China launches first-ever selection of "carbon-efficiency leaders" for key industries

BEIJING, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- China launched its first-ever selection of "carbon-efficiency leaders" for key industries, according to a notice jointly issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and two other government agencies.

The move is aimed at facilitating energy-saving and carbon-reduction upgrades among industrial enterprises, while advancing the green and low-carbon transition of key industries.

Five industries -- electrolytic aluminum, cement clinker, synthetic ammonia, ethylene, and methanol -- have been named as the first batch of sectors eligible for the "carbon-efficiency leader" recognition, said the notice.

China had launched the "energy-efficiency leaders" program, which recognized 224 enterprises across 35 sub-sectors in eight previous rounds. At present, the program covers a total of 43 sub-sectors, having recently added new industries such as industrial sulfuric acid and glacial acetic acid.

To qualify for "carbon-efficiency and energy-efficiency leaders," enterprises must meet a certain green power consumption threshold, and must not use any processes, equipment, or products listed in the national catalog of banned or eliminated items.

"The selection of leaders in energy and carbon efficiency is a crucial measure to promote comprehensive energy-saving and carbon-reduction transformations," said Chen Daji, deputy head of the China Electronics Standardization Institute.