China sent out many positive environmental protection signals in 2015, but implementing these measures is still key. Looking back at China's environmental record this year, we can see that although well-intentioned policies are not always "empty words and a piece of paper," turning them into real progress requires strategies and methods.
On January 1, 2015, China's new Environmental Protection Law officially came into effect amid much anticipation. After reading the legal text, observers inside and outside China can clearly feel the urgency of the Chinese government to solve environmental problems. There will be no upper limit on the fines faced by polluting companies, the government encourages non-governmental organizations to file public interest litigation, and local governments will be responsible for the quality of the local environment.
Another major event in China's environmental protection work this year is that the greenhouse gas emission reduction plan has become more detailed and the state has become more involved. In November last year, China made a historic announcement, announcing that China would promote the achievement of carbon emission reduction targets by 2030. This year, the Chinese government has further elaborated on this goal, proposing ambitious carbon intensity targets and setting a timetable for establishing a nationwide carbon trading system. These commitments by China are an important factor in enabling countries to reach the Paris Agreement on December 12.
On the issue of climate change, there is a high degree of consistency between the intentions of China's top leaders and reality. First, China's economy is undergoing major changes, including weaning off reliance on heavy industries such as steel and cement and improving energy efficiency. As China's largest primary source of energy, demand for coal has therefore come under downward pressure.
At the beginning of the year, China's coal production fell for the first time this century, and many people believe that this trend is irreversible. The latest official data from China shows that coal production is still declining. China's determination to combat air pollution is also a major factor threatening coal production and use. At the beginning of this year, former CCTV reporter Chai Jing released the environmental documentary "Under the Dome", which deeply revealed the public's concerns about air pollution. Since then, such issues have left an increasingly deep mark on public consciousness. "Under the Dome" quickly attracted widespread attention, and within a few days it received 200 million views. Although the situation after the documentary was slightly complicated, the strong public response did bring a greater sense of urgency and political impetus to the government's governance work. Later this year, the government introduced tougher regulations on coal. These circumstances illustrate that China's emission reduction commitments have a solid foundation.
The Global Climate Change Conference held in Paris in December established the Chinese government's trend and determination to transform its economy from fossil fuel-driven to the development of clean and renewable energy to curb the continued rise in national carbon emissions.
China's State Council Information Office held a "Back to Paris Talks on Climate Change" meeting with Chinese and foreign media on December 23. Xie Zhenhua, China's special representative for climate change and deputy director of the Population, Resources and Environment Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said that if China can achieve its climate change action goals, Not only can it save energy, improve energy efficiency, adjust the energy structure, increase the proportion of non-fossil fuels and renewable energy, etc., but once the goal is achieved, it can also reduce 42% in solving haze pollution.
While China is actively implementing its goals of energy conservation and carbon reduction, it also calls on China's small and medium-sized enterprises to begin to examine whether there is room for improvement in energy conservation and carbon reduction in the company's operational and production processes, and actively use the concept of product life cycle as the basis to apply green design and development to the environment. Green products with less negative impact are in response to the new trend of international green economy.
Source:Chinadialogue (2015-12-23) (PIDC compilation)
