to Reducing Poverty and Inequality?
  • 82. How Do the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer Produce a Synergy?
  • 83. How Do Nature-Based Solutions Contribute to Achieving Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality?
  • 84. Why Is Carbon Emissions Reduction Crucial for Air Pollution Control?
  • 85. Why Is the Goal of Achieving Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality So Crucial for China to Participate in Future International Technological and Economic Competition?
  • 86. How to Promote South-South Cooperation and the Construction of One Belt and One Road in the Context of Achieving Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality?
  • Chapter 4 Think Big and Act Now!
  • 87. What Is the Earth Overshoot Day?
  • 88. What Can We Do to Achieve Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality?
  • 89. Does Low-Carbon Lifestyle Mean Low Quality of Life?
  • 90. What Can We Learn from the COVID-19 Pandemic As We Pursue Green and Low-Carbon Development?
  • 91. What Is Carbon Neutrality? Where Can We Find Carbon Footprint Calculators?
  • 92. What Is the Relationship Between Diet Adjustment and Actions on Climate Change?
  • 93. How Much Carbon Emissions Does Food Loss and Waste Cause?
  • 94. What Impacts Will Bottled Water Have on the Environment?
  • 95. How Much Carbon Emissions Does Clothes Waste Cause?
  • 96. What Is the Significance of Implementing Waste Classification and Management to the Construction of a Low-Carbon Society?
  • 97. Which Modes of Transport Contribute Most to Green and Low-Carbon Development?
  • 98. What Role Can Women Play in Achieving Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality?
  • 99. What Role Can Young People Play in Achieving Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality?
  • 100. What is the Role of the Media in the Pursuit of Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality?
  • Bibliography

Foreword Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality Leads the Energy Revolution

On the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the Paris Agreement, China announced the national goal of achieving carbon peaking before 2030 and carbon neutrality before 2060. Based on scientific argumentation, this goal has become China’s national policy and strategy to actively tackle climate change. Against such a backdrop, China must advance the energy revolution and make more steadfast and proactive efforts for low-carbon energy transition.

The energy transition is inevitable for continuous progress of human civilization. The discovery and utilization of fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, and gas, has dramatically raised labor productivity, thus fueling the shift from agricultural civilization to industrial civilization. This is the typical energy revolution, and it has greatly contributed to the progress of humanity. However, throughout the past 200 years and beyond, industrial civilization has posed severe risks to the environment, climate, and sustainability. The development of non-fossil fuel energy in modern times is advancing the shift from industrial civilization to ecological civilization as well as a new round of energy revolution.

It is noteworthy that China is different from other countries in terms of the three stages of the energy transition. In the first stage, coal was the dominant energy source globally. In 1913, it accounted for 70 percent of the world’s primary energy. Several decades later, oil and gas became the dominant energy source globally. Now, the world is embracing the shift to the third stage. Likewise in the first stage, coal was the dominant energy source in China. But in the second stage, oil and gas did not become the dominant energy source in China, which instead has established a diversified, complementary, and balanced energy structure by using both fossil fuels and non-fossil fuel energy. In this way, China aims to phase in green, low-carbon, safe, and efficient energy transition, so as to embrace electrification, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things (IoT), and low carbon emissions in the future. Now, we are entering the third stage, in which non-fossil fuel energy will be the dominant energy source.

Thanks to the rapid growth of the energy sector, China has enjoyed fast economic development since the reform and opening-up. Although remarkable achievements have been made in energy efficiency and energy restructuring, they can never be called revolutionary. Extensive economic growth featuring energy-intensive industries, low energy efficiency, and high-carbon energy structure has brought about increasingly acute environmental problems.

As China has listed energy intensity and carbon intensity as two major assessment indicators in recent years, the energy elasticity coefficient has seen a steady decline. However, China’s energy intensity is still 1.3 times the world average, which is apparently unsustainable. If this figure can be lowered to 1.0, the GDP of the same scale can save more than one gigaton of standard coal.

Now we have only ten years left before achieving carbon peaking in 2030. Therefore, a detailed planning is extremely crucial for the energy sector during the 14th Five-Year Plan period because it will pave the way for China to achieve carbon peaking before 2030 and clarify pathways for China to achieve carbon neutrality before 2060.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China needs to clarify requirements for energy conservation and energy efficiency, which should be the top priority of China’s energy strategies, the first green and low-carbon energy, and the very element which guarantees the security of national energy supply and demand as well as the balance between energy and the environment. Especially given the current energy structure with fossil fuels as the dominant energy source, energy conservation and energy efficiency should be taken as the key solution to emissions reduction. In terms of energy production, we need the shift from black and high-carbon fossil fuels to green and low-carbon non-fossil fuel energy.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the energy sector of China must embark on a new journey of high-quality development. When it comes to the development of fossil fuels, the energy transition should be taken into account. For example, coal should be used in a clean and efficient manner, stabilizing oil production and increasing gas production should be the golden rule for the oil industry, and non-fossil fuel energy should be exploited to the fullest. To ensure that the elasticity coefficient of energy consumption is lower than 0.4 percent and energy consumption grows at an annual rate of 2 percent, China must rely on non-fossil fuel energy and natural gas as the main energy sources. Only in this way can China advance the energy revolution domestically, build a community with a shared future for humanity internationally, and foster a new development paradigm with domestic and international circulations reinforcing each other.

It is noteworthy that socioeconomic development in China has contributed to the rapid growth of renewable energy and drastic declines in the costs of energy production and energy storage. Between 2010 and 2019, the weighted average costs of photovoltaic power stations, solar thermal power plants, onshore wind projects, and offshore wind projects worldwide dropped by 82 percent, 47 percent, 39 percent, and 29 percent respectively. Ten years ago, renewable energy was nothing. But now, it has become something by shifting from a supplementary energy source to a mainstream energy source.

Take the distributed low-carbon energy network, for example. It can be used by households to generate electricity and to interact with centralized power grids. If such energy “producers and sellers” can be greatly encouraged in China, it will be easier to implement China’s West-East Electricity Transfer Project and to transport coal from northern China to southern China. Three years ago, Lankao County in Kaifeng, Henan province, basically depended on coal from other provinces as its main source of electricity generation. But now, it is able to use its own energy network to generate electricity after three-year pilot energy revolution.

It is estimated that by 2025, with the development of hydropower, nuclear power, wind power, solar power, bioenergy, geothermal energy, energy storage technologies, new energy vehicles and other technical fields, and new business formats, such as integrated energy services, smart grids, microgrids, and virtual power plants, China’s non-fossil fuel energy will account for 20 percent of primary energy; electricity will account for more than 30 percent of final energy; the share of the installed electricity generation capacity from non-fossil fuel energy sources will account for 50 percent, and the share of the electricity produced from non-fossil fuel energy sources will exceed 40 percent.

At that time, renewable energy will become the mainstream energy source and see a large increase during the 14th Five-Year Plan period. Without any increase in coal consumption, China is expected to reach peak coal and even achieve negative emissions from coal. It has been a clear-cut goal that regions/cities in eastern China must take the lead in achieving carbon peaking before 2030 by increasing non-fossil fuel energy and re-electrifying vehicles (including electric vehicles) during the 15th Five-Year Plan period.

Carbon neutrality means having a balance between carbon emissions and carbon sinks after achieving carbon peaking. From this perspective, carbon dioxide is the main source of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for 73 percent. In 2019, global CO2 emissions were 34.2 gigatonnes, followed by methane emissions. Since 2006, China has become the largest emitter in the world. After proposing the national strategic goal of achieving carbon neutrality, we have started to take more proactive steps towards the energy transition.

Considering the fact that fossil fuels are the dominant energy source, China and other countries can reduce CO2 emissions from three aspects: Firstly, improving energy efficiency and reducing energy consumption. Especially when it comes to the fields of construction, transport, industry, and electricity, China should attach great importance to industrial restructuring and technological progress; Secondly, energy substitution. Non-fossil fuel energy, especially renewable energy, should account for a high proportion; Thirdly, carbon removal. China should increase carbon sinks and vigorously develop carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS).

Achieving carbon peaking and carbon neutrality remains a challenge for China. An unsuccessful transition will only lead to backward energy systems and technologies. But it is more of an opportunity from another angle. The energy transition will foster new industries, new growth points, and new investments, thus contributing to the sustainable development of economy, energy, the environment, and climate. Now, China is at a critical juncture in terms of the development of the energy sector and the times. We will encounter remarkable changes in future energy production, storage, and consumption, especially in the context of achieving carbon neutrality.

The great cause of achieving carbon peaking and carbon neutrality requires relentless efforts of the whole society. Ying Chen, Research Fellow of the Research Institute for Eco-civilization of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Qingchen Chao, Director general of the National Climate Center, and the People’s Daily Press, jointly planned the writing of the book 100 Q&As on Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality and compiled it. By explaining in simple language some core and key issues about achieving carbon peaking and carbon neutrality in the form of Q&As, this book will enhance the recognition and awareness of achieving carbon peaking and carbon neutrality among officials at all levels, enterprise personnel, and the general public. In my humble opinion, it is a very meaningful book, for which I strongly support its publication.

Details

Pages
XXXII, 160
Year
2024
ISBN (PDF)
9781636676777
ISBN (ePUB)
9781636676784
ISBN (Hardcover)
9781636674230
DOI
10.3726/b21254
Language
English
Publication date
2023 (November)
Keywords
global warming climate change China’s two centennial goals carbon neutrality carbon peaking greenhouse gas emissions renewable energy Hydrogen economy natural gas
Published
New York, Berlin, Bruxelles, Chennai, Lausanne, Oxford, 2024. XXXII, 192 pp., 17 b/w ill., 10 b/w tables.

Biographical notes

Chen Ying (Author) Chao Qingchen (Author)

Ying Chen is Research Fellow of the Research Institute for Eco-civilization of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and Deputy Director of the Research Center for Sustainable Development of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Qingchen Chao is Director General and Research Fellow of the National Climate Center of the China Meteorological Administration.

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Title: 100 Q&As on Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality