WHEN Beijing has a day with pristine blue skies, it trends immediately on Wechat (China’s premier social media app). The rare occurrence of “Beijing Blue” and media chatter about such rare weather is indicative of the Chinese capital’s ongoing battle with polluted air and is symbolic of the severe pressure the country faces in the field of environmental protection.
The good news is that environmental protection has been prioritized by China’s leadership. In May 2018, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Xi Jinping delivered a speech at the Eighth National Meeting on Environmental Protection in Beijing. Xi stressed that ecological progress is of fundamental importance for the sustainable development of the Chinese nation. It is a major achievement in the progress of humanity and the inevitable requirement for the harmonious development of humanity and nature. Ecological progress is also a major political issue concerning the mission of the CPC and a social issue in terms of the people’s wellbeing.
Forging Ahead
General Secretary Xi noted at the meeting that the ecological progress has entered a critical period in which more quality ecological initiatives are in urgent need to meet people’s ever-growing demands for a better environment. “It is also a period when China is capable of addressing prominent ecological and environmental issues,” he said.
A Sinopec petrol station in the Xiangjiang River of Changsha, Hunan Province, carrying out routine maintenance.
The promotion of ecological progress has two aspects. From the technological aspect, it is about the targets of pollution control, resource conservation, and ecological protection. The target of pollution control is to restore the clear skies, clean water, and toxin-free soil. The target of resource conservation is to ensure the sustainable supply and use of natural resources. And the target of ecological protection is to realize the symbiosis and prosperity of biodiversity, the ecosystem, and humanity. From a legal perspective this process must be results driven or it will be deemed a failure.
As socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era, the environment is confronted with multiple pressures, such as the dual stresses of reducing both the increment and stock of pollutants, the rigid pressure presented by economic development, poverty alleviation, and environmental protection, and the social pressure of economic restructuring and the improvement of the rule of law in environmental protection. In the face of these daunting challenges, there is no option but to forge ahead. With clear objectives of promoting ecological progress, the arduous task of supply side structural reform providing quality ecological goods, and increasingly prominent demands for an improved environment should involve all parties working together to achieve tangible results. After 40 years of opening-up, China is financially and technologically capable of addressing environmental issues in a comprehensive manner.
As a developing country, China’s economy ranked second in the world in 2017, but its GDP per capita was still below the world average, less than one sixth of the U.S. level and one fifth of the European level. Meanwhile, its energy consumption and carbon dioxide emission per capita surpassed that of some European countries. The country’s urbanization rate jumped from 18 percent in 1978 to 58.6 percent in 2017, an annual rate of more than one percentage point. But the current level is still 20 percentage points lower than that in developed countries. In terms of the industrial structure, the proportion of the tertiary industry to the GDP exceeded that of the secondary industry for the first time in 2014, but the added value of the secondary industry still accounted for 40 percent of the GDP. The figure of developed nations like the U.S. is around 20 percent, meaning that China’s GDP growth consumes more energy and discharges more pollutants. Judging from the hypothesis of the environmental Kuznets curve, the relationship of China’s environmental quality and economic development is on a position approaching the peak of the inverted U curve, showing the environmental degradation is getting worse, while the economy is on the rise. Such a position doesn’t mean we are content to let the environment degrade. It is an appropriate time to address the issue in a holistic way. We have to handle the pressure and forge ahead to avoid repeating the mistakes of developed nations and to accelerate efforts in improving the environment.
Remarkable Achievements
The key to a well-functioning ecosystem lies in supply-side structural reform. First, the priority should be transferred from quantity to quality. As for environmental protection, we used to limit the total amount of emissions and the objective was to control the emission within a certain range. The result was that while the figures were within the required range, people still suffered from polluted air. What matters to people is the quality of a clean environment, not the quantity or process of ensuring the clean environment. Second, the rule of law should be implemented to ensure that those who pollute the environment are punished. Third, the reform should be market-oriented. The government should play its due role in a transparent and market-oriented manner to ensure a clean environment. Fourth, technological innovation should be encouraged. Fifth, an evaluation system should be put in place. Those who pollute the environment should be punished, while incentives should be given to those who improve the environment.
China’s economy has entered the new-normal phase, the focus of which has shifted from quantity to quality. In fact, this poses a higher requirement on the protection of the environment. Since 2012, China has placed environmental pollution as an imperative issue to address, and rolled out measures to handle air, water, and soil pollution. Significant progress has been made. For example, in 2017, the average PM 2.5 reading in the Pearl River Delta region was reduced to 35 micrograms per cubic meter, the level of the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration decreased to below 45, and the figure in Beijing dropped to 58 from 89.5 in 2013.
Fruitful results have also been achieved in preventing and controlling water pollution and soil pollution by heavy metals. Since 2013, China’s coal consumption has declined, and the installed capacity and power generating capacity of renewable energies have been among the largest in the world. China has built the Three-River-Source National Park, the Panda National Park and the National Park for Amur Tiger and Amur Leopard. As the global wetlands and forest areas are declining, the figures in China are increasing rapidly.
China has accumulated experience in promoting ecological progress, such as measures to curb air pollution, the system of river and lake supervisors to manage the waters in a comprehensive manner, and a system of evaluation and assessment of ecological conservation. Clear, clean water and forested mountains are invaluable assets and the foundation of green development.
International Cooperation
In the 21st century, China’s industrialization is accelerating as it provides good but cheap products to the world market at the cost of environmental pollution in the process of globalization. Meanwhile, China has fundamentally shaken off poverty, improved its economy, and pushed forward urbanization. In principle, it followed the path of advanced countries that prioritized economic development over the environment, and took a tolerant attitude toward environmental pollution or ecological destruction. In addition, it didn’t formulate strict rules and regulations of pollution control on foreign investors. As a result, environmental degradation is worsening.
The quality and cheap made-in-China products having been exported to the whole world were produced at the high cost of China’s environment. To compound the problem, some developed countries have dumped their garbage as recyclable waste in China. From this perspective, China has been contributing to a cleaner world.
China has, however, realized that protecting its environment was not only beneficial for itself, but for the entire world as early as 10 years ago. The country vigorously advanced ecological progress, controlled the total amount of emissions and introduced strict emission standards. It also made efforts to develop the recyclable economy to conserve energy, restore ecology, and protect biodiversity. In just 10 years, the emission standard for vehicles has been improved from European II to V. In 2017, China adopted the national VI emission standard which is even tighter than the European V. The country’s greenhouse gas emissions have also been declining since 2014. The installed capacity of renewable energy has surpassed all other countries in 10 years.
Due to China’s coal-based energy consumption structure and the chilly weather in north China, smog is still prevalent, especially in winter, despite the country adopting the cutting-edge technology of coal-fired power generation. Ecological conservation projects of shelterbelt in north, northwest and northeast China, grain for green (a program designed to mitigate and prevent flooding and soil erosion), and the 800-square-km man-made woodland of Saihanba have successfully addressed the issue of sandstorms. However, a new environmental pain of smog followed. As China became the second largest economy, it is attracting more world attention. It is true that China’s environmental quality was worsening due to its urbanization and industrialization, but it is equally true that the environment is constantly improving. Some foreign media focus on Beijing’s bad air condition, which has actually spurred China to take bolder measures in addressing the issue.
The international community should look at China’s environmental pollution in an impartial and dynamic manner. In 2013, the average reading of PM2.5 in Beijing was 89.5 micrograms per cubic meter. After four years of remediation, the figure reduced to 58 in 2017. Despite this still being a high figure, it shows remarkable improvement. To build an international image as a responsible power, it requires China’s own efforts as well as understanding and unbiased recognition by the international community. Global cooperation and mutual understanding will help prevent and control environmental pollution across the world.
The author is Director of the Institute for Urban and Environmental Studies with Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
