Going full throttle to achieve low-carbon goals

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is hastening equipment updating and technological renovation in 27 key industrial sectors, having set objectives for them till 2027, showing that shifting to the low-carbon mode, accelerating device automation and further enhancing opening-up to the world are key to China's modernization.

The guidelines freshly released by the ministry on Friday show that emission limits will be set in the steel, construction and automobile sectors. Especially, by 2027, over 80 percent of all domestic steel production capacity will undergo ultralow emissions upgrading.

The clean environment approach is more apparent if seen along with the Ministry of Finance and the National Development and Reform Commission's joint moves to subsidize factories and consumers that trade in their old devices for new ones. It has also set favorable policies for those who buy new energy-saving equipment. Other notable points include the moves to enhance the usage rate of digital R&D tools in large-scale industrial machines to above 90 percent.

With the latest moves, China is ensuring the security of the industry chain, cutting emissions, and encouraging international trade for wider opening-up. The move is worth cherishing considering that equipment and technology upgrading does not come at zero cost. A large number of old equipment will need to be disposed of and their disassembling comes at much labor and financial costs. It also means a considerable number of people have to acquire new skills to operate the new technology.