China strengthens carbon footprint management

Inside the headquarters of Shanxi Tianbao Group, a flange manufacturer located in Dingxiang county, north China's Shanxi province, a smart digital display shows real-time information about the energy consumption and carbon emissions of manufacturing equipment. Near the digital screen, Yang Zhenqiang, a carbon sink measurement appraiser, was helping the company review its carbon footprint.

"By monitoring companies' carbon footprint in real-time, we can help them reduce carbon emissions, take more effective control measures, and maintain a surplus of carbon emission quota, ultimately leading to lower cost and higher production efficiency," said Yang.

Visitors look at a model office building featuring ultra-low energy consumption designed by Fuzhou Architectural Design Institute Co., Ltd. at the 2024 International Zero Carbon Urban Rural and Zero Carbon Building Conference and Technology Equipment Expo in Beijing, May 26. (People's Daily Online/Chen Xiaogen)

Carbon footprint is the sum of greenhouse gas emissions and removals by a product, individual, household, institution or business, usually expressed as carbon dioxide equivalent. The consumption of carbon-rich resources like oil and coal results in greater carbon dioxide emissions and a larger carbon footprint.

Better managing carbon footprint can encourage enterprises to develop and produce eco-friendly products and thereby foster a low-carbon market environment. Besides, it helps create consumer demand for these products, contributing to green, low-carbon, and high-quality development and China's goal of peaking carbon emissions by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060.

Recently, China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment, in collaboration with 14 other government departments, published a plan to build and implement a unified carbon footprint management system (hereafter referred to as "the Plan"), providing guidelines for better managing China's product carbon footprint in the coming period.

"As the most widely applied concept within the carbon footprint framework, product carbon footprint measures the total carbon emissions generated during the entire life cycle of a product, including raw material production, transportation, distribution, use, and disposal. It serves as an important indicator for assessing the levels of green and low-carbon development of manufacturers and their products," said Pei Xiaofei, a spokesperson from China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment.

For example, the production of plastic bags consumes a significant amount of petroleum resources; therefore, using plastic bags would increase carbon footprints. Solar water heaters, in contrast, rely on solar power instead of traditional energy sources, leading to a decrease in carbon emissions and carbon footprints.

Workers inspect a net-zero carbon platform in a maritime ranch in Rongcheng, east China's Shandong province. (People's Daily Online/Li Xinjun)

Tian Chunxiu, deputy head of the Policy Research Center for Environment and Economy, China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment, said that establishing a carbon footprint management system and tracking carbon emissions from the beginning of production will facilitate carbon emission reductions throughout the entire supply chain.

Besides, the carbon footprint is also used as a way for consumers to identify eco-friendly products, boosting brand value and low-carbon consumption, Tian added.

The Plan includes setting up an institutional system, building a working framework, promoting international trust in rules, and bolstering capacity building.

It provides a comprehensive list of 22 key tasks that address all aspects of carbon footprint management, including accounting factors, certification, information disclosure and other processes of product carbon footprint management, as well as full-chain products such as basic energy and raw materials.

It is reported that the Plan was drafted following a thorough review of opinions from different stakeholders. It gives full play to the decisive role of the market while leveraging the supportive role of the government, and welcomes the participation of research institutions, industry associations, and enterprises.

Based on building a carbon footprint management system, the Plan aims to promote exchanges and mutual recognition of product carbon footprint rules between China and most other countries around the world, especially the Belt and Road partner countries, and contribute to the development of international standards and rules related to product carbon footprint.

Energy storage units for lithium batteries are manufactured in a company workshop in Luoyang, central China's Henan province. (People's Daily Online/Li Weichao)

"Establishing a carbon footprint management system with Chinese characteristics and international influence and better connecting Chinese and international rules will help improve China's capabilities in carbon footprint management and respond to new situations in international trade policies related to carbon," said Tian.

The Plan closely focuses on China's goal of peaking carbon emissions by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060, and sets clear targets for building the carbon footprint management system: By 2027, China aims to preliminarily establish a unified national system for managing carbon footprints and set rules and standards for around 100 key products; by 2030, the system will be further refined, and the number of key products with specific carbon footprint calculation rules and standards will increase to 200.

Establishing a robust carbon footprint standard system can further standardize product carbon footprint management and certification.

China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment has started to compile carbon footprint accounting standards for key products. Following market-oriented principles and to address urgent needs, pilot products have been selected to provide references for standard development in the whole country, including cement, electrolytic aluminum, photovoltaic modules, flat glass, new energy vehicles, and lithium batteries.