Forging Competitive Edge in Green Low-Carbon Industries

The green low-carbon industry refers to industries that utilize advanced technology and energy sources to reduce the consumption of traditional fossil fuels and the negative impact on the natural environment during the production process. With the increasing awareness of global climate change and environmental protection, the green low-carbon industry has become an important direction for China's economic development. The previously issued "Opinions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on Accelerating the Comprehensive Green Transformation of Economic and Social Development" proposed to vigorously develop the green low-carbon industry; continuously increase the proportion of the green low-carbon industry in the total economy; actively encourage new industries, new business forms, and new business models oriented towards green and low-carbon development to accelerate. As an important support for China's high-quality development, the green low-carbon industry plays a positive role in addressing global climate change, achieving sustainable development, and improving the quality of life for residents.

In recent years, China has deeply promoted the revolution in energy production and consumption, and the green low-carbon industry has continued to grow rapidly. At present, the output value of China's green low-carbon industry is about 11 trillion yuan, with more than 2 million related enterprises. In particular, the industries such as new energy, electric vehicles, and energy conservation and environmental protection are booming. The green competitive advantages of lithium battery and photovoltaic products are highlighted, enhancing China's international competitive advantage.

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New energy vehicles show strong momentum. In 2023, China's new energy vehicle production and sales completed 9.587 million and 9.495 million respectively, with year-on-year growth of 35.8% and 37.9% respectively; the market share reached 31.6%, with production and sales ranking first in the world for 9 consecutive years, accounting for more than 60% of the global share. In the first 8 months of 2024, China's new energy vehicles maintained growth momentum, with sales reaching 7.037 million, a year-on-year increase of 30.9%; exports reached 818,000, a year-on-year increase of 12.6%.

The lithium battery industry continues to grow. Against the backdrop of global energy transformation and the rapid development of the new energy vehicle market, China's lithium battery production and sales continue to increase. According to the enterprise information of the lithium battery industry standard announcement and the industry association's estimation, in 2023, the total national lithium battery output exceeded 940GWh, a year-on-year increase of 25%, and the total industry output value exceeded 1.4 trillion yuan.

China has built the most complete and competitive clean energy industry chain in the world. With the continuous maturity and promotion of new energy technology, China's clean energy industry has developed rapidly. Photovoltaic module production has been ranked first in the world for 16 consecutive years, providing 70% of the world's photovoltaic modules and 60% of wind power equipment. In 2023, the mass production of advanced photovoltaic battery conversion efficiency reached 25.5%. As of the end of August, the national cumulative installed capacity of solar power generation was about 750 million kilowatts, a year-on-year increase of 48.8%; the wind power installed capacity was about 470 million kilowatts, a year-on-year increase of 19.9%. Among the top 10 wind power equipment manufacturers in the world, 6 are Chinese enterprises, and the localization rate of main components has reached 95%.

It is also necessary to see that the high-quality development of China's green low-carbon industry still faces some prominent issues. For example, there is a lack of independent research and development of green technology by enterprises, and a lack of common and core technologies in green manufacturing; there is a shortage of green technology research and development talents, which is difficult to meet the needs of industrial development. In response to this, a variety of strategies and measures should be comprehensively used to accelerate the high-quality development of the green low-carbon industry.

Strengthen government policy support and guidance. Formulate policies and regulations that are conducive to the development of the green low-carbon industry, improve investment, finance, tax, and tax policies that support the development of the green low-carbon industry, increase financial subsidies, tax incentives and other incentive measures, further reduce the production costs of enterprises, and encourage enterprises to invest in green low-carbon projects. Promote the innovation and development of financial products such as green credit, green equity, green bonds, green insurance, and green funds, and continuously expand the financing channels for enterprises. At the same time, it is also necessary to establish and improve the standards and certification system for the green low-carbon industry, strengthen the supervision of green low-carbon products and services, and promote the marketization and industrialization of green low-carbon products.

Accelerate the optimization and adjustment of the energy structure. Continue to increase the proportion of renewable energy in energy consumption, gradually reduce dependence on traditional fossil fuels, focus on supporting the development of new energy fields such as photovoltaics, wind power, hydrogen energy, and energy storage, and increase investment in advanced environmental protection equipment manufacturing, energy-saving equipment manufacturing, and resource recycling. Promote the construction of green low-carbon industry innovation clusters, and focus on introducing high-end manufacturing projects such as new energy, energy conservation and environmental protection, and resource recycling.

Build a green low-carbon scientific and technological innovation system. Strengthen the main position of enterprises in scientific and technological innovation, encourage enterprises to carry out transnational green low-carbon technology exchange and cooperation, introduce professional talents and advanced technologies in the field of green low-carbon, and improve the core competitiveness of the green low-carbon industry. Enhance collaborative innovation of green low-carbon technologies, increase investment in green low-carbon technology research and development, and support enterprises, universities, and research institutions to jointly carry out research and innovation of green low-carbon technologies. Focus on breaking through key technical difficulties such as energy storage and energy saving and emission reduction.