China has released a major document to promote green development.

　　The Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council recently issued the Opinions on Accelerating the Comprehensive Green Transition of Economic and Social Development (hereinafter referred to as the Opinions). This is the first systematic deployment at the central level for accelerating the comprehensive green transition of economic and social development, providing a development roadmap for China's future green transition.

　　A "Roadmap" with Two-Stage Goals

　　According to the Opinions, the two-stage goals are:

　　— By 2030, positive progress will be made in green transition in key areas, green production methods and lifestyles will be basically formed, the synergy of pollution reduction and carbon reduction will be significantly enhanced, the efficiency of major resource utilization will be further improved, the policy and standards system supporting green development will be more complete, and significant results will be achieved in the comprehensive green transition of economic and social development.

　　— By 2035, a green, low-carbon, and circular development economic system will be basically established, green production methods and lifestyles will be widely formed, significant progress will be made in the synergy of pollution reduction and carbon reduction, the efficiency of major resource utilization will reach internationally advanced levels, economic and social development will fully enter a green and low-carbon track, carbon emissions will decline steadily after peaking, and the goal of a Beautiful China will be basically achieved.

　　The Opinions also put forward main tasks, emphasizing five major areas: building a spatial pattern for green, low-carbon, and high-quality development; accelerating the green and low-carbon transition of the industrial structure; steadily advancing the green and low-carbon transition of energy; promoting the green transition of transportation; and promoting the green transition of urban and rural construction and development. It also identifies three key links: implementing a comprehensive resource conservation strategy, promoting the green transition of consumption patterns, and leveraging the supporting role of scientific and technological innovation. The document deploys efforts to accelerate the formation of a spatial pattern, industrial structure, production mode, and lifestyle that conserve resources and protect the environment.

　　Wang Yi, a researcher at the Institutes of Science and Development of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, emphasized that fully integrating economic and social development into a green and low-carbon track requires interdisciplinary, cross-sectoral, and cross-regional solutions, making top-level design and systematic advancement extremely important. The release of the Opinions marks the introduction of a programmatic document for the comprehensive green transition of economic and social development. Next, it is necessary to strengthen central coordination, establish and improve a coordination mechanism for the comprehensive green transition, and conduct sound scientific evaluation and judgment. At the same time, policy orientations should be made more consistent to ensure that green and low-carbon policies from relevant departments produce a "1+1>2" effect.

　　Green Transition Fosters New Opportunities

　　The Opinions are intended to better address challenges in the green transition and add new vitality to economic development.

　　In recent years, China's green development has achieved remarkable results, but the national conditions of an energy structure dominated by coal, a relatively heavy industrial structure, and tight environmental constraints remain. To this end, the Opinions emphasize that key regions will continue to implement total coal consumption control; vigorously develop non-fossil energy; and develop new energy sources such as biomass energy, geothermal energy, and ocean energy according to local conditions.

　　In the view of Piao Shilong, vice president of Peking University and dean of the Institute of Carbon Neutrality, these arrangements have important practical significance. Continuing total coal consumption control in key regions will win time and space for the development and maturity of new energy and new technologies. At the same time, requirements such as developing new energy according to local conditions also clarify the direction for the next step in developing new business models and institutional reforms in the energy industry.

　　The green transition presents challenges but also breeds opportunities. Su Liyang, an associate researcher at the Institutes of Science and Development of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, pointed out that China's economic and social development is at a critical stage of transitioning between old and new growth drivers, requiring the cultivation and expansion of emerging industries and the rebalancing of production and consumption. Against this background, the Opinions propose integrating the requirements of green transition into the overall economic and social development, which will foster new development opportunities and bring new market demand and space.

　　Currently, various regions in China are promoting large-scale equipment upgrades and trade-ins of consumer goods (referred to as the "two new" initiatives). The Opinions systematically deploy green consumption at the central document level for the first time, including carrying out activities to promote new energy vehicles and green smart home appliances, water-saving fixtures, energy-saving stoves, and green building materials in rural areas, aiming to resonate with the "two new" policies, expand green consumption while bringing green development closer to people's livelihoods.

　　Improving the Policy System for Green Transition

　　Wang Yi pointed out that projects related to green and low-carbon transition have characteristics such as long investment cycles, low returns, and uncertain risks, so long-term and stable transition planning and policy intervention are needed to help the market and industry form stable expectations.

　　To this end, the Opinions propose improving the policy system for green transition and make detailed arrangements for fiscal, tax, financial, investment, and pricing policies and standards systems that support green development, including: improving the green tax system, enriching green transition financial instruments, guiding and regulating social capital participation in green and low-carbon project investment, improving the tiered electricity pricing system and time-of-use electricity pricing policy; raising energy consumption limit requirements for key products, and expanding the coverage of energy consumption limit standards.

　　Wang Yi emphasized that in the future, it is necessary to adhere to a problem-oriented approach, accelerate the coordination, precise implementation, and dynamic optimization of relevant policies, and effectively incentivize all economic and social entities to carry out green and low-carbon economic activities.