Building a Resource-Saving Society - (Regional Edition)

Author: Jiang Weixin, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2007-01-01
Features: To thoroughly implement the Scientific Outlook on Development and fully carry out the basic national policy of conserving resources, ensuring the achievement of the energy-saving targets proposed in the Outline of the 11th Five-Year Plan, the State Council has made a decision to strengthen energy-saving work, which has been approved in principle by the State Council Executive Meeting and is about to be issued. Approved by the State Council, the National Development and Reform Commission has organized this national energy-saving meeting to better promote the implementation of the decision's spirit, exchange experiences in energy-saving work, and study and deploy energy-saving tasks in the next phase. Just now, officials from relevant departments of the State Council, some local governments, and central enterprises spoke, introducing their practices and insights in energy-saving work, which were very well presented. Committed by the State Council, the National Development and Reform Commission has also signed energy-saving target responsibility agreements with the governments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government and some central enterprises, which is a solemn commitment to the nation and society. Below, I will outline some opinions on implementing the decision's spirit and doing well in energy-saving work for the 11th Five-Year Plan and this year.
I. Unify Thoughts, Fully Recognize the Extreme Importance and Urgency of Strengthening Energy-Saving Work
The Party Central Committee and the State Council have always attached great importance to energy-saving work, especially in recent periods, General Secretary Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao have made important instructions on conserving energy resources multiple times. The 5th Plenary Session of the 16th Central Committee proposed making resource conservation a basic national policy, and the Outline of the 11th Five-Year Plan further set a binding target to reduce energy consumption per unit of GDP by about 20% during the 11th Five-Year Period. We must fully recognize the significance of energy-saving work from the perspective of fully implementing the Scientific Outlook on Development, smoothly achieving the grand goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, and promoting the long-term stable and sustainable development of the national economy.
First, energy saving is the fundamental way to solve China's energy problems. Energy is a vital material basis for human survival and development. China has a large population, relatively insufficient energy resources, and per capita energy resources far below the world average. The remaining recoverable reserves of coal, oil, and natural gas per capita are only 58.6%, 7.69%, and 7.05% of the world average, respectively. Currently, China is in a critical stage of accelerating industrialization and urbanization, with high energy consumption intensity and continuously expanding consumption scale, leading to increasingly prominent energy supply-demand conflicts. In the future, with the further expansion of the economic scale, energy demand will continue to increase rapidly. Energy is currently and in the foreseeable future a prominent bottleneck restricting China's economic and social development, directly related to whether the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects can be achieved. While it is important to increase energy supply in all possible ways, including accelerating domestic resource development and actively utilizing foreign resources, both domestically and internationally, energy resources are not infinite, and increasing supply is constrained by various factors. The fundamental solution lies in adhering to the principle of developing and conserving resources simultaneously, prioritizing energy saving, vigorously promoting energy-saving and consumption reduction, and improving energy efficiency. There is no other way.
Second, energy saving is an urgent task in the current economic work. For a long time, China's overall energy efficiency level has been low, with energy consumption per unit of GDP much higher than the world average. In recent years, the high-energy-consuming industry has developed rapidly, and the transformation of the economic growth model has been slow, leading to continuously increasing energy consumption. Although energy production has repeatedly set new records, the rapidly growing energy supply cannot keep pace with the even faster growth in energy consumption, resulting in significant pressure on supply-demand balance. Especially since the first half of this year, despite many measures and efforts, the energy-saving situation remains grim, with energy consumption growth still too fast. If this trend cannot be reversed soon, it will not only affect whether the goal of reducing energy consumption per unit of GDP by 4% this year can be achieved but also whether the positive momentum of stable and rapid economic development can be maintained. It will inevitably have an adverse impact on the economic development and energy-saving work throughout the 11th Five-Year Period.
Third, energy saving is the essential requirement of the Scientific Outlook on Development. China's economic development has achieved remarkable achievements, but it has also paid a significant price in energy resources and the environment. Relying on excessive resource consumption and environmental sacrifice to support economic growth is unsustainable. Energy saving is inherent to scientific development. The Scientific Outlook on Development requires that growth not only considers output but also input, achieving maximum output with minimal resource input and environmental costs, and forging a development path that is resource-efficient, high-yielding, and sustainable. Therefore, energy saving must be the main direction of the transformation of the growth model, an important indicator of whether the economic structure is optimized, and a standard for evaluating whether the Scientific Outlook on Development is truly implemented. We must achieve energy-saving, clean, safe, and sustainable development.
In the past two years, especially in the first half of this year, the whole country has seriously implemented the Central Committee's arrangements and plans, making substantial efforts to achieve the energy-saving goals of the 11th Five-Year Plan and this year. The country has established a reporting system for GDP energy consumption and announced the energy consumption per unit of GDP by region by the end of June 2005. It has organized the "1,000 Enterprises Energy-Saving Action," formulated the "Implementation Opinions of the Top 10 Key Energy-Saving Projects for the 11th Five-Year Plan," and allocated 5.4 billion yuan in national bond funds to support 98 key energy-saving projects. Local governments have continuously increased their efforts, with most regions setting energy consumption reduction targets for this year. Twenty-four provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities have decomposed these targets to local cities (industries) and key enterprises, and some localities have issued opinions on strengthening energy-saving work, strengthened energy-saving institutions and personnel, established special funds for energy saving, strengthened tracking and management of key energy-consuming enterprises, and intensified efforts to eliminate backward production capacity. As the main body of energy saving, enterprises have increased investment and strengthened management, carrying out activities such as competing for energy-saving champions and energy-saving demonstration enterprises. Overall, a positive energy-saving atmosphere has taken shape.
While recognizing the achievements, we must also clearly understand that energy-saving work still has gaps and shortcomings and is far from meeting the requirements of the new situation and tasks. Mainly: some localities and enterprises pursue growth speed and scale expansion unilaterally, with insufficient understanding and attention to the role of energy saving; energy-saving laws and regulations are not sound, management systems are not perfect, legal authorities are not clear, and penalties are weak; energy-saving investment is insufficient, technological development and popularization are inadequate; effective policy incentives are lacking, and mechanisms for market entities to voluntarily save energy have not been formed; energy-saving management team building, statistics, and measurement are severely lagging; the public's awareness of energy shortages and energy saving is weak. We must fully recognize the extreme importance and urgency of strengthening energy-saving work from a strategic and global perspective, enhance awareness of risks and crises, and strengthen historical sense of responsibility and national mission, placing energy-saving work in a more prominent strategic position, taking stronger measures to ensure the achievement of this year's and the 11th Five-Year Plan's energy-saving goals, and promoting the rapid and high-quality development of the national economy.
II. Deeply Understand the Decision's Spirit, Further Clarify the Basic Approach of Energy-Saving Work
The Executive Meeting of the State Council in principle approved the decision to strengthen energy-saving work, which clarifies the guiding ideology, basic principles, main tasks, and policy measures for energy-saving work during the 11th Five-Year Period, serving as a programmatic document for energy-saving work during this period. We must study it carefully, deeply understand it, and implement it well. The general requirement is: to thoroughly implement the Scientific Outlook on Development, fully carry out the basic national policy of conserving resources, correctly handle the relationship between energy saving and development, energy saving and exploration, market mechanisms and macro-control, with improving energy efficiency as the core, transforming the growth model, adjusting the economic structure, and accelerating technological progress as the foundation, fully playing the role of market allocation of resources, implementing effective incentive policies, mobilizing the enthusiasm of market entities to save energy, strengthening energy-saving management, enhancing the public's awareness of energy saving, accelerating the construction of a resource-conserving production and consumption model, and promoting the sustainable development of the economy and society.
Energy consumption level reflects a country's economic structure, growth model, technological level, management capacity, consumption model, and national quality. Therefore, conserving energy must also adopt comprehensive measures, taking multiple approaches and efforts, mainly from the following six aspects:
1. Energy Saving Through Adjusting the Structure. Energy saving is not just a micro-level issue but primarily a macro-level issue, that is, the structure of the national economy. Currently, in China's three-tier industrial structure, economic growth is overly dependent on the secondary industry, with the low-energy-consuming tertiary industry lagging behind in development and a low proportion. In 2005, the added value of the tertiary industry accounted for just over 40% of China's GDP. In OECD countries, this proportion averages over 70%, with the United States at 75.3%. Among countries with similar development levels, Brazil and India are 75.1% and 51.2%, respectively. According to calculations by relevant departments, if the proportion of the added value of the tertiary industry increases by one percentage point and the proportion of industrial added value in the secondary industry decreases by one percentage point, energy consumption per unit of GDP can be reduced by about one percentage point.
From the internal structure of the industrial sector, high-energy-consuming industries have a high proportion, especially high-energy-consuming general processing industries with excess production capacity, while industries with high technology, high added value, and low energy consumption have a low proportion. Last year, the proportion of the added value of high-tech industries in industrial added value was only 10.3%. According to the current industrial structure, if the proportion of the added value of high-tech industries increases by one percentage point while the proportion of high-energy-consuming industries such as metallurgy, building materials, and chemicals decreases by one percentage point, energy consumption per unit of GDP can be reduced by 1.3 percentage points. Therefore, to solve the energy-saving problem, it is necessary to vigorously adjust and optimize the economic structure first.
2. Energy Saving Through Technological Progress. We have great potential in this regard. For example, China's average power generation coal consumption is 22.5% higher than the international advanced level. If the power generation coal consumption per kilowatt decreases by 10 grams of standard coal, the country could save more than 20 million tons of standard coal annually. Another example is energy-saving lamps. China is the world's largest producer of energy-saving lamps, with production reaching 1.76 billion units in 2005, accounting for about 90% of the world's total output, but more than 70% of them are exported. If all existing ordinary incandescent bulbs are replaced with energy-saving lamps, the country could save more than 60 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually. There are many such examples. To improve energy efficiency and narrow the gap with the international advanced level, technological progress and continuous enhancement of independent innovation capabilities are essential.
3. Energy Saving Through Strengthening Management. Currently, energy-saving management is weak in both production and circulation, as well as in consumption, with energy waste and leakage still common. For example, the design efficiency of China's coal-fired industrial boilers is not much different from that of foreign countries, but the actual operating efficiency is only about 65%, which is 15–20 percentage points lower than the international advanced level. Through improved management and technical transformation, the potential for energy saving in coal-fired boilers alone is as high as 70 million tons. We must strengthen management, implement responsibilities, strictly supervise, and establish a "clear goals, clear responsibilities, clear rewards and punishments, and a tiered management and evaluation system" energy-saving management system.
4. Energy Saving Through Deepening Reform. Currently, the in the institutional mechanisms promoting energy saving is the lack of an energy price formation mechanism that reflects resource scarcity, supply-demand relationships, and environmental costs, effectively curbing unreasonable consumption and waste; the lack of a fiscal and tax policy system that encourages the production and use of energy-saving products and the development of energy-saving buildings; and the lack of a stable investment mechanism to support energy saving and consumption reduction. Through deepening reform and improving policies, establishing a favorable institutional and policy system for energy conservation is an important task of current energy-saving work.
5. Energy Saving Through Strengthening Rule of Law. Currently, energy-saving laws and regulations are not sound, legal authorities are not clear, and the phenomenon of not abiding by the law, failing to enforce the law strictly, is still common. It is necessary to quickly elevate practical and reform-based energy-saving measures and valuable experiences to laws, formulate and revise a number of laws and regulations, and further improve the energy-saving legal and regulatory system and the relevant standard system. Strengthen legal popularization and law enforcement inspections, resolutely prevent and correct the phenomenon of not abiding by the law, failing to pursue legal liability, and failing to enforce the law strictly, to create a good atmosphere of energy saving under the rule of law.
6. Energy Saving Through Public Participation. Energy saving is a matter concerning the whole society and must mobilize the entire society to participate. Shanghai has calculated that if the air conditioner temperature is raised by 1 degree in summer, the city's 4.8 million households can reduce their daily electricity load by about 240,000 kilowatts; if all electrical appliances not in use during the day are unplugged, the city can further reduce its electricity load by about 75,000 kilowatts. In the past two years, we have advocated raising air conditioner temperatures to 26 degrees in summer, which has had a significant effect. We must further enhance the public's awareness of energy shortages and conservation, vigorously promote a healthy and civilized culture of conservation, and create a social atmosphere where "saving is glorious and wasting is shameful."
III. Take Practical Actions, Strive to Do Well in the Next Phase of Energy-Saving Work
According to the general requirements and basic approach of energy-saving work, to achieve this year's and the 11th Five-Year Plan's energy-saving and consumption reduction goals, the following ten aspects of work must be focused on.
(1) Implement the Energy-Saving Target Responsibility System and Evaluation and Assessment System
First, decompose and implement energy-saving indicators. Yesterday, the 145th Executive Meeting of the State Council discussed and approved in principle the decomposition plan for the energy consumption per unit of GDP reduction targets for each region during the 11th Five-Year Plan, which will be promulgated soon. Please ask each region to decompose the GDP energy consumption reduction targets to local cities, counties (industries), and key enterprises in the third quarter.
Second, implement the energy consumption indicator announcement system. The National Bureau of Statistics, the National Development and Reform Commission, and the National Energy Office will announce energy consumption per unit of GDP by region to the public annually; announce energy consumption per unit of GDP and industrial added value energy consumption by region every half year; and announce energy consumption and comprehensive energy consumption per unit of product of key energy-consuming enterprises every quarter. Provincial governments must also establish a GDP energy consumption announcement system in their regions according to the requirements of the State Council. All relevant parties must regard the completion of energy-saving and consumption reduction indicators as an important part of macroeconomic monitoring.
Third, improve the energy-saving performance assessment system. Include energy consumption indicators in the comprehensive evaluation and annual assessment systems of local economies, as part of the assessment of the implementation of the Scientific Outlook on Development by leading cadres and leaders at all levels of local governments, and as an important part of the business performance assessment of leaders of large state-owned enterprises. The National Development and Reform Commission is working with relevant departments to formulate specific implementation measures for the evaluation and assessment of the reduction targets of GDP energy consumption.
Region Experience Section
Beijing
Tianjin
Hebei Province
Shanxi Province
Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region
Liaoning Province
Dalian
Jilin Province
Heilongjiang Province
Shanghai
Region File Section
Provincial People's Government of Hebei Province on Accelerating the Development of Circular Economy
Provincial People's Government of Hebei Province on Doing Well in the Near-Term Work of Building a Resource-Saving Society
Standing Committee of the Shandong Provincial People's Congress on Comprehensively Promoting Resource Conservation and Comprehensive Utilization
Postscript