The so-called low-carbon economy refers to a form of economic development under the guidance of the concept of sustainable development, through technological innovation, institutional innovation, industrial transformation, new energy development and other means, as far as possible to reduce the consumption of high-carbon energy such as coal and oil, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and achieve a win-win situation for economic and social development and ecological environment protection. 20 10 August, the national development and reform commission decided to carry out the pilot work of low-carbon industry construction in five provinces and eight cities. Low-carbon energy system refers to the development of clean energy, including wind energy, solar energy, nuclear energy, geothermal energy and biomass energy, to replace fossil energy such as coal and oil and reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Low carbon technologies include clean coal technology (IGCC) and carbon dioxide capture and storage technology (CCS). The low-carbon industrial system includes thermal power emission reduction, new energy vehicles, energy-saving buildings, industrial energy-saving emission reduction, circular economy, resource recovery, environmental protection equipment, energy-saving materials and so on. The starting point of low-carbon economy is to calculate carbon source and carbon footprint. There are three important sources of carbon dioxide, among which the most important carbon source is thermal power emissions, accounting for 41%of the total carbon dioxide emissions; The fastest growth is automobile exhaust emissions, accounting for 25%, especially when China's automobile sales began to surpass the United States, this problem became more and more serious; Emissions from buildings account for 27%, rising steadily with the increase in the number of houses. Low-carbon economy is the economy with the lowest carbon emission, eco-environmental cost and socio-economic cost, and it is a sustainable economy that can improve the self-regulation ability of the earth's ecosystem. Low-carbon economy has two basic points: first, low-carbon economic activities in the whole process of social reproduction, including production, exchange, distribution and consumption, so as to minimize carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions or even zero emissions as much as possible and obtain maximum ecological and economic benefits; Secondly, it is the ecologicalization of energy consumption in the whole process of social reproduction, including production, exchange, distribution and consumption, forming a national economic system of low-carbon energy and carbon-free energy, and ensuring the clean, green and sustainable development of ecological economy and society as a whole. In a sense, developing a low-carbon economy can reduce carbon dioxide emissions and delay climate warming, so it can protect our common home. The so-called low-carbon economy [1] refers to a form of economic development under the guidance of the concept of sustainable development, through technological innovation, institutional innovation, industrial transformation, new energy development and other means, as far as possible to reduce the consumption of high-carbon energy such as coal and oil, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and achieve a win-win situation for economic and social development and ecological environment protection. Low-carbon economy is an economic model based on low energy consumption, low pollution and low emission, and it is another great progress of human society after agricultural civilization and industrial civilization. To develop a low-carbon economy, on the one hand, we should actively undertake environmental protection responsibilities and meet the requirements of national energy conservation and consumption reduction indicators; On the other hand, it is to adjust the economic structure, improve the efficiency of energy utilization, develop emerging industries and build ecological civilization. This is a realistic way to abandon the previous development model of pollution first and then treatment, low-end first and high-end, extensive first and intensive first, and an inevitable choice to achieve a win-win situation for economic development and resource and environmental protection. One of the important ways to turn to low-carbon economy and low-carbon lifestyle is to get rid of the hobby of "convenient consumption" at the expense of high energy consumption. Convenience is a universal value in modern commercial marketing and consumer life. Many convenient consumption methods are inadvertently wasting huge energy. For example, according to the estimation of refrigeration technology experts, 70% of the electricity consumption of supermarkets is used for freezers, while the electricity consumption of open freezers is 20% higher than that of glass door freezers. Based on this calculation, an open freezer in a medium-sized supermarket consumes about 4% more than a year. 80,000 kWh, equivalent to consuming about 19 tons of standard coal, emitting about 48 tons of carbon dioxide and consuming about190,000 liters of clean water. There are about 800 large and medium-sized supermarkets and 6000 supermarket convenience stores in Shanghai. If glass door freezers are widely used in large and medium-sized supermarkets, customers can save about 452 10000 kWh a year, which is equivalent to saving about 1. 80,000 tons of standard coal, reducing emissions by about 4. Fifty thousand tons of carbon dioxide. The second important way to turn to low-carbon economy and low-carbon lifestyle is to get rid of the consumption hobby of using "disposable" products with "relevant awareness of energy conservation and environmental protection". In June this year, the "plastic restriction order" was implemented nationwide. The uncontrolled use of plastic bags is one of the most typical hobbies of people for many years. It is necessary to make quitting this hobby become people's conscious behavior, and let the public understand that the significance of "limiting plastics" lies in curbing white pollution, which is only a "one-dimensional" environmental science consciousness. In fact, the significance of "limiting plastics" lies in saving the source of plastics-petroleum resources and reducing carbon dioxide emissions. This is a "related" awareness of energy conservation and environmental protection. According to the calculation in the National Handbook of Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction issued by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, reducing plastic bags 10% nationwide can save about 1. 20,000 tons of standard coal, reducing emissions by 365,438+0,000 tons of carbon dioxide. Relevant environmental awareness can not only guide the public to understand that "limiting plastics is fuel-saving and energy-saving", but also guide the public to realize that "saving water is also energy-saving" (that is, saving the electricity consumption of urban water production and water supply), and realize the relationship between changing the consumption hobby of using disposable products and energy saving, reducing carbon emissions and coping with climate change. The third important way to turn to a low-carbon economy and low-carbon lifestyle is to get rid of the hobbies of "face consumption" and "luxury consumption" at the expense of consuming a lot of energy and emitting a lot of greenhouse gases. In the first quarter of this year, the fastest-growing car sales in the national auto market were luxury cars, among which high-end large-displacement BMW imported cars increased by more than 82% year-on-year, and large-displacement multi-functional sports car SUVs increased by 48% year-on-year. 8%。 In contrast, many developed countries are willing to use small cars and small displacement cars. Advocating a low-carbon lifestyle does not oppose cars entering the family, but advocates the moderate use of private cars. The penetration rate of private cars in Japan is 80%, but travel is not entirely dependent on private cars. In Tokyo, private cars generally travel 3000 to 5000 kilometers a year, while private cars in Shanghai generally travel 1 a year. 80,000 kilometers. The unrestrained use of private cars by domestic people has become a hobby of conspicuous consumption life. In front of key schools in some cities, one or two hundred private cars pick up and drop off children, blocking the surrounding roads. Because people unilaterally understand the meaning of "modern lifestyle" as "enjoying more convenience provided by electrification and automation", daily life is increasingly dependent on power technology systems with high energy consumption. Often the short distance of several hundred meters or the stairs of several floors are driven by motor vehicles and elevators. On the other hand, at the expense of energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, people consume more and more high-calorie foods such as livestock meat and oil, and the incidence of obesity also increases. However, some weight-loss groups in cities prefer to consume their weight in artificial environments that consume electricity, such as air-conditioned gyms and electric treadmills. The environmental cost is to increase greenhouse gas emissions. The fourth important way to turn to low-carbon economy and low-carbon lifestyle is to comprehensively strengthen the scientific dietary balance based on low-carbon diet. Low-carbon diet, that is, low carbohydrate, mainly focuses on limiting carbohydrate intake and increasing protein and fat intake. At present, China people's daily diet is mainly rice, wheat and other food crops, which is the diet structure of "rice in the south and rice in the north". Low-carbon diet can control the drastic changes of human blood sugar, thus improving the body's antioxidant capacity and inhibiting the production of free radicals. In the long run, it will also have the benefits of strengthening the body, preventing diseases and delaying aging. However, due to the limited cognitive ability and acceptance of the people, it cannot be changed immediately. Therefore, low-carbon diet will be a long-term and arduous task. However, I believe that with the improvement of people's general awareness, low-carbon diet will change China people's eating habits and lifestyles. Under the background of global warming, "low-carbon economy" based on low energy consumption and low pollution has become a global hotspot. Developed countries in Europe and America vigorously promote the "low-carbon revolution" with high energy efficiency and low emissions as the core, focus on developing "low-carbon technologies", make major adjustments to policies such as industry, energy, technology and trade, and seize opportunities and industrial commanding heights. The war of low-carbon economy has quietly started around the world. This is both a pressure and a challenge for China. One of the challenges: China, which is accelerating industrialization, urbanization and modernization, is in the stage of rapid growth of energy demand, and large-scale infrastructure construction cannot be stopped; China, which has been poor and backward for a long time, pursues a well-off society in an all-round way and is committed to improving and improving the living standards and quality of life of 654.38+300 million people, thus bringing about a sustained increase in energy consumption. "High carbon" and "development emission" have become the main restrictive factors of China's sustainable development. How to ensure the continuous improvement of people's living standards without repeating the old road of western developed countries seeking development at the expense of the environment is a difficult problem that China must face. Challenge 2: The resource conditions of "rich in coal, short of gas and short of oil" determine that China's energy structure is dominated by coal, and the choice of low-carbon energy resources is limited. In electricity, hydropower only accounts for about 20%, thermal power accounts for more than 77%, and "high carbon" is absolutely dominant. According to calculation, every ton of coal will produce 4. 12 tons of carbon dioxide gas, which is 30% and 70% more than oil and natural gas respectively. It is estimated that China's power investment in the energy sector will reach10.8 trillion US dollars in the next 20 years. The threat of large-scale development of thermal power to the environment can not be ignored. Challenge 3: The main body of China's economy is the secondary industry, which determines that the main sector of energy consumption is industry, and the backward level of industrial production technology intensifies the high-carbon characteristics of China's economy. According to the data, from 1993 to 2005, China's industrial energy consumption increased by 5.8% annually, accounting for about 70% of the total energy consumption. In 2005, the energy consumption of high energy-consuming industries such as mining, steel, building materials, cement and electric power accounted for 64.4% of industrial energy consumption. It is an important subject to adjust the economic structure and improve the level of industrial production technology and energy utilization. Challenge 4: As a developing country, the biggest constraint of China's economic transformation from "high carbon" to "low carbon" is its backward overall scientific and technological level and limited technological research and development capacity. Although the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change stipulates that developed countries are obliged to provide technology transfer to developing countries, the actual situation is far from it, and China has to rely mainly on commercial channels to introduce technology. It is estimated that China will transform from a high-carbon economy to a low-carbon economy on the basis of its GDP in 2006, which will require 25 billion US dollars annually. Such a huge investment is obviously a heavy burden for developing China, which is not yet rich.