(Source: "Petroleum Business Daily" January 4, 2026, Page 7)
Dong Xiucheng
The Central Economic Work Conference held from December 11 to 12, 2025 proposed to adhere to the "dual carbon" leadership and promote comprehensive green transformation, further pointing out the direction for the green transformation of energy companies. During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, the green development of Chinese energy companies has achieved remarkable results. With the continuous advancement of the country's "dual carbon" strategy, green transformation has become the only way for the development of traditional fossil energy companies.
my country’s fossil energy companies have achieved remarkable results in their green transformation
Currently, climate change has become a major challenge that cannot be ignored. Countries have responded to the "dual carbon" goals under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, that is, carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. As a responsible major country, China has clearly stated its ambitious goals of peaking carbon emissions by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060. This is not only the fulfillment of international commitments, but also a strategic deployment to promote the comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development internally. As the main source of energy consumption and emissions, traditional fossil energy companies play a vital role. During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, China's traditional fossil energy enterprises have achieved remarkable results in their green transformation, which are mainly reflected in the three major dimensions of structural optimization, cleanliness and efficiency, and energy conservation and emission reduction. Among them, the leading demonstration effect of large-scale energy central enterprises is very prominent.
The energy structure accelerates “decarbonization and greening”. In 2024, China National Petroleum Corporation's domestic natural gas production will account for more than 54% of the oil and gas production structure, and its new energy utilization capacity will exceed 12 million tons of standard oil per year; China National Energy Group's renewable energy installed capacity will double to 140 million kilowatts in four years, ranking first in the world in wind power scale; the construction of green factories and parks in the petrochemical industry will be accelerated, with a comprehensive removal rate of volatile organic matter exceeding 90%, and an industrial wastewater reuse rate exceeding 75%.
Comprehensive upgrade of clean and efficient utilization technology. Coal-fired ultra-supercritical units have been fully popularized, and the "three-reform linkage" (energy saving, heating, and flexibility) has effectively reduced coal consumption and carbon emissions; the raw coal washing rate and mine water recycling rate have continued to increase. The raw coal selection rate of some coal enterprises has reached 100%, and the comprehensive energy consumption of raw coal has dropped to 2.98 Kilograms of standard coal per ton; PetroChina has implemented production system efficiency improvements and waste energy recovery, saving a total of approximately 3.51 million tons of standard coal and approximately 40.5 million cubic meters of water. The electrification rate of Jilin Oilfield has increased by 7 percentage points in 5 years, and the proportion of green electricity for self-use in oil and gas production has exceeded 1/3.
Significant progress has been made in energy conservation and emission reduction. During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, the energy consumption intensity of key petrochemical products dropped by 2% to 6%, and the standardized disposal rate of hazardous waste was 100%; PetroChina's methane emission intensity dropped by 50% compared with 2019, approaching the world's first-class level; PetroChina's Jilin Oilfield unit product energy consumption and carbon emission intensity dropped by 28.6% and 27.8% respectively compared with the end of the "13th Five-Year Plan", with a cumulative carbon reduction of 600,000 tons.
Core strategies to promote green and low-carbon transformation
From a macro level, the green transformation of traditional fossil energy companies is a key driving force for accelerating the transformation of the energy structure towards clean and low carbon. Accelerating the development and utilization of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar energy, reducing coal consumption, and building a diversified and clean energy supply system have become the only way to ensure the long-term development of the country.
From the perspective of traditional fossil energy companies themselves, green transformation is an inevitable choice to reduce dependence on traditional fossil energy and avoid potential risks. Global carbon price fluctuations and the improvement of the carbon trading market have caused fossil energy companies to face rising carbon cost pressures due to products with high carbon emissions. Through transformation and upgrading, the adoption of clean energy technologies and the reduction of carbon emissions, we can not only effectively avoid this risk, but also gain additional benefits by participating in carbon trading. In order to achieve the "double carbon" goal and promote green transformation, traditional fossil energy companies should carefully plan and implement the following core strategies: strategic anchoring, supply-side transformation, technology drive, management efficiency improvement, market collaboration and ecological co-construction. On the basis of taking into account energy security and emission reduction results, short-term benefits and long-term layout, traditional fossil energy companies will comprehensively promote the green transformation process.
-Improving the strategy and governance system. Traditional fossil energy companies should pay close attention to top-level design and strategic orientation, incorporate the "double-carbon" goal into the company's core strategy, formulate detailed "timetables" and "roadmaps", and incorporate quantifiable indicators into the performance appraisal system to gradually increase their weight. Enterprises should also continue to improve and improve the internal organizational guarantee and responsibility system, for example, setting up a carbon neutrality office or chief carbon officer (CCO), building a three-level power and responsibility system of "group coordination-sector supervision-enterprise implementation" to form a closed-loop responsibility chain. In addition, companies should formulate compliance and financing strategies, actively connect carbon markets and policies, and reduce transformation costs by issuing green financial instruments such as carbon-neutral bonds and sustainable development-linked bonds.
Reconstruct and optimize the supply-side structure. Traditional fossil energy companies should accelerate the replacement of clean energy, vigorously deploy wind and solar, energy storage, hydrogen energy, geothermal and other clean energy, promote "wind, solar, water, thermal and storage integration" and "source, grid, load and storage integration" to increase the proportion of clean energy installed capacity. Enterprises should accelerate the clean transformation of fossil energy, implement energy-saving efficiency improvement, ultra-low emission and cogeneration transformation of coal power; promote clean mining and refining upgrade of oil and gas, and actively develop and utilize carbon reduction technologies such as CCUS/CCS. In addition, companies should promote the complementary and integrated development of multi-energy. Oil and gas companies can use their own sites to develop distributed new energy, build a multi-energy integrated regional energy supply system, and expand comprehensive energy services.
Improve the technical capabilities of emission reduction and efficiency improvement. Traditional fossil energy companies should actively develop key core technologies. For example, they should focus on key technologies such as green hydrogen preparation/storage and transportation, new energy storage, and biomass gasification, and establish a transformation mechanism of "R&D centers + demonstration projects". Enterprises should build a digital intelligent platform, deploy an energy and carbon management platform, and use the Internet of Things and AI to achieve real-time emission monitoring, accurate traceability and intelligent dispatch. In addition, enterprises should build virtual power plants and ubiquitous energy networks to improve system efficiency; they should popularize and promote energy-saving technologies, such as waste heat recovery, high-efficiency motors, intelligent energy management and control, etc., to reduce energy consumption per unit of output value.
Activate operations and market mechanisms. Traditional fossil energy companies should improve their full-chain carbon management system and actively implement a full-chain carbon control strategy of "source reduction - process control - end utilization", covering all links of production, storage, transportation, and consumption, to create a green supply chain. Enterprises should also actively promote carbon asset operations and transactions, actively participate in carbon trading and green electricity trading, develop CCER projects, convert carbon emission reductions into economic benefits, and carry out carbon footprint accounting and product carbon label certification. In addition, enterprises should boldly innovate business models, transform into comprehensive energy service providers, and expand new business formats such as virtual power plants, energy storage regulation, and integration of electricity distribution and sales.
Build a collaborative mechanism for ecology and development. Traditional fossil energy companies should actively promote the coordinated development of the industrial chain, drive upstream and downstream companies to reduce carbon emissions, establish green supply chain alliances, and carry out carbon inclusive and collaborative emission reduction activities. Enterprises should also strengthen international cooperation and exchanges, introduce advanced technologies and standards, participate in global climate governance, and jointly build a green energy cooperation network. In addition, enterprises should shape a talent cultivation and cultural system, form a professional team of "carbon management-technology-operation", carry out low-carbon training, and cultivate a carbon reduction culture for all employees.
（The author is an energy scholar）
