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Reporter Xin Yuan

According to the Chinese government website, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council officially released the "Opinions on Accelerating the Comprehensive Green Transformation of Economic and Social Development" (hereinafter referred to as the "Opinions") on Sunday. This is the first time that a systematic deployment has been made at the central level to accelerate the comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development.

The "Opinions" put forward two-stage goals: by 2030, positive progress will be made in green transformation in key areas, and green production and lifestyles will be basically formed; by 2035, a green, low-carbon, circular development economic system will be basically established, green production and lifestyles will be widely formed, and significant progress will be made in the synergy of pollution reduction and carbon reduction.

In recent years, China has made a series of achievements in its green economic transformation, such as the annual increase in renewable energy installed capacity and the continuous decline in energy consumption per unit of GDP. However, it still faces problems such as the low proportion of fossil energy and the high proportion of traditional industries. Economists point out that low-carbon green industries are expected to become an important driving force for China's economic growth.

Liu Shijin, former deputy director of the Development Research Center of the State Council, has long studied China's economic growth momentum. In March this year, he mentioned at the 2024 Economic Situation and Power Development Analysis and Forecast Conference that by promoting the development of emerging green technologies and digital technologies, it can support China's economy to maintain a medium-speed growth period of 5-10 years.

He pointed out that at this stage, my country's economy has two new growth potentials. On the one hand, it is to narrow the gap in consumption and non-productive investment between the middle- and low-income groups and the middle- and high-income groups. On the other hand, it is the "vertical upgrading momentum". The core is to use new technologies to promote the generation and development of new industries or future industries, and digital technology and green transformation will fully empower vertical upgrading.

Wang Yiming, vice chairman of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, mentioned the five major growth drivers of China's economy at the 2023 Global Wealth Management Forum held at the end of last year. One of the drivers is green transformation. He said that China has become an important producer of wind power, photovoltaics and power batteries in the world, and is also a leading country in technology. China's new energy is already competitive in the market, but there is still a lot of room for technological development.

To achieve the goals of 2030 and 2035, the "Opinions" made a series of arrangements around five major areas, namely, optimizing the pattern of land space development and protection, and building a highland for green development; accelerating the green and low-carbon transformation of the industrial structure, promoting the green and low-carbon transformation and upgrading of traditional industries, and vigorously developing green and low-carbon industries; steadily advancing the green and low-carbon transformation of energy, strengthening the clean and efficient use of fossil energy, vigorously developing non-fossil energy, and accelerating the construction of a new power system; promoting the green transformation of transportation, building green transportation infrastructure, and promoting low-carbon transportation tools; promoting the green transformation of urban and rural construction and development, promoting green planning and construction methods, vigorously developing green and low-carbon buildings, and promoting green development of agriculture and rural areas.

The Opinions also proposed specific quantitative targets for each field. For example, by 2030, the scale of the energy-saving and environmental protection industry will reach about 15 trillion yuan; by 2030, the proportion of non-fossil energy consumption will increase to about 25%; by 2030, the installed capacity of pumped storage will exceed 120 million kilowatts; by 2030, the carbon emission intensity per unit of turnover of operating vehicles will drop by about 9.5% compared with 2020; by 2035, new energy vehicles will become the mainstream of new sales vehicles.

The "Opinion" also proposes to improve the green transformation policy system, involving multiple aspects such as finance, taxation, and market-oriented mechanisms.

In terms of fiscal and taxation policies, the Opinions mentioned that we should actively build a fiscal and taxation policy system that is conducive to promoting green and low-carbon development and efficient use of resources, implement relevant tax incentives, and improve the green tax system. In terms of financial instruments, the implementation period of carbon emission reduction support tools will be extended to the end of 2027, and transitional financial standards will be studied and formulated, and financial instruments such as green equity financing, green financial leasing, and green trusts will be actively developed. In terms of investment mechanisms, central budgetary investment will actively support key projects, guide and regulate social capital to participate in green and low-carbon projects. In terms of price policy, we will deepen electricity price reform, improve water price policies, and promote reforms in the charging methods for domestic waste treatment.

In terms of market-oriented mechanisms, the "Opinions" proposes to improve the market-oriented allocation system of resources and environmental factors, improve the horizontal ecological protection compensation mechanism, improve the mechanism for realizing the value of ecological products, promote the construction of a national carbon emission trading market and a voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction trading market, and improve the green electricity certificate trading system.

"The above policies will jointly form a synergy to promote the comprehensive green transformation of the economy and society and achieve high-quality economic development." Pan Helin, a member of the Information and Communications Economics Expert Committee of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, told Interface News.

He pointed out that fiscal and taxation policies can encourage enterprises and individuals to actively participate in green transformation and reduce the cost of green development through tax incentives and subsidies. Financial policies can guide funds to green industries and green projects, providing sufficient financial support for green transformation. Investment policies can optimize the investment structure, increase investment in green industries and green technologies, and promote the innovation and application of green technologies.