Carbon emission manager, a new profession that helps enterprises consolidate green development (2)

Transmission towers are being erected for the Baihetan-Jiangsu ±800 KV ultrahigh voltage DC transmission line project (Jiangsu section), April 27, 2021. The transmission line is a key project for China's west-east electricity transmission. (People's Daily Online/Dong Xiaoqiang)

A slew of reform measures have been rolled out by China since the country proposed to peak carbon emission and achieve carbon neutrality.

A national carbon emission trading system is scheduled to be launched this year, under which enterprises would be allocated with carbon emission quota by relevant government departments according to certain standards. If enterprises' emission exceed the cap, they have to purchase extra quota; if they produce less carbon emission than their quota, then they can sell the surplus for profits.

Such a market mechanism would better encourage enterprises to cut carbon emission, and has also created a brand new profession - carbon emission manager.

Hu Yongfei is a carbon emission manager of the Longyuan (Beijing) Carbon Asset Management Technology Co., Ltd., a subordinate company of China Energy Investment Corporation, also known as China Energy. He recently went to a thermal power plant in east China's Jiangsu province to help the plant calculate its carbon emission.

"To calculate carbon emission, I need original records of coal quality test from their laboratory, purchasing, sales and inventory data from the fuel department, monthly production reports from the operation department, and purchasing invoices from the finance department," Hu told People's Daily, saying that carbon emission management is fiddly as he must understand how every production department is running. Many data have an influence over the emission, as well as a direct impact on the enterprise's profit, he added.

To become a qualified carbon emission manager, one has to be familiar with carbon emission and trade policies, and be specialized in engineering thermodynamics, as well as thermal energy and power engineering. Carbon emission managers must also work at least a year before they can independently fulfill their job duties.

To maintain a precise understanding of the thermal plant's carbon emission, Hu checked the operation of devices in a number of workshops. The step count on his mobile phone soon exceed 10,000. "Carbon emission management needs exercises, too," he said.

When data collected was put into a computer, Hu soon got the carbon emission intensity of the thermal plant. Normally the carbon emission intensity of a 1,000 MW ultra supercritical pure condensing unit stands at 0.8 tonne per GWh, and the intensity of the Jiangsu plant was lower than the figure, which meant that the plant could sell its extra emission quota on the market.

"Many enterprises are carrying out strict testing for coal elements, while some of them make light of this work, which might make their carbon emission intensity 30 percent higher than the standard," Hu said. He called for relevant enterprises to place high importance on carbon emission, or they will pay a very high price.

After the field trip to the power plant, Hu spent a week on a detailed report, raising science-based suggestions for the enterprise to adjust its strategies and further reduce its energy consumption.

"To pinpoint carbon emission data is a foundation for peaking carbon dioxide emission and achieving carbon neutrality. We will help consolidate this foundation and make the steps of green development more solid," Hu told People's Daily.