China's ecological progress and global sustainable development
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E-mail China Today, November 22, 2017
There have been further improvements to the ecological environment. On the one hand, China has carried out action plans aimed at controlling and preventing air, water and soil pollution. The country is drawing up an ecological "red line" that will declare certain regions under mandatory and rigorous protection, and protect and restore the natural ecology of mountains, waters, forests, farmland, and lakes. The rural environment has considerably improved since the advancement of comprehensive management of the countryside.
Legal enforcement has also been tightened. The judicial interpretation of the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate supplemented the criteria for violating environmental law and lowered the benchmarks for convictions, and the Supreme People's Court has set up an adjudication division specifically for environmental resources. The environmental supervision conducted by the central government across the country has been instrumental in solving certain perennial problems. In 2016, the first phase of the new ambient air quality standards went into operation in 74 cities, where the average ratio of days with good environment stands at 74.2 percent, 13.7 percent higher than in 2013. Meanwhile water quality monitoring showed an overall improvement, with a 17.9 percent increase of Grade III or better surface water compared with 2010. The water quality of the main streams of major rivers and lakes has also greatly improved.
The concept of green development has produced good results. The Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee called for a change in GDP-based cadre assessment, and accordingly drafted a new standard which involves an index on the circular economy and green development of industries. This action prompted supply-side structural reform and adoption of green financial policies, which optimized industrial structure and consistently cut resource and energy consumption. In 2016, China slashed 65 million tons of production capacity for iron and steel, and 290 million metric tons of coal. The energy consumption per unit of GDP also fell 17.9 percent compared to the 2012 level. As the country's use of non-fossil energy spikes, the proportion of coal consumption steadily falls. China now leads the world in its installed capacity for generating hydropower, wind electricity, and solar power. It is also the biggest consumer of new energy. Meanwhile, energy conservation and environmental protection have become strategic industries that are undergoing accelerated development.
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