Low-carbon Economy is Not a “Patent” of Developed Areas
Establish a low-carbon energy system. The core of a low-carbon economy is energy and energy technology. Guangyuan City has considerable natural gas reserves and abundant renewable energy such as wind energy and solar energy. Leveraging these energy advantages, Guangyuan City has gradually established a "multi-level, wide-coverage" low-carbon energy system, which has reduced carbon dioxide emissions. First, the clean energy initiative of "Gasifying Guangyuan" was launched. The city has made full efforts to promote the "coal-to-gas" project for enterprises across the city. The transformation has been completed for a number of enterprises, and the urban natural gas popularization rate has been steadily increased. Second, it has implemented the plan of replacing coal with electricity and replacing fuelwood with electricity. Third, it has vigorously developed emerging energy. A number of comprehensive development and utilization projects for solar energy, wind energy and geothermal energy have been launched, a planning for large-scale planting of biomass energy forests has been formulated and implemented, and the scale of emerging energy utilization has been gradually expanded.
Build a low-carbon industrial system. Relying on high and new technologies, especially low-carbon technologies, Guangyuan City has focused on building a low-carbon industrial system and optimized the economic structure. First, it adheres to the coordinated development of the secondary and tertiary industries, and vigorously develops low-energy-consumption industries such as tourism. Within the secondary industry, it focuses on new materials, new energy and new pharmaceuticals for investment attraction, develops high-tech industries, and promotes the adjustment, optimization and upgrading of the industrial structure; with the main line of developing new products and accelerating product upgrading, it introduces advanced equipment and advanced technologies to improve resource utilization efficiency. Second, it vigorously develops courtyard economy and improves the agricultural circular economy system. It actively promotes the comprehensive utilization of solar energy, straw gasification and biogas fertilizer, and strives to build a rural energy utilization system that takes rural biogas as the foundation, is supplemented by clean energy such as solar energy and straw gasification, and is guided by the promotion of new energy-saving technologies and new products.
Advocate the concept of low-carbon living. To develop a low-carbon economy, it is also necessary to cultivate the public's low-carbon awareness, advocate low-carbon concepts and consumption habits, and promote the transformation of social lifestyles. Guangyuan City uses mass media such as radio, television and newspapers to widely popularize low-carbon knowledge; it carries out activities to bring low-carbon production and lifestyles into communities, enterprises, government organs and schools, advocates sustainable lifestyles, encourages the saving of electricity and water, and enhances the public's conscious awareness of waste recycling and waste classification. In post-disaster reconstruction, it vigorously promotes low-carbon buildings, strictly implements the design standard of 50% energy efficiency for new residential buildings and public buildings, promotes energy-saving transformation of non-energy-efficient residential buildings, and popularizes building energy-saving technologies and materials.
Main Enlightenments
Underdeveloped regions can also develop low-carbon economy. Underdeveloped regions started late in industrialization and urbanization, and their economic models and industrial systems have not been fully finalized. The adjustment and transformation of industries to low-carbon economy have the late-mover advantages of low cost, low resistance and fast action. By developing low-carbon economy, vigorously cultivating economic growth points such as new energy, new materials and new technologies, and vigorously promoting new-type industrialization and new-type urbanization, underdeveloped regions can avoid the detour of blindly pursuing economic growth or even "pollution first, treatment later", and achieve leapfrog economic and social development. The practice of developing low-carbon economy in Guangyuan City proves that low-carbon economy is not a "patent" of developed regions, and underdeveloped regions are fully qualified to develop it.
Developing low-carbon economy should be adapted to local conditions. Low-carbon economy has just started in China, and there is no successful model to learn from. All regions must combine their own actual conditions, give full play to comparative advantages based on natural conditions, resource endowments, geographical location, industrial structure, financial level, personnel quality and other factors, formulate feasible development goals, policy measures and implementation paths, and develop low-carbon economy in accordance with local conditions. Guangyuan City is located at the junction of Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces, and is a green ecological barrier in the upper reaches of the Jialing River, so it is particularly suitable for focusing on ecological construction; while its abundant energy resources and convenient development and utilization provide good conditions for local low-carbon economic development. Making full use of favorable conditions and giving full play to comparative advantages is an important reason why Guangyuan City has achieved remarkable results in developing low-carbon economy.
