It Is Urgent for the Packaging and Printing Industry to Achieve Energy Saving and Environmental Protection

[ppzhan Abstract] Recently, the State Council issued the "Opinions on Accelerating the Development of the Energy-Saving and Environmental Protection Industry", which states that by 2015, the energy-saving and environmental protection industry is expected to achieve a total output value of 4.5 trillion yuan and become a new pillar industry of the national economy. For the packaging and printing industry, which has traditionally had little to do with energy saving and environmental protection, this will mean enormous pressure, and achieving industrial energy saving and environmental protection brooks no delay.

Recently, the State Council issued the "Opinions on Accelerating the Development of the Energy-Saving and Environmental Protection Industry". The opinions point out that solving the problems of energy saving and environmental protection is an important and urgent task in building an upgraded version of the Chinese economy. Accelerating the development of the energy-saving and environmental protection industry is of great significance to boosting investment and consumption, forming new growth points for the economy, promoting industrial upgrading and transformation of the development mode, and advancing energy conservation and emission reduction and the improvement of people's livelihood.

"It can be said that the development of the environmental protection industry has risen to the level of a national strategy," said Feng Liang, Deputy Inspector of the Department of Resource Conservation and Environmental Protection of the National Development and Reform Commission. The environmental protection industry has strong growth potential, many job opportunities and large market opportunities, and is a focus of the new round of industrial development of the world's major economies.

Wang Tao, Division Chief of the Department of Pollution Prevention and Control of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, introduced that during the "Eleventh Five-Year Plan" period, China's energy-saving and environmental protection industry recorded a cumulative output value of more than 7 trillion yuan and an added value of about 2 trillion yuan, close to the whole society's investment in environmental protection. During the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan" period, the cumulative output value of the energy-saving and environmental protection industry is expected to exceed 10 trillion yuan, and its added value will exceed investment in environmental protection.

Data provided to Caijing Daily by Luo Jianhua, Secretary-General of the Chamber of Commerce for Environmental Services of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, shows that at present there are about 5,000 enterprises and units engaged in the manufacture of environmental protection equipment nationwide; the total industrial output value is nearly 200 billion yuan, 3.5 times that of 2005; and the number of employees exceeds 500,000.

The opinions propose that during the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan" period, China should make breakthroughs in key core technologies and generic technologies in the energy-saving and environmental protection industry, create a policy environment for green consumption, accelerate the implementation of key projects in energy saving, the circular economy and environmental protection, take market demand as the guide, and use reform measures to stimulate the enthusiasm of all types of market entities.

However, it is understood that China's current policies related to the environmental protection industry still have many deficiencies, and innovative environmental protection technology enterprises generally encounter bottlenecks in funding, policies and other aspects.

The above-mentioned opinions propose to increase central budgetary investment and central government special funds for energy conservation and emission reduction in the energy-saving and environmental protection industry, and to continue to arrange state capital operations budget expenditures to support key enterprises in implementing energy-saving and environmental protection projects. Local governments should increase investment in major energy-saving and environmental protection projects and in the research, development and promotion of technical equipment to solve prominent problems.

In terms of expanding investment and financing channels, the opinions propose to increase support for energy-saving and environmental protection projects. Explore including franchise rights and other items in the scope of loan collateral (pledge). Support green credit and financial innovation, and establish a green bank rating system. Support financing guarantee institutions in increasing guarantee efforts for energy-saving and environmental protection enterprises that conform to industrial policies, have good qualifications and are well managed. Support qualified energy-saving and environmental protection enterprises in issuing debt financing instruments such as corporate bonds, SME collective bonds, short-term financing bills and medium-term notes. Select energy-saving and environmental protection enterprises with relatively good qualifications to carry out pilot non-public issuance of corporate bonds. Steadily develop carbon sink trading. Encourage and guide private investment and foreign investment to enter the field of energy saving and environmental protection.

The opinions also propose to deepen the market-oriented reform of municipal public utilities, improve the management measures for heating metering prices and charges, improve policies on sewage treatment fees and garbage treatment fees, include sludge treatment costs in sewage treatment costs, and improve the system for levying sewage treatment fees on users with their own water sources.

——This article is reprinted from China Packaging Network (pack.cn). Original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-361904.html