Dai HouliangChairman and Party Group Secretary of China National Petroleum Corporation

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping, standing at the strategic height of the overall development of the Party and the country's cause, has expounded on the concept of "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" and its rich connotations on multiple occasions. He has led and promoted theoretical, practical, and institutional innovations in ecological civilization, enriching and developing Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization. This thought has strongly guided historic, transformative, and comprehensive changes in China's ecological and environmental protection, creating world-renowned miracles in ecological conservation and green development. Guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) has resolutely acted as an active disseminator and model practitioner of the concept of "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets". In the process of building a world-class enterprise, it has synergistically advanced high-quality development and high-level ecological and environmental protection, striving to write the petroleum chapter in building a Beautiful China.

In today's world, issues such as climate change and environmental pollution pose severe threats to human survival and development, and accelerating the green and low-carbon transformation of energy has become a common consensus of the international community. China's economic and social development has entered a new stage of high-quality development that accelerates greening and low-carbonization. The concept of "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" provides a guide for strengthening ecological and environmental protection and advancing the comprehensive construction of a Beautiful China. It also points out the path for central energy enterprises to adapt to the trend of green and low-carbon transformation and forge new competitive advantages.

As a key state-owned backbone enterprise, CNPC has deeply comprehended the profound dialectical thinking, distinct value orientation, and great truth power contained in the "two mountains" concept. It has proactively adapted to the general trend of energy transformation and advanced ecological civilization construction and environmental protection on the new journey with a higher stance, broader perspective, and greater efforts. In terms of theoretical armament, it has strictly implemented the "first topic" system, promptly conveying, studying, and implementing General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speeches and instructions on ecological civilization construction to consolidate the ideological foundation in an all-round way. In improving the implementation mechanism, it has adopted the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycle improvement model to ensure the implementation of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important instructions in CNPC, and has rectified issues identified in the central ecological and environmental protection inspections with a holistic approach. In strengthening institutional construction, it has formulated and issued documents such as the Implementation Opinions on Further Intensifying the Battle Against Pollution, the Action Plan for High-Level Ecological and Environmental Protection of Enterprises in the Yangtze River and Yellow River Basins (2024-2027), and the Implementation Plan for Accelerating Green Development and Advancing the Construction of a Beautiful China, laying a solid institutional foundation for green and low-carbon development. In fully fulfilling responsibilities, it took the lead among central enterprises in establishing a special deliberation system for ecological and environmental protection by Party organizations, included ecological and environmental protection work in the "three major and one important" matters (major decisions, major personnel appointments and removals, major project arrangements, and large amounts of capital use), and Party organizations at all levels held regular environmental protection deliberation meetings, promoting ecological and environmental protection work to a new level.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, especially in the past five years, CNPC has thoroughly practiced the "two mountains" concept and comprehensively strengthened ecological civilization construction and environmental protection work. It has been awarded the "Enterprise with Outstanding Contributions to Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction" by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, and has won titles such as "Pacemaker" for China's Industrial Carbon Peak and China Low-Carbon Model Case on multiple occasions.

The Party Group of CNPC has incorporated "green and low-carbon" into its strategic system, established the value pursuit of "green development, contributing energy, empowering customers' growth, and injecting new vitality into people's happiness", formulated the three-step overall plan for green development of "clean substitution, strategic succession, and green transformation", and clarified the vision goals of new energy accounting for one-third alongside oil and gas by 2035, and building a "green CNPC" by 2050. It has improved the business development planning system, promoted the upstream business to accelerate the transformation into an integrated energy supplier of "oil, gas, heat, electricity, and hydrogen", and strived to build a "low-carbon energy ecosystem" featuring the comprehensive integrated development of fossil energy and new energy.

Giving full play to its role as the "pillar" of energy supply guarantee, CNPC has taken natural gas as a strategic project for green development. The domestic natural gas output has maintained rapid growth, accounting for about two-thirds of the country's total, and the supply volume accounts for approximately 60% of the national consumption. It has successfully completed the winter supply guarantee task, strongly promoting the improvement of air quality and environmental protection, and contributing to the success of the battle for blue skies. It has accelerated the development of new energy business, vigorously advanced the development of geothermal energy, wind-solar-gas power business, and actively carried out demonstrations of the hydrogen energy industry chain. It has successively built a number of landmark projects such as the Kashgar 1-million-kilowatt photovoltaic power station in Xinjiang. In 2024, the development and utilization capacity of new energy exceeded 12 million tons of standard oil per year. It has accelerated the integrated development of oil and gas with new energy, actively built green mines, and continuously increased the electrification rate at the terminal. It has further advanced the clean substitution of energy for refining and chemical industry, focused on building the zero-carbon demonstration project of the Tarim Ethylene Phase II, and 7 units including the 1.1 million tons/year ethylene unit of Dushanzi Petrochemical were selected as "pacemakers" for energy efficiency and water efficiency of key products in the petroleum and chemical industry.

In deepening the battle against pollution, it has completed 136 pollution control projects in the Yellow River and Yangtze River basins, with emissions of chemical oxygen demand, ammonia nitrogen, and nitrogen oxides decreasing significantly, and anti-seepage renovation of 20,000 gas stations fully completed. In intensifying efforts to control greenhouse gas emissions, it has actively participated in the construction of the national carbon emission rights trading market and fully completed the carbon quota settlement in each compliance period; it has taken the lead in establishing the central enterprise innovation consortium for CCUS (Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage), and built CCUS industrial centers and demonstration projects in basins such as Songliao, Junggar, and Ordos. In innovating to promote biodiversity conservation, it has established 10 voluntary contribution-type biodiversity conservation areas in units such as Daqing Oilfield. In laying out the development of forestry carbon sinks, it has continuously carried out public welfare activities such as "Plant a Tree for Carbon Neutrality" and the "Ten-Thousand Well Sites Afforestation Campaign", and was awarded the honorary title of "Outstanding Contributor to National Afforestation".

It initiated the establishment of the "China Oil and Gas Industry Methane Emission Control Alliance", played a leading role as the chair unit, and undertook the formulation of international standards such as Methane Leakage and Repair in Oil and Gas Fields. As an important member of the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI), it participated in formulating the future strategic goals for the global oil and gas industry to address climate change; it signed and joined the Oil and Gas Decarbonization Charter (OGDC), and worked with 56 international oil companies, national oil companies, and natural gas producers around the world to reduce carbon emissions, voicing China's opinions and contributing China's wisdom to global environmental and climate governance.

Building a Beautiful China is an important goal of comprehensively building a modern socialist country and an important part of realizing the Chinese Dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. On the new journey, CNPC will further practice the concept of "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets", comprehensively strengthen ecological and environmental protection, build an ecological and environmental protection governance system and capacity compatible with a world-class enterprise, support high-quality development with high-level ecological and environmental protection, and make greater contributions to accelerating the modernization of harmonious coexistence between humans and nature and the construction of a Beautiful China.

Centering on the goals of carbon peak and carbon neutrality, it will further advance the "three major initiatives" of being a leader in green enterprise construction, a contributor to clean and low-carbon energy, and a pioneer in the circular carbon economy. It will vigorously develop "natural gas +" clean energy and build a "hydrogen +" zero-carbon fuel industry chain. It will improve the green industry layout centered on the "five major projects" including geothermal energy, hydrogen energy, wind-solar power, and CCUS, and accelerate the construction of the "six major bases" such as the Daqing Oilfield green low-carbon sustainable development demonstration base. It will speed up the construction of a low-carbon energy system and strive to achieve full green substitution of production energy consumption by 2033.

It will steadily advance pollution control in key river basins such as the Yellow River and Yangtze River to ensure stable discharge of pollutants up to standard. It will implement coordinated governance of marine ecological protection and land-based pollution, and implement pollution prevention and control measures for projects such as offshore exploration and development, coastal refining and chemical enterprises, hazardous chemical terminals, and coastal oil depots. It will advance biodiversity management, further carry out the creation of green mines, increase efforts in ecological construction and restoration management, and promote the continuous improvement of ecological and environmental quality.

Regarding energy conservation as the "first energy source", it will further implement energy-saving projects such as efficiency improvement of oil and gas production systems, optimization of refining and chemical energy systems, and comprehensive utilization of waste energy, promote advanced and applicable energy-saving and water-saving technologies, tap internal potential, reduce self-used energy, and continuously improve the oil and gas commodity rate. It will strengthen the construction of carbon emission data quality control capabilities, intensify energy consumption and greenhouse gas emission control, further participate in the construction of the national carbon market, and push energy conservation and carbon reduction work to a new level. It will actively build green enterprises and "odor-free factories", and continuously improve ESG performance.

It will conduct in-depth research on policies and mechanisms related to the green and low-carbon development of the energy industry, and actively participate in national environmental protection and low-carbon pilot projects. It will strengthen the leading role of the methane emission control alliance, implement major demonstration projects and the transformation and application of key technological achievements, actively participate in the formulation of national green and low-carbon policies and standards, and give full play to the practical support and technological demonstration and leading role of central enterprises. It will deeply integrate into the global climate governance system, actively participate in the formulation of international standards related to methane accounting, explore the establishment of methane emission reduction demonstration projects relying on the "Belt and Road" cooperation mechanism, and build a green and low-carbon development brand image in deepening energy cooperation.