General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out at the 21st meeting of the Central Committee for Deepening Reform that during the 14th Five Year Plan period, China's ecological civilization construction has entered a critical period with carbon reduction as the key strategic direction, promoting coordinated efficiency in pollution reduction and carbon reduction, promoting comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development, and achieving a qualitative change in ecological environment quality improvement from quantity to quality. We should start from the overall nature of the ecosystem, pay more attention to comprehensive governance, systematic governance, and source governance, and accelerate the construction of a system and mechanism for integrated planning, deployment, promotion, and assessment of pollution reduction and carbon reduction.
The conditions for incorporating carbon dioxide into the existing management system are ripe
China has basically established a sound ecological environment protection system. After half a century of effort and exploration, China has gradually established a unique environmental management system that is in line with its own development stage. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the construction of the ecological environment system has entered the fast lane. Through the strictest new Environmental Protection Law in history, 25 environmental protection laws and regulations have been formulated and revised, dozens of innovative systems and reform plans have been introduced, and a complete ecological environment protection system of "strict prevention at the source, strict management in the process, and severe punishment in consequences" has been basically established, which is basically applicable to the management of carbon dioxide emissions. Incorporating carbon dioxide into the existing ecological environment protection system will help achieve synergistic efficiency in reducing pollution and carbon emissions.
The coordinated management of carbon dioxide and pollutants has a scientific foundation. There is a good synergistic effect between carbon reduction and pollution reduction, which is determined by China's high carbon energy structure and high energy consuming, high emission, and high polluting industrial structure. Carbon dioxide and pollutant emissions have the same root, source, and process, and the path of governance and emission reduction is highly coordinated. At the same time, both require emphasis on source governance, system governance, and comprehensive governance in their management methods; Key areas such as energy, industry, and transportation, as well as high emission industries such as thermal power, steel, and petrochemicals, are not only the main responsible departments for pollution control, but also the main force for carbon reduction. Reducing pollution and carbon emissions belong to the overall layout of ecological civilization construction, and the ultimate goal is to protect human safety and health. Building a collaborative system for reducing pollution and carbon emissions will accelerate the modernization of China's environmental governance system and governance capacity.
Collaborative pollution reduction and carbon reduction governance can help achieve better results at a lower cost. Incorporating carbon dioxide into the existing environmental management system can collaborate with various social resources, streamline departmental relationships, achieve "normalized" management of pollutants and carbon dioxide, significantly reduce management costs, and achieve greater management benefits with smaller administrative costs. At the same time, collaborative management of pollution reduction and carbon reduction, integrated planning, deployment, promotion, and assessment, can avoid repeated inspections and enforcement of enterprises, and minimize interference with normal production of enterprises. Especially under the increasing pressure of economic downturn and the normalization of epidemic prevention and control, it can effectively reduce the burden on enterprises.
Accelerate the construction of a collaborative system for reducing pollution and carbon emissions
Incorporate carbon dioxide into the existing environmental regulations and policy system. According to the general principle of reducing pollution, carbon emissions, and enhancing efficiency, relevant laws and policies will be revised and improved, and climate change response will gradually be integrated into the ecological environment protection laws and policies system, achieving the synergy of carbon reduction and pollution control in accordance with the law. Develop and revise the current ecological environment protection laws and policies system, add specific provisions for carbon dioxide emission reduction and control, and form a "carbon neutral version" of the ecological environment protection laws and policies system. Actively explore the integration of carbon emissions trading and emissions trading.
Incorporate carbon dioxide into the environmental standard system. With the goal of protecting human health from being affected, research and develop environmental benchmark values for carbon dioxide, and conduct research on standard limits for carbon dioxide in the environment. On the basis of researching advanced production processes at home and abroad, and considering the continuous upgrading and even fundamental changes in future production processes, research and formulate standard limits for carbon dioxide emission concentration or unit product carbon dioxide emissions in key industries.
Carry out unified monitoring of pollutants and carbon dioxide. Fully relying on the well-established pollution monitoring system in China, actively carrying out carbon monitoring and evaluation, achieving full coverage of monitoring network scope and monitoring elements, and researching and establishing carbon source and sink assessment technology methods. Focus on monitoring emission sources in high emission industries such as electricity and steel. On the basis of the existing continuous automatic monitoring system for exhaust gas, carry out centralized monitoring of carbon dioxide emissions from energy and industrial processes, and compare it with carbon emission accounting results. Select representative cities to carry out pilot monitoring of carbon dioxide and methane concentrations, establish urban carbon dioxide monitoring networks, and explore top-down carbon emission inversion. Promote the upgrading and renovation of carbon dioxide monitoring facilities at national atmospheric background stations, combining satellite and unmanned aerial vehicle remote sensing monitoring to enhance regional and background scale carbon dioxide monitoring capabilities.
Unified environmental impact assessment to achieve source prevention of pollutants and carbon dioxide. Give full play to the access control role of environmental impact assessment and firmly say 'no' to the blind development of 'two highs' projects. Give full play to the role of "three lines and one order" in defining boundaries, establishing rules, and implementing inspections, and strengthen the hard constraints of pollution reduction and carbon reduction on national spatial development. Fully draw on the management concept of total pollutant control, and implement regional total carbon dioxide control and emission reduction plans in the planning and environmental impact assessments of industries, regions, and development zones. According to the concept of coordinated management of pollutants and carbon emissions, revise the environmental impact assessment classification list and related technical guidelines, and include carbon emissions as an important content. Develop and improve carbon emission assessment methods in project environmental impact assessments, scientifically calculate the carbon dioxide emissions of project construction, provide specific plans and measures for reducing pollution and carbon emissions, and use equal or reduced substitution as a prerequisite for approval.
Incorporate carbon dioxide into the fixed source emission permit management system. Actively promote the reform of the pollutant discharge permit system and implement a "one certificate" management system for the entire process management and multi factor collaborative control of fixed pollution sources. To promote the integrated management of pollutants and carbon dioxide through the revision of regulatory and policy documents, it is explicitly required to include carbon dioxide in unified licensing management. Accelerate the functional transformation and upgrading of the national pollutant discharge permit management information platform, and achieve unified collection, mutual supplementation, and cross checking of pollutant and carbon dioxide emission data for enterprises and institutions as soon as possible. Establish a list of integrated sources of pollutants and carbon dioxide emissions, understand the bottom line of pollutants and carbon dioxide emissions, comprehensively and accurately grasp the specific emission situation of different fields, industries, and regions, and lay the foundation for formulating regional or industry emission reduction strategies, plans, paths, priorities, timelines, and roadmaps. The pollutant discharge permit fully complies with the requirements of the environmental impact assessment for total carbon emissions and pollution reduction technologies, increases the total carbon emissions and feasible emission reduction technologies, proposes requirements for carbon emission monitoring records and reporting, and includes carbon quotas and trading processes in the pollutant discharge permit. Relevant information on carbon emissions is added to the execution report.
Implement unified supervision and enforcement of pollutants and carbon dioxide emissions.   Establish and continuously improve a regulatory system for ecological environment law enforcement, including carbon dioxide control, to provide legal basis for unified supervision and law enforcement. Study and revise the law enforcement manual and other law enforcement technical norms system, and clarify how to carry out unified supervision and law enforcement in accordance with relevant laws and regulations. Conduct on-site inspections in accordance with the revised "Regulations on the Management of Pollutant Discharge Permits" that add requirements for carbon dioxide emissions. By verifying monitoring data, environmental management records, execution reports, and other means, confirm whether carbon emissions meet the requirements of the pollutant discharge permit. For those who fail to record carbon emissions in accordance with the requirements or lack carbon emission content in the execution report, they shall be ordered to rectify.
Implement unified assessment of pollutants and carbon dioxide emissions. At present, China has established a scientific and reasonable environmental assessment system, strengthened the ecological environment protection responsibility assessment mechanism, and used means such as inspection and patrol, cadre supervision and assessment, natural resource asset departure audit, and lifelong accountability for ecological environment damage to enhance the implementation of ecological environment protection responsibilities. By further clarifying the responsibilities of party committees, governments, and relevant departments at all levels, improving assessment mechanisms, and implementing measures such as "party and government shared responsibilities" and "dual responsibilities for one position". It is suggested to incorporate pollution reduction and carbon reduction into the assessment system related to ecological environment, implement a dual control system of synchronously controlling carbon emission intensity and total carbon emissions, and include the implementation of carbon reduction tasks and pollutant reduction tasks in the central ecological environment protection inspection.
Promote collaborative efficiency in reducing pollution and carbon emissions through a sound institutional system
Reducing pollution, lowering carbon emissions, and enhancing efficiency are the overall focus of deepening the battle against pollution prevention and control, and also the necessary path for China to achieve carbon peak and carbon neutrality as scheduled and efficiently. We must thoroughly implement the important instructions of General Secretary Xi Jinping on reducing pollution and carbon emissions, plan, deploy, promote, and assess as a whole, and accelerate the construction of a collaborative system for reducing pollution and carbon emissions. At present, China has basically established a sound ecological environment protection system, accumulated rich experience in collaborative management after years of pollution prevention and control battles, and has a solid foundation for unified management. It is necessary and completely feasible to build a collaborative system for pollution reduction and carbon reduction.
We need to enhance our political stance and unify our ideological understanding. The proposal of carbon peak and carbon neutrality targets reflects China's mission and responsibility as a responsible major country to promote the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind. Realizing carbon peak and carbon neutrality is not something that others ask us to do, but something we need to do ourselves. It requires the whole society to firmly establish a green and low-carbon development awareness, deeply implement the new development concept, build a modern collaborative governance system led by the Party committee, government, enterprise entities, social organizations, and the public, promote the green and low-carbon transformation of production and lifestyle, and achieve high-quality development with high-level protection.
Develop a top-level design for the collaborative system of pollution reduction and carbon reduction. Adhere to the concept of systems, take into account economic and social development as well as ecological environment protection, establish a system design that covers the entire chain, process, and all links of production and life, and form a unified, coordinated, and integrated institutional system from top to bottom.
Accelerate the pilot demonstration work of collaborative pollution reduction and carbon reduction. Encourage key regions to carry out pilot projects of collaborative systems for pollution reduction and carbon reduction, timely summarize experiences, systematically sort out problems in the operation of the system and solve them, form a complete collaborative system for pollution reduction and carbon reduction, and promote its implementation nationwide as soon as possible to help achieve the goals of carbon peak, carbon neutrality, and a beautiful China.
Authors: Jiang Hua and Yang Pingjian from the Chinese Academy of Environmental Sciences