Guiding Opinions of the National Development and Reform Commission and Other Departments on Coordinating Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction and Recycling and Accelerating the Transformation and Upgrading of Products and Equipment in Key Areas

Guiding Opinions of the National Development and Reform Commission and Other Departments on Coordinating Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction and Recycling and Accelerating the Transformation and Upgrading of Products and Equipment in Key Areas

(No. 178 [2023] of the National Development and Reform Commission)

The development and reform commissions, industry and information technology departments, finance departments (bureaus), housing and urban-rural developments (commissions, management commissions, and bureaus), commerce departments, state-owned assets supervision and administration commissions, market regulatory bureaus (departments, and commissions), and energy administrations of all provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government, and cities under separate state planning and Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps; and the People's Bank of China (“PBC”) Shanghai Head Office; all regional branches and operations offices of the PBC, and all central sub-branches of the PBC in the capital cities of all provinces (autonomous regions) and sub-provincial cities:

Products and equipment are widely used in various fields of production and life and are important tools to ensure economic and social development. Coordinating energy conservation, carbon reduction, and recycling and accelerating the upgrading and transformation of products and equipment in key areas are of great significance for accelerating the creation of a new pattern of development, promoting the unimpeded domestic circulation, expanding effective investment and consumption, and working actively and prudently toward the goal of carbon peak and carbon neutrality. For the purposes of fully implementing the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress, conscientiously implementing the decisions and plans made at the Central Economic Work Conference, accelerating the research and development, popularization, and application of advanced technologies for energy conservation and carbon reduction, improving the recycling system for worn-out products and equipment, promoting the economical and intensive use of various resources, and forging new industrial competitive advantages in the process of implementing the goal of carbon peak and carbon neutrality, the following opinions are hereby offered.

I. General requirements

1. Guiding ideology. Under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress shall be comprehensively implemented and the new development concepts shall be implemented in a complete, accurate, and comprehensive manner. The creation of a new pattern of development shall be accelerated with a focus on promoting high-quality development. The transition to a model of green development shall be accelerated, and the comprehensive conservation strategy shall be deeply implemented. Effective investment and consumption shall be expanded, and products and equipment in key areas shall be gradually upgraded by category. The establishment of a waste recycling system shall be sped up to promote the full use of worn-out products and equipment, thus achieving the cycle of the industry chain from production to use, renewal, elimination, and recycling. The high-end, intelligent, and green development of the manufacturing sector shall be promoted, and green and low-carbon modes of production and life will be formed, so as to provide strong support for achieving the goal of carbon peak and carbon neutrality.

2. Work principles

Continuing to give high priority to key points and making steady progress. Active measures shall be taken to upgrade and transform products and equipment with large production and sales volume, a wide range of applications, high energy consumption, and good implementation conditions. Objective laws shall be respected, and the proper pace of work shall be maintained. Safety shall be ensured, and work results and feasible models shall be summarized in a timely manner, and gradually extended to other fields.

Making constant efforts to establish standards in a reasonable way, and conducting targeted guidance. In different stages of industrial development, energy efficiency levels shall be properly defined by benchmarking against the technical level of similar products and equipment at home and abroad, and the standards system shall be continuously improved. Differentiated measures shall be applied on a case-by-case basis. The implementation guidelines shall be formulated by field to steadily and orderly promote the upgrading and transformation of products and equipment.

Adhering to economical and intensive measures, and promoting unimpeded circulation. Difficulties and challenges shall be tackled, and the organization mode and working mode shall be innovated. The upgrading and transformation and recycling of products and equipment shall be promoted in a coordinated way to achieve the economical and intensive use of resources and help smooth the circulation of industrial chains. The well-regulated recycling shall be conducted by category in light of the value characteristics of worn-out products and equipment to improve the recycling of renewable resources.

Staying committed to a market-oriented approach, and implementing comprehensive policies. A long-term mechanism combining incentives and constraints shall be established, and the decisive role of the market in the allocation of resources shall be harnessed. Advanced technologies, products, and equipment for energy conservation and carbon reduction shall be promoted, and backward and inefficient products and equipment shall be eliminated in accordance with laws and regulations. The initiative and enthusiasm of all parties to participate in upgrading and transformation and recycling shall be aroused through a comprehensive use of fiscal, taxation, finance, investment, pricing, and other policies

3. Main objectives

By 2025, the market share of energy-efficient products and equipment will be further increased by promoting the upgrading and transformation and recycling of products and equipment in key areas. Compared with the 2021 level, the average operating thermal efficiency of industrial boilers and utility boilers will increase by 5 percentage points and 0.5 percentage points respectively, and the proportion of high-efficiency energy-saving motors and high-efficiency energy-saving power transformers in operation by more than 5 percentage points and 10 percentage points respectively and the proportion of high-efficiency energy-saving products in major household appliances in use by 10 percentage points. Of all the industrial and commercial refrigeration equipment, household refrigeration equipment and general lighting equipment that are in operation, energy-efficient products will account for 40%, 60%, and 50%, respectively. The recycling of worn-out products and equipment will be more standardized and smoother, and a group of advanced recycling models that can be replicated and promoted will be established. The recycling of major renewable resources such as waste steel, waste non-ferrous metals, and waste plastics will reach 450 million tons.

By 2030, the energy efficiency level of products and equipment in key areas will be further improved, and the overall energy efficiency level and carbon emission intensity of key industries and fields will reach an internationally advanced level. The synergistic effect of product and equipment upgrading and transformation and recycling will be effectively enhanced, and the level of conservation and intensive use of resources will be significantly improved, which will provide strong support for the smooth realization of the goal of carbon peak.

II. Accelerating the energy-saving and carbon-reducing upgrading and transformation of products and equipment in key areas

1. Placing the focus on products and equipment in key areas. With energy conservation and carbon reduction taken as an important orientation and the level of energy efficiency as an important measure, the upgrading and transformation of products and equipment shall be advanced under the principle of easy problems coming first, in a coordinated and orderly manner, with a focus on key areas. The impleme......