With global warming,extreme weather andclimate events occur frequently.Addressing climate change and accelerating theenergy transition bears on the destiny of mankind,and action is urgent.Chinahas put forward the"two-carbon"goal to alleviate climate change andachieve the energy transition,and has actively promoted it.On December23,2023.Du Xiangwan,academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering,putforward constructive suggestions on China's energy transformation at the expertinnovation lecture jointly hosted by the Ministry of Human Resources and SocialSecurity and the China.

In order to realize China's energy transformation,wemust first need to re-understand China's energy and resourceendowment."Rich in coal", "lack of oil" and "lessgas" can not accurately describe the characteristics of China's energyresources.Compared with the world,China's per capita coal reserves only accountfor 67% of the world average.Despite China's large coal reserves,thetechnically exploitable coal storage ratio is only about 40 yearsold."Coal is a valuable resource rich in carbon, but it is notrenewable."Du Xiangwan stressed that while contemporary people are usingcoal well,they should also prepare early for the future.There is a time limitto rely on coal.

Fortunately,China is rich in renewableenergy resources,which has laid a good foundation for the low-carbon energytransition.At present,China's installed capacity of hydropower,wind power,solarpower generation and nuclear power under construction are the first in theworld.By 2022,China's installed renewable energy capacity reached 1.213 billionkW,accounting for 47.3% of the country's total installed power generationcapacity; renewable energy generation capacity reached 2.7 trillion KWH,accounting for 31.6% of the total electricity consumption.

How to use these renewable energy sourcesefficiently? Experts found that: 1 degree of electricity, the cost of easternspontaneous generation is lower than the cost of west to east."Thisconclusion is very important. It is necessary to 'take around' and 'come fromafar', but the central and eastern regions should first 'take around' andimprove their self-sufficiency rate."Du Xiangwan gave a key hint.Self-produced direct selling and electricity in the people can cultivate alarge number of "consumers", which can not only improve the localenergy self-sufficiency rate, independence and security, but also alleviate theimpact of a high proportion of renewable energy on the power grid. Thus, thelow-carbon transition and energy security go hand in hand.

Low-carbon energy has become a globalconsensus on the future of mankind. The "two-carbon" strategyproposed by China is the only way to follow the trend of green development andpromote high-quality economic and social development.

Du Xiangwan believes that the realizationof the "two-carbon" goal is a complex system engineering, which is adecades-long scientific transformation process. Under the general trend ofenergy transformation, it is necessary to pay attention to the innovation anddevelopment ability of new energy technology and the control, recycling andrecycling of new energy key materials and mineral resources, as well as theinvention and innovation ability of material science. At the same time, thepolicy should prevent "one size fits all" simplification, but also toprevent the ineffective transformation.

Carbon neutrality is an importantmilestone, but it is only a milestone, not an end point. Du Xiangwan said:" In 2060, whether China or the world, human society needs to develop, butstill need to rely on the support of future energy. But as we move into the futureand look back, we can better understand the significance and historicalposition of the 'two-carbon' goal."