General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that the construction of ecological civilization is a fundamental plan for the sustainable development of the Chinese nation. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has attached great importance to the construction of ecological civilization, and has taken the construction of ecological civilization as an important part of the overall plan for promoting the "five in one", and has promoted the construction of my country's ecological civilization to achieve historic and turning points , Overall achievement. We must thoroughly implement Xi Jinping’s thoughts on ecological civilization, take energy conservation and energy efficiency as an important focal point for high-quality economic development, build ecological civilization on the basis of priority to efficiency, continuously reduce resource and environmental costs from the source, and accelerate the formation of man and nature. Harmoniously develop a new pattern of modernization.

Deeply understand the importance of strengthening energy saving and improving energy efficiency

Our party regards the construction of ecological civilization as a national strategy, which is a major theoretical and practical innovation to promote the harmonious coexistence of man and nature. As the world's largest developing country, my country is in the stage of deepening industrialization and urbanization. Energy demand continues to grow, and the task of ecological environmental protection is arduous. Further strengthening energy conservation and improving energy efficiency is of great significance to fundamentally breaking the bottleneck constraints of resources and the environment, building ecological civilization, and promoting high-quality development.

Saving energy and improving energy efficiency is an important guarantee for meeting my country's growing demand for modern energy. At present, my country's energy consumption is mainly concentrated in the industrial sector. Buildings and transportation that are closely related to the lives of residents consume less energy, and the per capita energy consumption is still less than 60% of the average level of developed countries. With the comprehensive advancement of modernization and the continuous improvement of people's lives, my country's energy demand will continue to grow. If we mainly rely on the development of primary resources or imports to meet energy demand, both energy security and ecological environment capacity will be under great pressure. Energy conservation and improvement of energy efficiency are not only the most priority source of meeting my country's energy demand growth, but also an inevitable requirement for building an ecological civilization and realizing the goal of a modern socialist country.

Energy saving and energy efficiency are an important prerequisite for achieving the goal of building a beautiful China and tackling climate change. In recent years, my country has continuously strengthened pollution control, and environmental quality has improved unprecedentedly. However, as the space for end-point management continues to narrow and costs continue to rise, energy efficiency must be greatly improved from the source, and source prevention, process control, and end-point management must be promoted in concert. At the same time, in tackling climate change, energy conservation is the most potential and economical way to reduce emissions, and the most important way to realize my country's national independent contribution to climate change in 2030.

Saving energy and improving energy efficiency is an important source of new kinetic energy for green development. At present, my country's economy has shifted from a stage of high-speed growth to a stage of high-quality development, and is in a period of tackling key problems in transforming methods, optimizing structures, and transforming power. Continuous breakthroughs in technologies such as energy conservation and renewable energy have become an important driving force for a new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation. As a major energy consumer in the world, on the one hand, ultra-high-efficiency equipment products, low-energy buildings, energy-saving and new energy vehicles have broad market space and application prospects in my country, which can continuously form new momentum for green development; The energy-saving upgrading and transformation of industries can empower the real economy and form new economic growth points in the green transformation.

Energy-saving and energy-efficiency is also an important part of promoting the general improvement of people's livelihood and welfare. A beautiful ecological environment and modern and efficient energy services are important connotations of people's livelihood and welfare. With the improvement of people's living standards, green buildings, clean heating, and efficient cooling have become important elements of consumption upgrades. By deeply tapping the energy-saving potential, we can continuously reduce pollution from the source, increase the supply of energy-efficient products and services, promote the popularization of modern and high-efficiency energy services in urban and rural areas, and make the people truly feel the improvement in people's livelihood and welfare.

Energy saving and energy efficiency play a positive role in the construction of ecological civilization

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, all regions and departments have taken Xi Jinping’s ecological civilization thought as a guide, took energy conservation and energy efficiency as an important starting point for accelerating the construction of ecological civilization, established a dual control system for total energy consumption and intensity, and developed energy conservation and environmental protection. Industry, in-depth implementation of national energy-saving actions, energy-saving work has made important achievements.

One is to help the economy transform from extensive development to high-quality development. Energy efficiency is an important indicator to measure the quality and benefit of a country's development. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, my country's energy efficiency level has been significantly improved by implementing the priority policy of energy conservation. From 2013 to 2019, my country’s energy consumption per unit of GDP has dropped by 24.6%, and it has saved 1.27 billion tons of standard coal, which is close to the current annual energy consumption in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and Yangtze River Delta. With an average annual energy consumption growth of 2.7%, my country has supported an average annual economic growth of 7%, providing strong support for the sustained and healthy economic development. As one of the countries with the fastest decline in energy intensity in the world, my country's energy saving accounted for about half of the global energy saving in the same period, which played an important role in promoting the sustainable development of the world.

The second is to accelerate the leapfrogging of energy utilization technology from a catch-up type to a leading type. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, by encouraging continuous innovation and development of energy-saving technologies, industries and models, my country's energy utilization technology has achieved leapfrog progress. Coal-fired power generation, electrolytic aluminum, cement and other energy consumption levels have entered the world's advanced ranks. Energy-saving buildings are fully promoted, and green building technology has made great progress. The comprehensive transportation system continues to improve, the mileage of high-speed railways ranks first in the world, and the number of new energy vehicles accounts for more than half of the world.

The third is to support the fight against pollution and achieve significant results in tackling climate change. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, energy efficiency has been improved through energy conservation, coal consumption reduction and substitution in key areas have been promoted, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions have been reduced by nearly 10 million tons, and carbon dioxide emissions have been reduced by more than 2.7 billion tons. And carbon emission intensity played a key role. Energy-saving and improving energy efficiency not only save a lot of investment in terminal treatment, but also promote the development of energy-saving and environmental protection industries, laying an important industrial and technical support for the green and low-carbon transformation.

The fourth is to promote the continuous improvement of energy conservation systems and policy systems. Since the Eighteenth National Congress of the Communist Party of China, my country has accelerated the improvement of its energy-saving policy system and focused on improving the effectiveness of the system. Strictly enforce energy-saving target responsibilities, and guide the rapid transformation of development concepts and political achievements. Improve the energy-saving standard system and accelerate the promotion of full coverage of energy-saving standards for products and equipment in key industries. Improve pricing, taxation, and financial policies to stimulate endogenous motivation of various entities. Encourage market-based mechanisms such as contract energy management, demand-side management, and energy rights trading pilots to promote efficient allocation of energy resources.

Promote energy conservation to a new level

The 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China embarked on a new journey of building a modern socialist country in an all-round way. It regards the harmonious coexistence of man and nature as one of the basic strategies of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era, and calls for further advancement of energy production and consumption revolution. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the National Energy Conservation Publicity Week. In the past period, through continuous energy conservation and improvement of energy efficiency, my country's energy supply and demand tensions have been effectively eased, providing a solid foundation for building a well-off society in all respects. In the next 30 years, facing the grand goal of building a modern and powerful socialist country in an all-round way, we must further implement Xi Jinping’s thoughts on ecological civilization, implement new development concepts, and place energy conservation and energy efficiency on the priority of advancing the energy revolution, as an important part of promoting high-quality development. To speed up energy utilization efficiency to catch up and upgrade, and promote energy conservation to a new level.

One is to maintain strategic determination and unswervingly implement the policy of giving priority to conservation. At present, our country is still in the stage of climbing the hurdles in the construction of ecological civilization, and there may be relapses if there is a slight relaxation. It is necessary to maintain the strategic determination of ecological civilization construction, unswervingly and not slack, and implement the priority policy of energy conservation in all fields and the whole process of economic and social development, as an important green yardstick for evaluating development quality and benefits. We must do a good job in the "14th Five-Year Plan" and mid- to long-term energy conservation work plan, and promote the continuous improvement of my country's energy utilization efficiency and leapfrogging.

The second is to tap the potential for energy conservation and promote investment and consumption growth through energy conservation. At present, my country is making every effort to do a good job in the "six stability" and implement the task of "six guarantees". In the context of increasing downward pressure on the economy, in-depth exploration of energy-saving potential plays an important role in reducing energy costs for enterprises and residents, enhancing domestic demand for green consumption, and stimulating effective investment. It is necessary to benchmark the advanced level of energy efficiency, accelerate the energy-saving upgrading and transformation of industries and existing buildings, and build an energy-efficient and efficient infrastructure system. Increase taxation, financial and other policy support to stimulate the consumption potential of high-efficiency energy-saving products, energy-saving and new energy vehicles, and promote the green upgrade of residents' consumption.

The third is to strengthen policy coordination and play the fundamental role of energy conservation and energy efficiency in building a green economic system. Energy saving and energy efficiency have obvious economic advantages compared with expanding energy supply and implementing end-of-pipe management. It is necessary to coordinate energy conservation and improvement of energy efficiency with deepening the energy revolution, air pollution control, and accelerating green transformation; in the work goals, planning, and policy formulation of related fields, energy conservation and improvement of energy efficiency from the source should be taken as an important consideration; in the construction of major projects, etc. In the protection of consumption factors, we insist on giving priority to energy conservation and efficiency, and fully tap the potential of energy conservation.

The fourth is to establish a long-term mechanism and improve the energy-saving system and policy system. my country's energy-saving policy mechanism has been continuously improved, but there is still a gap between the modernization goal of governance system and governance capabilities. It is necessary to adhere to and improve the dual control system of total energy consumption and intensity, set differentiated targets for different regions, guide each region to give play to their comparative advantages, and innovate and practice dual control work under the requirements of high-quality development. It is necessary to improve the energy-saving market mechanism, further improve pricing, taxation, and financial policies, innovate and develop new mechanisms such as comprehensive energy services, energy rights trading, and capacity replacement transactions, and continue to release the potential and vitality of the energy-saving market. (Author: Party member of the National Development and Reform Commission Deputy Director Zhang Yong)