清华大学环境学院党委书记、教授王灿：工业碳中和攻坚或需50%以上的技术创新，AI如何破局？

Core Viewpoint - Achieving industrial carbon neutrality in China requires over 50% technological innovation, as emphasized by Wang Can, a professor at Tsinghua University, during the 2025 China Paper Industry Sustainable Development Forum [2][3] Group 1: Industrial Carbon Neutrality Challenges - The industrial sector accounts for 40% of China's total carbon emissions, with high-energy-consuming industries like steel and cement contributing 80% of industrial emissions [5] - The transition to carbon neutrality in industry is characterized by a "first easy, then difficult" progression, with short-term demand for high-energy products declining but long-term challenges remaining due to high-cost constraints and complex process innovations [5][6] Group 2: Technological Support for Carbon Neutrality - Four key technological support strategies proposed by Wang Can include: 1. Comprehensive energy conservation to reduce energy intensity and demand 2. Accelerating low-carbon energy structure transformation through electrification and biofuels 3. Promoting process innovation in high-energy industries like steel and cement 4. Utilizing negative emission technologies as a fallback solution for residual emissions by 2050-2060 [6][7] Group 3: Real-World Challenges in Technological Innovation - Three major challenges to achieving these technological supports are identified: 1. Complexity of technological innovation due to diverse industrial applications and reliance on interconnected infrastructure [8] 2. Insufficient regional coordination leading to homogenization and competition among emerging industries [9][10] 3. Lack of comprehensive carbon regulation across the entire industrial chain, necessitating a full-cycle perspective on carbon emissions [11][12] Group 4: Role of Artificial Intelligence - Artificial intelligence (AI) can enhance low-carbon technology and optimize resource allocation in industrial carbon neutrality efforts, but it faces two main challenges: 1. Complexity in implementation, with a need to identify common application scenarios and address high-cost technology deployment [14][15] 2. Fairness issues, as AI may concentrate power among elites and exacerbate inequalities, particularly affecting developing countries [15] Group 5: Practical Initiatives - Tsinghua University's environmental team has initiated the "Tiangong Plan" carbon emission database, collaborating with over 40 research institutions and nearly 200 researchers to support carbon neutrality efforts [15]