Shandong ramps up green efforts with plan for low-carbon pilot zone

Visitors check a model of a clean energy project during the Green, Low-carbon and High-quality Development Conference in Yantai, Shandong province, on Tuesday. [TANG KE/FOR CHINA DAILY]

At an industrial park in Yantai, Shandong province, a truck is filled with liquid carbon dioxide on Monday and heads for Weihai, neighboring Yantai. The liquid carbon dioxide can be used as a shielding gas during welding work at a shipbuilding factory, said the driver.

Built by Moon Environment Technology Co Ltd, two cylinder-shaped containers hold the liquid carbon dioxide for industrial use, while one round-shaped container holds liquid carbon dioxide for food production use.

"We can sell out the liquid carbon dioxide we produce on the same day," said Pang Qiyuan, a technique manager of the company.

Materials for the liquid carbon dioxide come from waste gas created by a chemical factory located in the same industrial park.

Carbon dioxide waste is transported from the chemical factory to Moon Tech through a 170-meter-long gas pipeline every hour. After undergoing processes including compression, desulfurization, separation and cooling, around 480 metric tons of high-purity liquid carbon dioxide is produced daily, which is applied in various industries such as welding and dry ice production.

The project, which can utilize over 95 percent of the carbon dioxide waste, is part of Shandong's efforts to pursue high-quality development with green and low-carbon features.

Shandong used to be an industrial hub. During the past decade, the eastern province has made efforts to upgrade the green and low-carbon transformation of its traditional industries, in a bid to contribute to the nation's dual carbon goals.

The province has ramped up its efforts on green development since early this year, aiming to accomplish various preparation works and ensuring a strong start to the construction of a pilot zone for green, low-carbon and high-quality development, which is the first of its kind in the sector in the country.

During the Green, Low-carbon and High-quality Development Conference, the province signed agreements for a total of 103 projects in fields such as clean energy production to this end on Tuesday.

China aims to peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060.

China has maintained a growth trend in the sector of green trade in recent years, with an average annual growth of 3.18 percent from 2013 to 2022, according to a report on China's green trade development released at the conference in Yantai, which concluded on Wednesday.

The report was released by the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation of the Ministry of Commerce.

The proportion of China's green trade in the global market has increased by 2.3 percentage points, according to the report.

Influenced by factors such as weak global economic recovery and slacking external demand, China's green trade scale declined last year, but the green trade market structure shows a clear trend of diversification, Cui Weijie, deputy director of the academy, said at the conference.

"Shandong has apparent advantages in clean energy, such as nuclear power, which provides a good foundation and conditions for green and low-carbon development," said Cui.

From 2016 to 2022, Shandong's green trade increased 120 percent, accounting for 5.59 percent of the country's total, according to the report.