On the afternoon of October 16th, the Department of Ecology and Environment of Guangdong Province held a regular press conference for October 2025, officially releasing and interpreting two important policies: the "Work Plan for the Construction of the Carbon Footprint Management System in Guangdong Province" (hereinafter referred to as the "Work Plan") and the "Notice on Doing a Good Job in Subsidies for the Elimination and Renewal of Non-Operational Old Medium and Heavy-duty Trucks and Financial Incentives for Air Pollutant Emission Reduction". This move marks a solid step forward for Guangdong in promoting green and low-carbon transformation and intensifying the battle against pollution.

Build a carbon footprint system to serve high-quality development.

At the press conference, Zhou Guoying, a member of the Party Group and deputy director of the Department of Ecology and Environment of Guangdong Province and the spokesperson for the news, systematically introduced the formulation background, goals and key tasks of the "Work Plan". She pointed out that establishing a carbon footprint management system is a key measure to promote the comprehensive green transformation of the economy and society.

The Work Plan sets clear phased goals: By 2027, a basic carbon footprint management system for Guangdong Province will be established, with approximately 200 product carbon footprint calculations and evaluations completed, and mutual trust and recognition of product carbon footprint calculation and evaluation methods and applications achieved in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area; by 2030, the system will be more complete, with approximately 500 product carbon footprint calculations and evaluations completed, and a database of key product carbon footprint factors with Guangdong characteristics built.

To achieve the above goals, the "Work Plan" has deployed 17 key tasks in four major areas: First, establish and improve the management system, including building a database of carbon footprint factors for local characteristic products, promoting the calculation, evaluation, and certification of key products, and encouraging local pilot projects; second, expand application scenarios and increase financial support, encouraging governments and state-owned enterprises to prioritize the purchase of low-carbon products and guiding green consumption; third, explore cross-border mutual recognition, strengthen cooperation among Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao, and international exchanges, to enhance the green competitiveness of export industries; fourth, strengthen capacity building and ensure data quality and security.

Zhou Guoying emphasized that the construction of this system will effectively promote energy conservation, carbon reduction and industrial transformation and upgrading of enterprises, expand the supply of low-carbon products to guide green living, and help foreign trade enterprises better cope with international green trade rules. She presented on the spot the "Guangdong Carbon Label" with Guangdong elements and the 15th National Games' "Beautiful Mascot" made from marine waste plastics and equipped with a carbon footprint traceability QR code, vividly explaining the concept of carbon footprint.

Fill policy gaps and incentivize green updates of freight vehicles

Regarding the management of mobile source pollution, Zhou Guoying elaborated on the subsidy policy related to the scrapping and replacement of old medium and heavy-duty non-commercial vehicles. This policy will come into effect on October 10, 2025, aiming to fill the gap in the current national "trade-in" policy in this area and achieve full coverage of incentives for the scrapping and replacement of high-emission old medium and heavy-duty vehicles.

According to statistics, the number of automobiles in Guangdong Province has exceeded 45 million. Among them, medium and heavy-duty fuel trucks, which account for less than 2%, contribute 58% of the total nitrogen oxide emissions from fuel-powered vehicles. After the implementation of the new policy, it is expected that 28,200 old trucks will be phased out and 5,200 new energy trucks will be updated, reducing nitrogen oxide emissions by approximately 13,000 tons and driving new energy vehicle consumption to exceed 3 billion yuan.

The core contents of the policy include:

· Subsidy Scope: The main support is provided for the early scrapping of old trucks (meeting National III and National IV standards), as well as for those who both scrap old vehicles and purchase new energy vehicles. The vehicles must be dismantled and scrapped or exported within the province between July 1, 2025 and December 31, 2026, and have more than one year until the mandatory scrapping period. The non-operational attribute is determined based on the "Road Transport Permit" rather than the vehicle registration certificate.

· Subsidy Standards: Vehicles scrapped ahead of schedule can receive scrapping subsidies ranging from 10,000 to 45,000 yuan depending on the model and scrapping time. On this basis, if new energy trucks are purchased, an additional 35,000 to 95,000 yuan in renewal subsidies can be obtained. The total subsidy can reach up to 140,000 yuan when both subsidies are combined.

· Application Procedure: Applicants can apply online through the "Guangdong Yuehuanxin Used-for-New Public Service Platform" WeChat mini-program. For vehicle owners who are not familiar with online operations, local cities provide consultation hotlines and offline assistance services. The policy also grants supplementary application qualifications for eligible vehicles that were scrapped between July 1, 2025 and October 9, 2025.

Respond to social concerns and ensure the effective implementation of policies.

During the media Q&A session, the person in charge of the relevant department provided detailed answers to the questions that the public was concerned about.

Regarding the key areas for carbon footprint accounting and evaluation, Guan Xiujuan, Director of the Climate Change and International Cooperation Division of the Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment, said that priority will be given to focusing on Guangdong's advantageous and characteristic products (such as electronic information, new energy vehicles, home appliances, etc.) as well as export products affected by international green trade rules (such as batteries, steel, aluminum, etc.).

Regarding the mutual recognition of carbon labels in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Guan Xiujuan introduced that Guangdong has signed a cooperation memorandum with Hong Kong and successfully achieved mutual recognition of the first batch of products. The next step will be to establish a carbon footprint alliance in the Greater Bay Area, explore the establishment of "bay area standards", and continue to carry out mutual recognition demonstrations.

Regarding the construction of a provincial carbon footprint factor database, Guan Xiujuan explained that given Guangdong's energy structure advantages and lower carbon intensity, establishing a provincial database can provide more accurate accounting tools for local enterprises, enhance their "carbon competitiveness", and ensure proper connection with the national database.

Regarding the identification of non-operational trucks, Zhang Ruifeng, Director of the Atmospheric Environment Division of the Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment, explained that this move is to avoid overlapping with the subsidy policies for operational trucks by the transportation department. The determination will mainly be based on the status of the "Road Transport Permit".

Regarding the supporting regulatory measures, Zhang Ruifeng stated that for vehicle owners who are unwilling to voluntarily phase out their vehicles, local cities can take measures including designating restricted areas in accordance with the law to impose constraints. Currently, some cities have implemented restrictions on diesel vehicles of National III and even National IV standards.

The introduction and implementation of these two policies are concrete actions taken by Guangdong Province to coordinate pollution control, ecological protection and economic growth, and promote the green transformation of the development mode. They will inject new green impetus into the high-quality development of Guangdong.