Is China's Analytical Instrument Industry About to Experience a ''Green Revolution''?

Internet searches reveal that the concept of green development can actually be traced back to the 1970s. In 1972, the Club of Rome published "The Limits to Growth," seriously questioning the sustainability of the high-consumption, high-pollution growth model of Western industrialized countries. However, at that time, the green concept mainly focused on end-of-pipe pollution control. In 1987, the World Commission on Environment and Development published "Our Common Future," emphasizing the need to improve the efficiency of existing resources through the development and effective use of new resources, while simultaneously reducing pollution emissions. In 1989, British environmental economists David Pearce and others first proposed the concept of a green economy in "A Green Economic Blueprint," emphasizing the need to achieve sustainable development by appropriately valuing resources, environmental products, and services to unify economic development and environmental protection.

Currently, green development has become a global consensus. The best evidence of this is that on April 22, 2016, after 18 years of arduous negotiations, countries set aside their disputes and differences, shook hands and reached a compromise in the face of the "imminent and irreversible threat that climate change poses to human society and the planet," ultimately reaching the Paris Climate Agreement at the Paris Climate Conference. On that day, representatives from 175 countries signed the original Paris Climate Agreement, setting a record for the highest number of countries signing an international agreement in a single day.

From the perspective of social production and development, many experts have predicted that the Fourth Industrial Revolution may occur in areas including new materials (e.g., graphene), life sciences (e.g., genetic engineering), quantum communication, new energy sources, and artificial intelligence. New energy sources primarily refer to clean energy sources such as nuclear fusion and hydrogen energy.

Therefore, whether for the well-being of future generations or to gain a proactive position in future international competition, pursuing a green development path is indeed worthy of careful consideration by every country.

As for China, the Chinese government has solemnly pledged that China will peak its carbon dioxide emissions around 2030 and strive to achieve this as early as possible. In my view, this effectively sets an important timeline for China in achieving its industrial restructuring and upgrading goals.

The establishment of the Green Technology Committee of the Analytical Instrument Branch of the China Instrument and Control Society is, in a sense, in line with a major current development trend. Although my country's domestic analytical instrument industry is still relatively weak compared to developed Western countries, and many industry insiders may not have given much thought to the green development of the analytical instrument industry, it is still admirable that the branch leaders and relevant industry experts have been able to make such a forward-looking strategic plan even under the current industry development situation.

Similar to other industrial products, analytical instruments have a long industrial chain, from initial design, to production, quality inspection, packaging, storage and transportation, installation, debugging, use, and finally disposal. There is potential for improvement at every stage of this industrial chain. Moreover, in terms of energy conservation and emission reduction, in addition to technological innovation, innovation in concepts and models is equally important. For example, Shenzhen hosted the first "carbon-neutral" Universiade. "Carbon neutrality" means calculating the greenhouse gas emissions caused by human activities and the economic costs required to offset these emissions, and then reducing the corresponding amount of greenhouse gases through tree planting, energy conservation, and supporting Clean Development Mechanism projects, or by purchasing carbon emission reduction credits to achieve the offsetting or even neutralization of greenhouse gas emissions. Some argue that "carbon neutrality" and "carbon offsetting" are merely concepts, fraught with difficulties in actual implementation. But isn't the very concept of proposing such a thing a step forward?

An international affairs expert has pointed out that implementing carbon emissions trading under the Paris Climate Agreement will transform China's energy conservation, emission reduction, and low-carbon production from a bottomless pit of high input and low output, or even input without output, into a lucrative business where the more emissions are reduced, the greater the returns—a "cash cow" that continuously generates real money. Official statements might be difficult to understand, so let's look at the following example.

On June 1st of this year, less than an hour after the United States announced its withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement, the leaders of Germany, France, and Italy issued a rare joint statement expressing deep regret over President Trump's decision to withdraw from the agreement and rejecting Trump's suggestion to renegotiate the agreement. Isn't it interesting that the first to react were actually America's major allies in Europe? Why? A quick search on Baidu reveals that Europe and East Asia are currently two regions with highly developed clean energy sectors, and their clean energy technologies have consistently been at the forefront. For other signatories to the Paris Climate Agreement to fulfill their greenhouse gas emission reduction commitments, they must either rely on their own efforts to find solutions and ultimately become proactive; seek assistance from developed countries in related technologies (will this be free or without any political conditions?); or purchase unused emission allowances from other countries (predictably mostly developed countries) on the international carbon trading market.

Therefore, environmental protection, at least at this stage, is not merely an abstract moral issue, but rather something that can potentially impact a country's economic development and future. For example, regulations on carbon emissions effectively dictate how much coal, oil, and natural gas can be burned.

Now, China's analytical instrument industry has officially put "green development" on its agenda. Besides providing cleaner and more comfortable working environments for professionals in this field, could this development model also pave a "differentiated" development path for domestically produced analytical instruments? This requires more insightful thinking and practical action from people with vision.