中国碳中和目标的那些经济事儿
在第七十五届联合国大会一般性辩论上，我国明确提出碳达峰和碳中和目标，即“二氧化碳排放力争于2030年前达到峰值，努力争取2060年前实现碳中和”。
近期，中央经济工作会议将做好碳达峰、碳中和工作列为了2021年重点任务之一。这也意味着我国在产业结构、能源结构、投资结构、生活方式等方方面面都将发生深刻转变。
China has rolled out new interim rules for the national carbon emissions trading market that went into effect on Monday, in an effort to speed up carbon emissions cuts under the Paris climate accord to achieve net-zero emissions in 40 years.
China pledged to have CO2 emissions peak before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060. The pledge created a sensation in the international community, as China's decision played an important role in accelerating the world's transition away from fossil fuels. It also suggested there would be tremendous changes in the country's economic pattern.
#1
全球经济将作何反应？
How the global economy might react
Photovoltaic panels stand in a floating solar farm in this aerial photograph taken on the outskirts of Ningbo, east China's Zhejiang Province, April 22, 2020. /VCG
乔伊•科隆巴诺曾担任前联合国秘书长潘基文的经济顾问，他在接受CGTN的采访时表示，国际社会对于中国碳减排的决心和行动不仅仅是惊讶，而是震惊。他还补充说，尽管全球有60多个国家也做出了类似的承诺，但是它们对全球的影响力比中国小得多。
中国是世界上最大的能源生产国和消费国。全球统计数据库Statista的数据显示，中国2019的碳排放量占世界总量的28％。
“中国产生的碳排放并非都用在了自身，”碳中宝（Carbonbase）合伙人、执行董事宋迈思说道。他指出，中国是制造业大国，生产的许多产品也供全球消费。
“因此，通过帮助工厂和企业减少其在中国的碳足迹，我们也帮助了世界其他地区。” 宋迈思说道。
"The international community was caught by surprise, more than that was shocked," Joe Colombano, economic adviser to former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told CGTN. Although over 60 other countries have made similar pledges, they have a much smaller fraction of the impact that China will have on the global scene, he added.
China is the world's largest energy producer and consumer. Its carbon emissions accounted for 28 percent of the world's total in 2019, according to statistics database Statista. "Not all of the emissions that China creates are for itself though," said Max Song, CEO of Carbonbase, a Hong Kong-based fintech platform to effect actions against climate change.
Song explained that China is the manufacturing powerhouse that powers a lot of products consumed globally.
"So by helping factories and companies reduce their climate footprint in China, we are also helping reach the rest of the world," he said.
当谈及中国积极应对气候变化对全球经济有何影响时，科隆巴诺表示，中国的举动可能产生积极的溢出效应，其他国家将追赶中国，并做出类似的承诺。
日本和韩国就承诺将在2050年前实现碳中和目标。美国总统拜登推翻了此前特朗普的环境议程，在就职典礼的几个小时之后就使美国重返了《巴黎协定》。
There's likely to be a positive spillover effect of China's impact, as other countries may try to catch up with China and be committed to similar ambitious pledges, Colombano said when talking about how the global economy might react.
Japan and South Korea joined China in pledging to become carbon neutral by 2050. U.S. President Joe Biden reversed former President Donald Trump's environmental agenda and signed the country back into the Paris Agreement hours after his inauguration.
#2
气候行动能带来经济增长
Climate actions can drive growth
Public charging facilities built by the State Grid for new energy vehicles are seen in Changzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, July 18, 2020. /VCG
实现碳中和不是一种经济负担，它能为就业和经济增长及转型创造机会。
国际可再生能源机构IRENA的数据显示，截至2018年底，全球可再生能源产业就业人数约1100万人；而未来30年，该产业就业人数将增长逾3000万人。
另据波士顿咨询公司（Boston Consulting Group）估计，从目前到2050年，中国为了实现碳中和目标，将需要90万亿元至100万亿元的投资。
科隆巴诺指出，这些投资在未来5至10年将为中国经济带来稳定的增长, 预计每年增长率约5％至6％。
他还表示，“大力推进脱碳将影响整个经济，不仅仅是能源领域，基础设施、农业以及服务业都将受到影响。”
近年来，我国正大步推进低碳转型，加快可再生能源在全行业的部署。据中国常驻联合国代表团的数据，中国可再生能源装机占全球的30%，新能源汽车保有量占全球一半以上。
The concept of carbon neutrality, which refers to net-zero carbon emissions, is an opportunity for employment, growth and economic transformation rather than an economic burden.
Green development of sectors such as renewable energy, construction, transportation and garbage disposal in China can bring more jobs by 2030, with employment increasing no less than 0.3 percent, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency.
According to an estimate by Boston Consulting Group, China would need 90 to 100 trillion yuan ($14 trillion to $15 trillion) in investment between now and 2050 to support its carbon neutrality agenda and make changes possible.
The capital needed to be injected into the Chinese economy in order for it to meet its pledge is likely to result in a sustained growth rate for China in the next 5-10 years, said Colombano.
"I've seen estimates around 5-6 percent year on year," he said. "All sectors of the economy will be affected by this huge push towards decarbonizing the economy, not just the energy sector, but also the infrastructure sector, the agriculture industry and all kind of services."
The country has made significant strides in recent years in its low-carbon transition, deploying renewable energy on a massive scale. It has 30 percent of the world's installed capacity of renewable energy, and the stock of new energy vehicles in China is more than half of the world's total, according to the Permanent Mission of China to the United Nations.
#3
碳排放交易市场对气候行动的影响
Carbon market's leverage on climate action
Volunteers are unloading saplings at a tree planting site in Yinchuan, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, April 13, 2020. /VCG
绿色转型的实现离不开政府对个人和企业减排的激励，中国期待已久的全国碳排放交易是一种市场化手段。
政府部门给碳排放单位设定碳排放总量，总排放低于设定量的企业可以出售剩余的碳排放配额，作为减排奖励；总排放高于设定量的企业则必须买额外的配额。
经过多年的筹划与试验，2021年1月1日起，全国碳市场发电行业第一个履约周期正式启动，2225家发电企业将分到碳排放配额。
All these transformations will also require the government to implement policies that can incentivize individuals and businesses to reduce their own carbon footprint. China's long-awaited national emissions trade scheme is such a market incentive.
The scheme imposes carbon emissions permits on businesses, and those whose emissions are below the permits will be able to sell their surplus quotas on the market as a reward for reducing emissions, and those that overshoot it will have to buy additional quotas.
After years of trials, China's national carbon market has moved up on the government's agenda, with the first compliance cycle starting from January 1 and covering the emissions of 2019 and 2020 for 2,225 power firms.
上海环境能源交易所董事长赖晓明在接受《证券时报》采访时表示，“十四五”期间，预计八大重点能耗行业都将纳入到碳市场，届时配额发放约可达到50亿吨，将是全球最大的碳排放交易市场。
“从字节跳动到美团再到拼多多，我们可以预见在未来，中国领先的科技公司能够真正发挥作用，提升人们对可持续发展和应对气候问题的意识和参与度。” 宋迈思说道。
It is expected that eight key energy-consuming industries like steel and petrochemical will be included in the scheme with total emission quotas of 5 billion tonnes during 2021-2025, according to the Shanghai Environment and Energy Exchange.
The launch of Ant Forest on online payment platform Alipay is one of the most notable examples of Chinese companies that are spearheading innovation in climate action. Alipay users who participate in the carbon footprint reduction program accumulate "green energy" points when they choose to perform certain activities like taking public transport or paying utility bills online. Those points can then be redeemed to help plant trees.
"From Bytedance to Meituan to Pinduoduo, we see a future where China's leading tech companies can actually play a role in increasing the awareness and engagement that individuals have to their sustainable and climate future," Song said.
#4
最大的挑战是标准不统一
The biggest challenge is different standards
妙盈科技（MioTech）联合创始人兼CEO涂鉴彧指出，由棕色经济向绿色经济转型的需求为绿色债务投资和股权投资提供了许多进入新技术和新公司的机会。
IBM中国数据和人工智能实验室总经理吴嫣则提到，越来越多的科技创业公司正在开发能够满足政府议程的解决方案，涉及清洁能源、可再生能源、低碳建筑、废物清理和清除、可持续农业和循环经济模式等。这些都是投资机会。
涂鉴彧还向CGTN表示，中国金融业在应对气候变化方面的最大挑战是其市场规则与国际规则不一致。他指出，全球金融业需要使用统一的标准，尤其是在应对气候变化等新领域。
微众AI资管商业负责人伍德意认为，中国资本市场对外越来越开放时，将逐步与国际标准接轨。
The need to transform "brown" economies to "green" economies provides lots of opportunities for green debt and equity investments into new technologies and companies, according to Jason Tu, co-founder and CEO of MioTech, a Hong Kong-based fintech firm that empowers sustainable finance.
More and more technology startup companies are developing solutions to meet government agenda and priorities, like clean and renewable energy, low carbon construction, waste clean-up and removal, sustainable farming and circular business models, according to Catherine Wu, head of IBM Data and AI Lab at China.
"Those cleantech are the opportunities for investors," said Wu.
However, Tu noted the challenges facing the financial industry in China due to climate change.
"The biggest challenge is the different standards. The global financial industry needs to speak the same language. This is especially true for new areas like climate change where different standards are being used for risk, compliance, and regulatory moves," Tu told CGTN.
As China's market becomes more open, it will gradually be brought into line with international standards, said Deyi Wu, a senior researcher and product manager at WeBank's AI department.
#5
科技助力应对气候变化
Technologies to slow climate change
A technical staff is using an infrared meter to measure the groundwater level of rice fields to provide a basis for setting the irrigation volume of farmland in Rugao, east China's Jiangsu Province, July 27, 2020. /VCG
科技的影响力是巨大的。在能源和制造领域，碳捕获和存储技术受到越来越多的关注。通过这种技术，人们能够捕获被浪费的二氧化碳然后将其储存起来从而避免排放到大气中。
科技同样运用于交通运输和农业的脱碳。在政府的补贴和支持下，中国的交通运输行业实现了电动汽车的快速普及，此外，越来越多的技术被运用于设计城市的交通模式和路线。农业领域，自动化技术及无土栽培技术得到了广泛应用。
“我们正尝试使用数据科学和区块链记录技术，帮助个人和企业更好地了解其行动和决策对气候的影响，” 宋迈思说道，并表示个人的绿色消费选择将激励公司构建绿色供应链。“通过标记，追踪并最终记录每个产品的碳排放，我们使得消费者能够在满足其日常需求的前提下，做出有利于环境的选择。”
然而，科隆巴诺也指出，科技不是万灵药，人们需要使用一切可使用的工具来应对气候挑战。
Technology has an equally huge potential for impact. For example, carbon capture and storage techniques are receiving increased attention in the energy and manufacturing sectors, by which wasted carbon dioxide can be captured and later released where it does not enter the atmosphere.
It is also used to decarbonize transportation and agriculture industries. China's transportation sector sees a fast adoption of electric vehicles with government subsidies and support. Meanwhile, there are increasing technologies to help design traffic patterns and routing inside cities.
Farming techniques such as remote sensing, automated farming and soilless agriculture are also being adopted in a large scale. IBM China has helped farmers monitor the health of their crops as well as reduce the amount of water, fertilizer and pesticides needed to grow them.
"We're trying to use the techniques of data science and blockchain recording in order to help individuals and companies better understand the climate impact of their actions and decisions," said Song.
He added that individuals' sustainable consumption will incentivize companies to reconsider how their supply chains are built.
"By being able to tag, trace, and finally record the carbon calculation of every product, we can actually allow and empower consumers to make selective environmentally aligned choices as they go about satisfying their daily requirements," said Song.
However, technology is not a silver bullet, according to Colombano.
"What we need is to put all of these tools that we have at our disposal to address the climate challenge," he said.