Section 1: Introduction

Written By UASDF Admin

Climate change posses serious threats to the environment, society, and economy on a global scale. According to Climate Change 2023 issued by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), if the global temperature rises by 1.5°C by 2023, the risk of various climate disasters will inevitably increase, posing multiple risks to ecosystems and human society. The health threat of global warming has also been severely underestimated: the death toll from climate change may far exceed the number of deaths from COVID-19 -- more than 5 million deaths each year can be attributed to abnormally high or low temperatures. At the same time, extreme weather changes caused by climate change will also bring huge uncertainties to the world's economic and commercial activities. 

At the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), countries around the world reached a consensus on jointly resisting global warming and made commitments to their carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals. Among them, the European Union plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 55% of 1990 levels by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. China has also committed to peaking carbon emissions by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060. The world has officially entered the "dual" era.

"Dual carbon" is the abbreviation of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality: carbon peaking refers to the milestone when carbon dioxide emissions no longer increase, reach a peak, and then gradually decline. carbon peaking marks the point where carbon emissions are decoupled from economic development. Carbon Neutrality refers to offsetting the total amount of carbon dioxide emitted through energy conservation, emission reduction, clean energy power generation, amongst others, ultimately achieving achieving zero emissions of total carbon dioxide. 

Green and low-carbon have become the basic guiding principles and important evaluation criteria for China's economic, social, and ecological development transformation. Carbon emission reduction in the manufacturing industry is the top priority to achieve the carbon neutrality goal of peak carbon emissions. For manufacturing companies, reducing carbon emissions is not only to gain sustainable competitive advantages in the international market, but also to practice the concept of sustainable development. The country, as a major manufacturing country in the world, low-carbon development is both a heavy task and a strategic opportunity. The proposal of the "dual carbon" goal will elevate China's green development path to a new height and become one of the main themes of China's economic and social development in the next few decades. Among them, the zero-carbon transformation of manufacturing enterprises will be an important starting point and key prerequisite for the realization of China's dual carbon strategic goals.

This white paper was written to address carbon neutrality in the manufacturing industry, aiming to provide industry, society, academia, and regulatory authorities with an encyclopedia of carbon-neutral transformation. It seeks to promote the participation of all sectors of society, helping manufacturing companies achieve zero-carbon sustainable development and contributing to China's dual carbon goals.

This white paper addresses China's current dual carbon policy, carbon trading market, carbon footprint accounting methods and standards, manufacturing performance evaluation standards, and research on manufacturing industry segments. The innovation and ingenuity of this white paper lie in the introduction of the philosophical idea that the Möbius strip circulates forever and everything is connected. It consistently integrates its closed-loop and continuous core into the writing and proposes an original set of CarbonSense full life cycle Möbius strip carbon neutral performance evaluation criteria. CarbonSense Technologies believes that it's new evaluation method can accurately cover every link in the organization and product life cycle, fully evaluate the carbon neutral performance of enterprises from top to bottom, provide directions for the zero-carbon transformation of Chinese manufacturing enterprises, and create value for enterprises, society, and the environment.

The Möbius strip cited in the evaluation criteria originated from topology and was discovered and named by the German mathematician August Ferdinand Möbius. The Möbius strip is shaped like the infinity symbol in mathematics. It is a magical product obtained by rotating a piece of paper half a turn and gluing the two ends. If you find any point on the Möbius strip and move in a fixed direction, you will be surprised to find that this plane has no absolute beginning and end and will continue to move. Therefore, the Möbius strip is an endless cycle --- a symbol of reciprocity. The low-carbon transformation of society and enterprises also needs to introduce the idea of Möbius loop closure and circulation. Society and enterprises must realize that each link and life cycle may seem independent of each other, but in fact, they are interlocking and interactive. Achieving carbon neutrality requires contributions from all sectors to work together. From the country, to the individual, everyone needs to play their role in the low-carbon transformation. The same is true for corporate carbon neutrality. Doing a good job in low-carbon transformation in each segment is the premise and guarantee for the company's outstanding carbon neutrality performance. Therefore, CarbonSense Technologies incorporates the the Möbius philosophy of of everything connected and dynamic circulation into the evaluation of corporate carbon neutrality performance. With the help of the core ideas of the Möbius strip cycle and closed loop, the carbon neutrality performance of the company is comprehensively and deeply evaluated from the dimensions of the entire life cycle of the organization and the product. CarbonSense Technologies believes that the CarbonSense Full-Cycle Möbius Evaluation Method can ensure that no link is missed, fully evaluate the carbon neutrality capabilities of the company throughout the life cycle, provide guidance for the company's zero-carbon transformation, and help China's manufacturing industry achieve the goal of carbon neutral development as soon as possible.

This white paper conveys the insights of the Editorial Board on carbon neutrality in the manufacturing industry, and also aims to provide some inspiration for readers on the path of zero-carbon green development in their own related fields.

Contents

  1. Introduction ................................................... 5

  2. Carbon Peak and Carbon Neutrality Policy ................. 8

    • 2.1. The History of Carbon Neutrality .......................................... 8
    • 2.2. Global Carbon Dioxide Emissions ....................................... 8
    • 2.3. Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Manufacturing Industry ....... 9
    • 2.4. International Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality Policy ........ 10
      • 2.4.1. Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality Policies in the European Union (EU) ....... 11
      • 2.4.2. Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality Policies in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) ....... 12
      • 2.4.3. Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality Policies in the United States of America (USA) ........ 13
      • 2.4.4. Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality Policies in the Commonwealth of Australia ........ 13
      • 2.4.5. Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality Policies in Japan ........ 13
      • 2.4.6. Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality Policies in South Korea ....... 14
    • 2.5. Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality Policy in China ............ 14
      • 2.5.1. National-level policy .......................................................... 15
      • 2.5.2. Provincial/Municipal policies ............................................. 35
    • 2.6. Policies in Some Cities .......................................................... 64

  3. Carbon Emissions Trading Market ............................ 69

    • 3.1. European Union Carbon Trading Market ......................... 70
      • 3.1.1. Overview of the Carbon Trading Market in the EU ................ 70
      • 3.1.2. The EU Carbon Market Trading System and Current State ........ 70
    • 3.2. Carbon Trading Market in Korea .......................................... 71
      • 3.2.1. Overview of the Carbon Trading Market in Korea ................ 71
      • 3.2.2. The Carbon Market Trading System and Trading Situation in Korea 72
    • 3.3. Domestic Carbon Trading Market ..................................... 73
      • 3.3.1. Domestic Carbon Trading Projects ................................... 73
      • 3.3.2. Domestic Carbon Trading Market .................................... 73
      • 3.3.3. Regional Trading Markets ................................................ 80
    • 3.4. Green Electricity .................................................................. 91
      • 3.4.1. The Concept of Green Electricity .................................... 91
      • 3.4.2. The Value of Green Electricity ......................................... 91
      • 3.4.3. Linking Green Electricity and Carbon Trading ...................... 92
      • 3.4.4. Differences between Green Electricity and CCER ................ 93
    • 3.5. Green Certificate .............................................................. 94
      • 3.5.1. Definition of a Green Certificate ................................... 94
      • 3.5.2. Functions of a Green Certificate ................................... 94
      • 3.5.3. Green Certificate Market Trading Situation ......................... 94
      • 3.5.4. Differences Between Green Certificates and Green Electricity .. 95
      • 3.5.5. Differences Between Green Certificates and CCER .............. 96
    • 3.6. Forest Carbon Sink ............................................................ 97
      • 3.6.1. Definition and Types of Forest Carbon Sinks ...................... 97
      • 3.6.2. Market Size .................................................................. 97
    • 3.7. Ocean Carbon Sinks .......................................................... 97
      • 3.7.1. Definition and Market of Ocean Carbon Sinks ................... 97
      • 3.7.2. Current Trading Status ................................................. 98
    • 3.8. Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) ................. 99
      • 3.8.1. Definition and Market ................................................... 99
      • 3.8.2. Scale of Application ...................................................... 100
    • 3.9. Frequently Asked Questions ........................................... 100

  4. Carbon Footprint Accounting Methods and Standards ... 102

    • 4.1. Accounting Objects and Standards ................................... 102
      • 4.1.1. National, Sectoral or Regional Carbon Footprint ........... 103
      • 4.1.2. Organizational Carbon Footprint ................................ 105
      • 4.1.3. Product Carbon Footprint ........................................... 113
    • 4.2. Accounting Boundary ....................................................... 130
      • 4.2.1. Organizational Carbon Footprint Accounting Boundary . 130
      • 4.2.2. Product Carbon Footprint Accounting Boundaries ......... 133
    • 4.3. Emission Factor Database ................................................. 133
      • 4.3.1. Foreign LCA Database ................................................ 134
      • 4.3.2. Domestic LCA Databases ............................................ 135
      • 4.3.3. Other Emission Factor Databases ................................ 137
      • 4.3.4. Emission Factor Data Quality ...................................... 138
    • 4.4. Necessity of Carbon Emission Accounting ....................... 139
      • 4.4.1. Necessity of Enterprise Carbon Emission Accounting .. 139
      • 4.4.2. Necessity of Product Carbon Emission Accounting ....... 141

  5. CarbonSense Full Life-cycle Möbius Assessment System . 143

    • 5.1. Background ........................................................................ 143
    • 5.2. Definition ............................................................................ 144
      • 5.2.1. Möbius Strip ................................................................ 144
      • 5.2.2. CarbonSense Full Life-cycle Möbius Assessment System 146
      • 5.2.3. Applicability ................................................................ 147
      • 5.2.4. Intrinsic Value .............................................................. 147
    • 5.3. Evaluation Details and Utilization .................................... 149
      • 5.3.1. Organizational life cycle carbon management assessment 149
      • 5.3.2. Assessment of Carbon Management Across the Product Life-cycle 155
    • 5.4. Rating Results .................................................................... 161
    • 5.5. Appendix ........................................................................... 162

  6. Industry Research Overview ............................................. 162

  7. Conclusion .......................................................................... 166

  8. Acknowledgement ........................................................... 168

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Section 2: Carbon Peak and Carbon Neutrality Policy Overview