Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
compared with 2005; while energy saving potential will be more than 1.5 billion tons
of coal equivalent; and potential emissions reduction is estimated to be between 3.6
and 3.8 billion t-CO
2
.
3.1.2.2 Developing a Recycling Economy
Research has shown that to make steel from steel scrap can save 60 % of the energy
associated with making iron out of metal ores.
6
Compared with refining from primary
metals, the production of secondary copper, secondary aluminum and secondary lead
can save energy by, respectively, 1,054, 3,443, and 659 kgce. Accordingly, carbon
dioxide emissions could also be largely reduced.
7
Another new important approach for
the industrial sector (particularly for high energy-consuming industries) to speed up
low-carbon transformation is to develop a vigorous recycling economy. For high
energy-consuming industries, there are favorable conditions and solid foundations to
greatly develop the recycling economy. First off, recycling economy pilot projects
during the 11th Five-Year Plan period provide practical approaches and models that
high energy-consuming industries can borrow. Second, China's high energy-consuming
industrial sector has obtained the necessary material foundation for developing a
recycling economy on a large scale. Currently, China is the world's largest producer
of steel, cement, plate glass, 10 kinds of nonferrous metals, caustic soda, soda ash,
machine-made paper and paperboard. As a result, steel scrap, wasted nonferrous metals
and paper has accumulated. And the annual production of scrap and waste has continu-
ally increased. Third, China has established a recycling system of waste resources, while
the material foundation for high energy-consuming industries such as steel, nonferrous
metals and papermaking, to develop a recycling economy is sufficient. It could be
predicted that in the coming 10 years, developing an industrial recycling economy will
serve as a crucial pillar and play a critical role in the low-carbon transformation of the
industrial sector in our country.
3.1.2.3 Optimizing Energy Supply Structure
Coal accounts for as much as 70 % of China's primary energy consumption while
non-fossil energy has a low proportion of the total. This is the fundamental reason
why China has high carbon dioxide emission intensity per unit GDP. Readjusting the
primary energy supply structure is crucial for China to reduce carbon dioxide
emission intensity. In the 12th Five-Year Plan, the Chinese government, for the
first time, clearly brought up the binding index to increase the non-fossil energy
consumption ratio of primary energy consumption from the current 8.3 % to 11.4 %
by 2015, and made a strategic decision on how to enable readjustment of the energy
supply structure. Both central and local governments will implement a basket of
incentive and binding policies and measures, including industry, investment, price,
finance, tax, land and environmental protection.
6
China Circular Economy Yearbook.
7
The Special Plan of Using Recycling Nonferrous Metals 2011-2015
, China Nonferrous Metals
Industry Association Recycling Metal Branch.
