Original Title: Guidelines of the General Office of the People’s Government of Shandong Province on Promoting Green, Low-Carbon, and High-Quality Development in “High-Energy Consumption and High-Emission” Industries

Lu Zheng Ban Zi [2022] No. 44

Municipal People’s Governments, County (City, District) People’s Governments, Departments of the Provincial Government, Directly Affiliated Agencies, Major Enterprises, and Institutions of Higher Education:

With the approval of the Provincial Government, the following guiding opinions are hereby issued regarding the promotion of green, low-carbon, and high-quality development in “high-energy-consumption and high-emission” industries.

I. General Requirements

Guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, we will fully implement the spirit of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and its subsequent plenary sessions, thoroughly carry out General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important instructions and requirements regarding Shandong’s work, and firmly anchor our efforts in the overarching principles, positioning, and guiding principles of “Taking the Lead and Pioneering New Ground” and ““Three Leading Roles” as the overarching principle, positioning, and guiding beacon; fully, accurately, and comprehensively implement the new development philosophy; ground efforts in the actual development of Shandong’s “high-energy-consumption and high-emission” industries; precisely implement the “dual carbon” requirements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council; strengthen systemic thinking; adhere to the principle of seeking progress while maintaining stability; and synergistically advance energy conservation, carbon reduction, coal consumption reduction, quality improvement, and efficiency enhancement,enhance the scientific, informatized, and precise levels of management in “high-energy-consumption and high-emission” industries, improve the supervision and inspection system, boost service efficiency, accelerate the implementation of technical upgrades for energy conservation and carbon reduction, and promote green, low-carbon, and high-quality development in “high-energy-consumption and high-emission” industries.

II. Basic Principles

Seeking progress while maintaining stability and adhering to the facts. We will uphold the “four distinctions,” the principle of “establishing new measures before dismantling old ones,” and the “four categories of disposal methods.” We will exercise caution in proposing contractionary policies and resolve contradictions and issues through development. We will balance energy conservation and carbon reduction with economic development and safeguarding people’s livelihoods, eliminate “one-size-fits-all” and “campaign-style” carbon reduction approaches, and ensure the security of industrial and supply chains, energy security, and the stable operation of the economy and society.

Restrict "High-Energy Consumption and High-Emissions" Sectors, Optimize Others. Strictly control new capacity and optimize existing capacity in "high-energy consumption and high-emissions" industries; implement closed-loop management of energy and coal consumption and closed-loop operations; strictly enforce the "Five Reduction and Replacement" requirements for new projects; strictly implement window guidance and elevated-level approval processes; accelerate the phasing out of outdated capacity in existing projects and speed up the pace of upgrading. For "non-high-energy consumption and high-emissions" industries, strengthen the supply of production factors and resources, intensify efforts to attract investment, and promote accelerated development.

Coordinated supervision and scientific governance. Departments, “Four-in” working groups, associations, enterprises, and experts will coordinate and work in concert to build a regulatory system where personnel supervision and platform monitoring mutually support and corroborate each other, gradually achieving precise management of “high-energy-consumption and high-emission” projects, precise measurement of energy consumption, precise assessment of energy efficiency levels, and precise implementation of energy conservation and carbon reduction measures.

Upgrade and Green Development. Aligning with national energy efficiency benchmarks and best-practice standards, we will adhere to a “one policy per industry” and “one policy per enterprise” approach. By strengthening policy support and coordination, and utilizing market-based and rule-of-law approaches, we will enhance the development of energy-saving and carbon-reduction technologies. We will encourage enterprises to implement technological upgrades, produce green products, and build green factories, thereby comprehensively elevating the level of green and low-carbon development in “high-energy-consumption and high-emission” industries.

III. Main Objectives

Using 2020 as the base year, by 2025, the level of scientific and precise management in the province’s “high-energy-consumption and high-emission” industries will be significantly improved; the regulatory and service system will operate efficiently; the energy intensity evaluation mechanism will be sound; the overall energy efficiency of the industry will be markedly enhanced; carbon emission intensity will be significantly reduced; the capacity for green and low-carbon development will be substantially strengthened; and quality and efficiency levels will be notably improved. The proportion of production capacity meeting benchmark levels will exceed 30%, providing strong support for achieving the goals of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality.

IV. Work Measures

(1) Strengthen supervision and inspection of “high-energy-consumption and high-emission” industries. The province will deploy capable personnel, improve working mechanisms, and establish a round-the-clock, comprehensive, and multi-dimensional supervision and inspection system for these industries. Functions of different inspection mechanisms will be reasonably defined to enhance the timeliness and precision of inspections, avoid duplicate or overlapping inspections, and implement the sharing and mutual recognition of inspection results. The construction of an information-based regulatory platform will be accelerated to gradually achieve the organic integration of personnel supervision and digital monitoring, including cross-verification, thereby effectively reducing the burden on enterprises.

1. Establish a province-wide comprehensive inspection mechanism. Form five joint inspection teams to conduct comprehensive inspections of “high-energy-consumption and high-emission” industries every six months. These inspections will focus on: the progress of municipal efforts to resolutely curb the blind development of “high-energy-consumption and high-emission” projects; the implementation of relevant policies and measures; and enterprises’ energy consumption, coal consumption, carbon emissions, pollutant emissions, water usage, electricity consumption, output, revenue, tax payments, and profits.For issues identified during inspections, investigations and penalties will be imposed in accordance with regulations, discipline, and the law; depending on the circumstances, production, energy consumption, and coal consumption quotas for the enterprises and their respective cities may be reduced. (Led by the Provincial Development and Reform Commission, with cooperation from the Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology, the Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment, the Provincial Market Regulation Bureau, and the Provincial Bureau of Statistics)

2. Implement the regular supervision mechanism under the “Four Entries” initiative. Special supervision teams for “high-energy-consumption and high-emission” projects, established within the “Four Entries” work system, shall conduct regular supervision of such projects across the province. Daily monitoring of relevant product output and energy consumption shall be carried out, with on-site supervision conducted once a month to drive the rectification of non-compliant projects, strictly control new projects, and closely monitor existing projects. (Led by the Provincial Development and Reform Commission and the Provincial “Four Entries” Task Force Office)

3. Implement a local on-site supervision mechanism for enterprises. For steel and coking enterprises subject to production quotas, relevant cities, counties (cities, districts) shall designate dedicated personnel to conduct on-site supervision. The municipal departments of industry and information technology, development and reform, ecology and environment, and statistics shall jointly report weekly data on production volume, energy consumption, and coal consumption to their provincial counterparts, and supervise the operation of metering equipment.(Led by the Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology, with support from the Provincial Development and Reform Commission, the Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment, and the Provincial Bureau of Statistics)

4. Establish a departmental special inspection mechanism. Relevant departments of the provincial government shall mobilize specialized personnel to form joint inspection teams. These teams shall conduct special inspections regarding major issues identified through comprehensive inspections, “Four-Pronged” guidance, and monitoring via the electronic supervision platform for “high-energy-consumption and high-emission” industries, as well as issues reported through complaints and tips. They shall also inspect the operation of metering equipment and the implementation of energy efficiency improvement plans to drive the rectification of problems.(Led by the Provincial Development and Reform Commission, with support from the Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology, the Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment, the Provincial Market Regulation Bureau, and the Provincial Bureau of Statistics)

(II) Strengthen IT-based supervision of “high-energy-consumption and high-emission” industries. Adhering to the principle that “whoever conducts the assessment holds the data,” break down data silos, jurisdictional barriers, and bottlenecks across all stages to achieve real-time monitoring of core data such as energy consumption, coal consumption, and carbon emissions, thereby obtaining accurate firsthand information.

5. Build an electronic supervision platform for “high-energy-consumption and high-emission” industries. Establish a database, statistical analysis system, and business management system for these industries; integrate with existing monitoring systems and develop new ones; utilize information technology tools such as cameras and sensors to conduct real-time monitoring and collection of core data—including energy consumption, coal consumption, electricity usage, water consumption, and pollutant emissions—in “high-energy-consumption and high-emission” industries;Utilize big data and cloud computing to develop mathematical algorithms and analytical models, and conduct comprehensive comparisons, cross-checks, and multi-dimensional analyses of the collected data against statistical, tax, and logistics data to ensure that “high-energy-consumption and high-emission” data is monitorable, quantifiable, verifiable, and auditable.The platform will be launched and operational by the end of 2022. (Led by the Provincial Development and Reform Commission, with cooperation from the Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology, Provincial Department of Finance, Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment, Provincial Department of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, Provincial Department of Water Resources, Provincial Market Regulation Bureau, Provincial Bureau of Statistics, Provincial Big Data Bureau, Provincial Energy Bureau, Provincial Tax Bureau, and State Grid Shandong Electric Power Company)

6. Implement precise metering in “high-energy-consumption and high-emission” industries. Conduct a comprehensive survey of the current status of metering equipment in these industries across the province. Issue management measures and technical specifications for the deployment and use of metering equipment in these sectors. Progressively advance the deployment and management of metering equipment for water consumption, electricity consumption, energy consumption, coal consumption, and pollutant emissions. Strive to complete the installation of key metering devices in industries such as steel, refining and petrochemicals, coking, coal-fired power, cement, tires,glass, and electrolytic aluminum by the end of 2022, and gradually expand to other “high-energy-consumption and high-emission” industries in 2023. (Led by the Provincial Market Regulation Bureau, with cooperation from the Provincial Development and Reform Commission, the Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology, the Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment, the Provincial Department of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Provincial Department of Water Resources, the Provincial Bureau of Statistics, the Provincial Energy Bureau, the Provincial Tax Bureau, and State Grid Shandong Electric Power Company)

(3) Implement energy efficiency upgrades in “high-energy-consumption and high-emission” industries. In accordance with national directives, leverage the driving force of energy efficiency benchmarks and the guiding role of best practices to promote the green transformation of “high-energy-consumption and high-emission” industries through energy conservation and carbon reduction.

7. Conduct energy efficiency level assessments for “high-energy-consumption and high-emission” industries. Relying on the “Four-Pronged” working groups and relevant experts, complete the verification and assessment of energy efficiency levels for all “high-energy-consumption and high-emission” projects and enterprises in the province by the end of July 2022. (Led by the Provincial Development and Reform Commission, with support from the Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology and the Provincial Energy Bureau)

8. Determine energy efficiency benchmark and target levels for “high-energy-consumption and high-emission” industries. In accordance with national standards and taking into account Shandong’s actual conditions and development expectations, appropriately raise the province’s energy efficiency benchmark and target levels for these industries, and formulate and publish them by the end of August 2022. (Led by the Provincial Development and Reform Commission, with support from the Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology and the Provincial Energy Bureau)

9. Formulate and implement energy efficiency retrofitting and upgrading plans for “high-energy-consumption and high-emission” industries. For enterprises below the energy efficiency benchmark level, develop a three-year “one-enterprise-one-plan” energy efficiency retrofitting and upgrading action plan by the end of September 2022; for enterprises above the benchmark level, support the application of energy-saving and carbon-reduction technologies and equipment to further enhance energy efficiency levels, and actively foster energy efficiency “frontrunner” enterprises. (Led by the Provincial Development and Reform Commission, with support from the Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology and the Provincial Energy Bureau)

10. Conduct performance evaluations of energy efficiency upgrades in “high-energy-consumption and high-emission” industries. Utilize the electronic supervision platform for these industries to monitor enterprises’ progress and outcomes in energy efficiency upgrades in real time; monitoring data will serve as a key basis for performance evaluations. (Led by the Provincial Development and Reform Commission; supported by the Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology and the Provincial Energy Bureau)

11. Accelerate the phasing out of outdated and inefficient “high-energy-consumption, high-emission” projects. Projects that have not completed energy efficiency upgrades by the end of 2024, or whose energy efficiency levels remain below the benchmark after upgrades, shall be phased out; outdated production processes, technologies, and equipment identified during inspections of “high-energy-consumption, high-emission” industries shall be phased out by the specified deadlines; and, by comprehensively applying standards for safety, environmental protection, energy consumption, technology, and quality, promote the exit of inefficient production capacity in accordance with laws and regulations.(Led by the Provincial Development and Reform Commission and the Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology).

The Provincial Development and Reform Commission, in conjunction with relevant departments, shall formulate the “Implementation Plan for the Construction of the Provincial Supervision and Inspection System for ‘High-Energy-Consumption, High-Emission’ Industries,” the “Implementation Plan for the Construction of the Provincial Electronic Supervision Platform for ‘High-Energy-Consumption, High-Emission’ Industries,” and the “Implementation Plan for Energy Efficiency Upgrades in Provincial ‘High-Energy-Consumption, High-Emission’ Industries” in accordance with the requirements of these guidelines.Municipal governments and relevant provincial government departments must elevate their political awareness, deeply recognize the significance of promoting green, low-carbon, and high-quality development in “high-energy-consumption and high-emission” industries, and earnestly implement the spirit of these guidelines. They shall refine and specify work measures in accordance with these guidelines and the implementation plans, establish clear timelines and roadmaps, and ensure that all tasks are effectively implemented and yield tangible results.

General Office of the People’s Government of Shandong Province

May 11, 2022

(This document is publicly released)