Environmental protection sector set to boom as investors, SOEs ready for play

China's commitment to peak carbon emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060 is set to bring new opportunities to enterprises specializing in environmental protection, industry executives said.

This, they said, will also boost the high-quality development of the sector.

"More investments are flowing into the environmental protection industry as investors are showing interest in the growth of sector," said Zhao Lijun, chairman of the China Environment Chamber of Commerce.

Many of the investments are from long-term strategic investors and State-owned enterprises, which are expected to play an important role in upgrading the industry, in accordance with the country's ambitious carbon emissions reduction commitment.

Their eye is not on short-term benefits but long-term returns and responsibility toward society, said Zhao, who is also president of Poten Environment Group, a leader in water, soil and ecology repair solutions in China.

Zhao made the remarks at a CECC media conference on Tuesday ahead of the two sessions, the annual sittings of the nation's top legislature and the top political advisory body.

Luo Jianhua, deputy chairman and chief policy analyst of CECC, said China's commitment to peak carbon emissions before 2030 and reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2060 will revolutionize the environmental protection industry and pave the way for high-quality growth.

Most enterprises in the environmental protection sector now operate in the pollution treatment segment such as desulfurization and denitrification services for power plants.

The industry is expected to strengthen services for pollution prevention, target special pollutants and provide coordinated services with a focus on clients' restructuring of energy supplies, clean production improvement and energy consumption reduction in the coming years, Luo said.

"Environmental protection enterprises are expected to have more operations in recycling of resources, construction and maintenance of low-carbon environmental protection infrastructure and non-fossil energy applications, including hydrogen."

Li Qilin, executive chairman of the chamber and president of Beijing SPC Environment Protection Tech Co Ltd, a company specializing in industrial flue gas desulfurization, denitrification and dedusting, said new growth momentum has been injected into the environmental protection industry.

He cited the examples of dozens of major energy, metal and construction material companies in China that have announced their versions of carbon emission reduction plans and goals, following the nation's commitment.

The carbon emissions reduction goals will spur a new round of reforms in related industries, as advanced technologies and low-carbon practices will be sustained and promoted while those outdated will be abandoned, he said.

He said the company is foraying into new areas to provide clients all-in-one solutions that include not only traditional pollutant treatment but also energy saving and recycling.

At Tuesday's media conference, the chamber released three draft proposals it plans to put forward during the two sessions.

In one of the proposals, the chamber advises income tax reductions for projects related to water supplies and water environment treatment, to lower tax burden of emerging new business models and facilitate low-carbon development.

However, Yang Bin, executive chairman of the CECC and general manager of State-owned water and environment protection enterprise Beijing Capital Co Ltd, said the nation's carbon emissions reduction commitment spells great business opportunities as well as challenges for the industry.

The industry, which used to depend on new investment for construction of pollutant treatment facilities, has to shift to long-term and comprehensive service solutions to achieve high-quality delivery on carbon emissions reduction, he said.