Five departments have issued energy-saving and carbon reduction "tough orders" for nine key industries, and multiple fields will see a definite increase in demand
2026-06-16
A "tough battle" involving energy conservation and carbon reduction in 9 key industries including steel, electrolytic aluminum, and coal-fired power has officially begun.
The Three Year Action Plan for Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction in Key Industries, jointly issued by the National Development and Reform Commission and five other departments, was officially announced on June 15th. The action plan proposes that by the end of 2028, the proportion of production capacity in key industries such as steel, electrolytic aluminum, cement, flat glass, oil refining, ethylene, synthetic ammonia, and methanol that reach the current energy efficiency benchmark level will be increased by an average of 20 percentage points. The coal-fired power industry will strive to increase by 15 percentage points, and the production capacity below the energy efficiency benchmark level will be basically zero, resulting in energy savings of over 100 million tons of standard coal and carbon dioxide emissions reduction of over 200 million tons.
Priority given to benchmark projects with a 20% subsidy based on total investment
This time, the 9 major industries have been included in the policy framework of "benchmark forcing+backward clearing", supplemented by a combination of tools such as direct subsidies from central funds, differentiated electricity prices, and carbon emission quota incentives, with much greater efforts in energy conservation and carbon reduction than before.
The most closely watched aspect of the market is the level of financial support. The action plan specifies that the National Development and Reform Commission, in conjunction with relevant departments, will provide funding subsidies to eligible energy-saving and carbon reduction renovation projects at a rate of 20% of the approved total investment, and give priority to supporting projects that achieve benchmark energy efficiency after renovation.
Analysts suggest that the 20% central subsidy ratio is a relatively high level in recent industrial energy conservation policies, reflecting the decision-makers' desire to leverage local and enterprise support investment, forming a linkage mechanism of "central subsidy activation, local support follow-up, and enterprise implementation".
At the same time, the Action Plan requires all regions to integrate the current differential electricity prices, tiered electricity prices, and punitive electricity prices into a unified differential electricity price policy, with an increase of no more than 0.1 yuan per kilowatt hour on the basis of market transaction electricity prices, and the increased electricity fees used to offset system operating costs. This means that companies that do not meet energy efficiency standards will face a clear increase in electricity costs.
2026 is the first year of a comprehensive shift from dual control of energy consumption to dual control of carbon emissions. Prior to this, both the opinions and assessment methods for energy conservation and carbon reduction have been implemented, and it can be expected that the energy-saving and carbon reduction transformation process in key industries will further accelerate.
Setting a red line for renovation and phasing out outdated production capacity in a "list style" manner
The action plan provides specific red lines for each industry's outdated processes and equipment to accelerate transformation and upgrading.
Among them, in the steel industry, top loading coke ovens with carbonization chambers less than 6 meters in height, pellet equipment with a capacity of less than 1.2 million tons per year, blast furnaces with a capacity of less than 1200 cubic meters, and converters with a capacity of less than 100 tons (50 tons of alloy steel) must accelerate their renovation; The electrolytic aluminum industry should accelerate the transformation and upgrading of pre baked anode aluminum electrolytic cells below 300kA and independent aluminum carbon projects below 150000 tons/year; The cement industry needs to accelerate the renovation and upgrading of cement grinding stations with a capacity of less than 600000 tons per year; The refining and ethylene industries should accelerate the transformation and upgrading of atmospheric and vacuum distillation units with a capacity of less than 10 million tons per year and catalytic cracking units with a capacity of less than 1.5 million tons per year; The methanol and synthetic ammonia industries should accelerate the transformation and upgrading of facilities and processes for natural gas to methanol production below 300000 tons/year and coal to methanol production below 1 million tons/year; In the coal-fired power industry, active units with a capacity of over 300000 kilowatts need to undergo energy-saving and carbon reduction renovations. After the renovation, the coal consumption for power supply will be reduced by more than 5 grams of standard coal per kilowatt hour.
This is not a simple elimination, but a three-year renovation window period. "An industry expert said that the end of 2028 is the deadline, and the action plan requires that projects that cannot be completed on time or still do not meet the requirements after renovation will be eliminated and shut down according to regulations.
In addition to restrictive measures, the action plan also designs market-oriented incentive mechanisms, which is quite groundbreaking. The action plan proposes that the carbon dioxide emissions reduced by existing industrial enterprises through energy-saving and carbon reduction transformation can be used as carbon emission replacement sources for new (renovated, expanded) "two high" industrial projects in the local area after being approved by the provincial energy-saving competent department. This means that enterprises and places that have achieved significant transformation results will have an increased carbon emission space for launching new projects in the future.
At the same time, for key industries included in the national carbon emission trading market, a combination of free and paid quota allocation methods will be implemented to support enterprises with carbon emission intensity better than the benchmark value to obtain reasonable quota benefits. A carbon trading market analyst said that this is equivalent to issuing tradable "green assets" to "energy efficiency leaders".
The action plan has released a strong signal that energy conservation and carbon reduction have shifted from "soft constraints" to "hard targets", and from "optional" to "mandatory questions". Market institutions believe that for the capital market, this means that sub sectors such as energy-saving equipment, waste heat recovery, hydrogen metallurgy, and high-efficiency motors will see a definite increase in demand.(Outlook New Era)
Edit:Luoyu Responsible editor:Zhoushu
Source:ShangHai Securities News
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