167The General Office of the State Council has recently issued the Work Plan for Accelerating the Construction of a Dual-Control System for Carbon Emissions (hereinafter referred to as the Work Plan), which requires that "carbon emission indicators and related requirements be incorporated into national planning, and policy systems and management mechanisms for local carbon assessment, industry carbon control, enterprise carbon management, project carbon evaluation, and product carbon footprint be established and improved." The Work Plan lists "accelerating the establishment of a product carbon footprint management system" as a separate task. This indicates that carbon footprint management is a crucial handle for the comprehensive transformation of energy consumption dual control to carbon emission dual control, and an essential part of accelerating the construction of a total amount and intensity dual-control system for carbon emissions (hereinafter referred to as the dual-control system for carbon emissions). It plays a significant role in promoting the steady and proactive achievement of carbon peak and carbon neutrality and accelerating the green and low-carbon transition of development methods.
Conducting Product Carbon Footprint Management Is an Important Component of Building a Dual-Control System for Carbon Emissions
Product carbon footprint is a vital carrier for promoting carbon emission dual control at the product level, and it is an important part of the six aspects of the dual-control system for carbon emissions: national, local, industrial, corporate, project, and product. The construction of a product carbon footprint management system is separately listed in the goals and tasks of the Work Plan, representing a higher-level push from the previous joint issuance by 15 departments of the Implementation Plan for Establishing a Carbon Footprint Management System. This highlights the importance of the product carbon footprint management system in the dual-control system for carbon emissions.
In terms of objectives, the Work Plan sets out the goals for various tasks in three stages, with each stage involving content related to product carbon footprint management. The Work Plan clearly states that by 2025, a batch of product carbon footprint standards will be implemented, and the national greenhouse gas emission factor database will be basically established and regularly updated; during the "15th Five-Year" period, a product carbon footprint management system and product carbon label certification system consistent with China's national conditions will be constructed; after achieving the carbon peak, the product carbon footprint management system will be improved, and the product carbon label certification system will be promoted. The establishment of these task objectives demonstrates that the product carbon footprint management system is an indispensable component of the dual-control system for carbon emissions.
In terms of tasks, "accelerating the establishment of a product carbon footprint management system" is proposed as a separate task in the Work Plan, which puts forward work requirements in three areas: calculation rules and standards, database construction, and product carbon label certification systems. In the aspect of calculation rules and standards, the Work Plan proposes to formulate and release general standards and key product carbon footprint calculation standards, covering basic energy, bulk commodities, and key export products; in the aspect of database construction, the Work Plan puts forward relevant requirements from the perspective of key industries and细分 fields nationwide; regarding the product carbon label certification system, the Work Plan puts forward specific requirements for formulating management measures, carbon label standards, and pilot programs.
Conducting Product Carbon Footprint Management Has Significant Implications for Dual-Control of Carbon Emissions
A product carbon footprint is the sum of greenhouse gas emissions and removals expressed in CO2 equivalents throughout the entire lifecycle of a product system, reflecting the carbon emissions across the entire chain within the specific boundaries of a product system. Using the carbon footprint as a handle, linking production and consumption ends through products, and promoting decarbonization throughout the entire chain and lifecycle holds significant implications for advancing the dual control of carbon emissions.
Conducting product carbon footprint management is a powerful tool for reducing carbon emissions on the production side. By conducting product carbon footprint management, companies can gain a clear understanding of their "carbon inventory," identify key points for reducing carbon emissions, and promote decarbonization among upstream and downstream enterprises through the transmission and driving effects along the industrial chain. This helps drive carbon reduction across the entire industry and supply chain from the perspective of product lifecycle and supply chain. For example, based on the situation of its product carbon footprint, CATL proposed a segmented decarbonization theory, guiding the use of low-carbon raw materials and technologies, optimizing the entire supply chain production method, and achieving a year-on-year decrease of 8.5% in unit product carbon footprint in 2022.
Conducting product carbon footprint management is an effective way to promote low-carbon consumption. By presenting the results of carbon footprint calculations to consumers in the form of carbon labels, it can enhance the value of green and low-carbon brands and increase the competitiveness of corporate products. A survey study conducted in 2018 found that consumers were willing to pay 20% more for products with carbon labels, and a survey conducted by the Carbon Trust in the UK in 2020 found that 64% of respondents preferred to buy products with lower carbon footprints.
Conducting product carbon footprint management is a strong guarantee for achieving the "dual carbon" goals. Products are both the result of production and the beginning of consumption. Using the product carbon footprint as a handle, on one hand, it can encourage producers to provide more high-quality products that are low-carbon in production and use, and on the other hand, it can cultivate consumer habits for green and low-carbon consumption. This achieves simultaneous efforts from both the production and consumption sides, promoting the formation of a societal carbon reduction model "from point to chain to network," contributing to the advancement and implementation of the "dual carbon" goals.
Lay a Solid Foundation for Dual-Control of Carbon Emissions with Product Carbon Footprint as the Handle
The management of product carbon footprint started relatively late but has made rapid progress. Using the product carbon footprint as a handle to promote the dual control of carbon emissions already has a certain foundation.
The management of product carbon footprint has been strategically planned at the top level. The Opinions of the Central Committee of the CPC and the State Council on Fully, Accurately, and Comprehensively Implementing New Development Concepts and Doing Well in Work Related to Carbon Peak and Carbon Neutrality proposed to formulate emission standards for key industries and products and improve the low-carbon product standard labeling system. The Action Plan for Achieving Carbon Peak Before 2030 required exploring the establishment of full lifecycle carbon footprint standards for key products. The Opinions of the Central Committee of the CPC and the State Council on Comprehensively Promoting the Construction of Beautiful China proposed to construct a green and low-carbon product standard, certification, and identification system. The Decision of the Central Committee of the CPC on Further Deepening Reform and Promoting Chinese-Style Modernization explicitly stated to build a product carbon footprint management system. These series of policy documents have made systematic deployments for managing product carbon footprint from the top-level design perspective.
The management of product carbon footprint has detailed task arrangements in policy documents. The Implementation Plan for Accelerating the Establishment of a Unified and Standardized Carbon Emission Statistical Accounting System jointly issued by the National Development and Reform Commission, the National Bureau of Statistics, and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment further clarified that "the Ministry of Ecology and Environment would work with industry authorities to develop methods for calculating the carbon footprint of raw materials, semi-finished products, and finished products in key industries." The Implementation Plan for Establishing a Carbon Footprint Management System jointly issued by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and 15 other departments set out the goals and paths for carbon footprint management, strengthened task division and policy coordination, and proposed 22 key tasks from four aspects: consolidating institutional foundations, constructing working frameworks, promoting international mutual trust, and strengthening capacity building. These formed the "task book" and "blueprint" for the construction of the carbon footprint management system. The Action Plan for Further Strengthening the Standardization and Metrology System for Carbon Peak and Carbon Neutrality (2024-2025) issued by the National Development and Reform Commission, the Administration for Market Regulation, and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment proposed to strengthen the construction of product carbon footprint and carbon label standards. The Work Plan also made specific arrangements for product carbon footprint work in terms of formulating calculation rules, constructing databases, and establishing carbon label certification systems. Overall, the tasks of product carbon footprint management have been further refined, and the focus of related work has been clarified and highlighted.
The management of product carbon footprint has initially carried out beneficial explorations. Based on existing foundations and needs, various regions and industries have actively tried and explored in the field of carbon footprint management. For example, Shandong has initiated the construction of a carbon footprint calculation and evaluation system and methodology calculation system, Shenzhen is promoting the construction of a Greater Bay Area carbon footprint label certification system, relevant associations have formulated key product carbon footprint group standards, and relevant enterprises and third-party certification institutions have conducted full lifecycle carbon footprint calculations under systems such as Type III environmental labeling according to demand.
Implement Dual-Control Policies for Carbon Emissions and Actively Promote the Implementation of Various Tasks of Product Carbon Footprint Management
The Work Plan has put forward clear task requirements for product carbon footprint management from the height of constructing a dual-control system for carbon emissions. Next, all regions and departments should implement the relevant task requirements, actively promote the implementation of various tasks of product carbon footprint management, accelerate the green and low-carbon transition of development methods, and assist in achieving carbon peak and carbon neutrality.
First, improve rules and standards to ensure that carbon footprint management follows established procedures. Based on the recently released Greenhouse Gas - Product Carbon Footprint - Quantification Requirements and Guidelines, standards for calculating the carbon footprint should be developed around basic energy, bulk raw materials, and key export products with urgent needs, as well as key areas such as transportation. Unify the boundaries and methods for calculating the carbon footprint of related products, strengthen the construction of the calculation standards system, and systematically build China's product carbon footprint standards system.
Second, strengthen database construction to ensure that carbon footprint management has data available. Relying on the national greenhouse gas emission factor database, accelerate the construction of the national product carbon footprint factor database, and release carbon footprint factors for basic energy such as electricity, raw materials, and semi-finished products such as aluminum and steel, and key areas such as transportation. At the same time, actively coordinate various parties to jointly build a product carbon footprint factor database, forming a mechanism for regular updates of the product carbon footprint factor database guided by the government and led by the market, providing a data foundation for the calculation of product carbon footprints.
Third, strengthen institutional supply to ensure that carbon footprint management is synergistic and effective. Accelerate the construction of product carbon label certification systems, product carbon footprint grading management systems, and carbon footprint information disclosure systems, provide institutional supply for carbon footprint management, further strengthen policy support and synergy, and promote organic connections between product carbon footprint and carbon emission rights trading, voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction trading, environmental impact assessment, and other mechanisms, promoting carbon reduction in a coordinated manner.
