The 20th National Congress of the CPC opened in the Great Hall of the People. General Secretary Xi Jinping, on behalf of the 19th Central Committee, delivered a report titled "Holding High the Great Banner of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics and United Struggle for the Comprehensive Construction of a Socialist Modern Country" to the congress.
We should accelerate the green transformation of the development mode, further advance the prevention and control of environmental pollution, enhance the diversity, stability and sustainability of ecosystems, and steadily and prudently promote carbon peaking and carbon neutrality.
▼On October 16th, the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China opened at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Xi Jinping delivered a report to the congress on behalf of the 19th Central Committee. Image source: Xinhua News Agency
In the 20th National Congress report, a whole chapter was devoted to describing "promoting green development and promoting harmonious coexistence between humans and nature".
The 20th National Congress report states that nature is the fundamental condition for human survival and development. Respecting, adapting to, and protecting nature is essential for building China into a modern socialist country in all respects. We must uphold and act on the principle that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets, and we must remember to maintain harmony between humanity and nature when planning our development.
We need to promote the construction of a beautiful China, adhere to the integrated protection and systematic governance of mountains, waters, forests, fields, lakes, grasses, and sands, coordinate industrial restructuring, pollution control, ecological protection, and response to climate change, work together to promote carbon reduction, pollution reduction, green expansion, and growth, and promote ecological priority, conservation and intensive, green and low-carbon development.
We need to accelerate the green transformation of our development mode, implement a comprehensive conservation strategy, develop green and low-carbon industries, advocate green consumption, and promote the formation of green and low-carbon production and lifestyle.
Deepen the prevention and control of environmental pollution. Continuously deepen the battle to defend the blue sky, clear water, and pure land. Strengthen the coordinated control of pollutants and basically eliminate heavy pollution weather. Coordinate the management of water resources, water environment, and water ecology, promote the ecological protection and management of important rivers, lakes, and reservoirs, and basically eliminate urban black and odorous water bodies. Strengthen the prevention and control of soil pollution at the source, and carry out the treatment of new pollutants. Improve the level of environmental infrastructure construction and promote the improvement of urban and rural living environment.
Enhance the diversity, stability, and sustainability of ecosystems, accelerate the implementation of major projects for the protection and restoration of important ecosystems, implement major projects for biodiversity conservation, promote the rehabilitation of grasslands, forests, rivers, lakes, and wetlands, implement the ten-year fishing ban on the Yangtze River, improve the system of fallow land rotation, and prevent and control the invasion of alien species.
Actively and steadily promoting carbon peak and carbon neutrality, based on China's energy resource endowment, adhering to the principle of first establishing and then breaking, implementing the carbon peak action in a planned and step-by-step manner, deepening the energy revolution, strengthening the clean and efficient utilization of coal, accelerating the planning and construction of a new energy system, and actively participating in global governance to address climate change.
▼On October 16th, the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China opened at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Xi Jinping delivered a report to the congress on behalf of the 19th Central Committee. Image source: Xinhua News Agency
Previously, on September 15th, Minister of Ecology and Environment Huang Runqiu answered questions from reporters regarding the implementation of the new development concept and the construction of a beautiful China where humans and nature coexist harmoniously.
He stated that during the 14th Five Year Plan period, we must continue to maintain our efforts, expand our depth and breadth, and use higher standards to deepen the battle against pollution prevention and control.
Firstly, at the strategic level, it is necessary to maintain the strategic determination of the battle against pollution prevention and control, adhere to the same direction and not reduce the intensity.
Although the improvement in the quality of our current ecological environment is significant, it is still at a medium to low level, and there is still a gap between us and the people's needs for a better ecological environment. We still have a lot of room for continuous struggle, "said Huang Runqiu.
Secondly, at the tactical level, we must adhere to precise, lawful, and scientific pollution control. The requirement is to achieve the "five accuracies", which are the precision of the problem, time, region, target, and measures.
In addition, it is necessary to adhere to systematic governance, source governance, and comprehensive governance, and to coordinate carbon reduction, pollution reduction, green expansion, and growth. The "five overall plans" in this regard are very important.
These "five overall plans" are:
One is to coordinate pollution reduction, carbon reduction, and synergistic efficiency enhancement,This is not only the need for high-quality development of the Chinese economy, but also the need for environmental governance to go deeper and fundamentally change the quality of the ecological environment from the source.
Secondly, we must adhere to the coordinated governance of PM2.5 and ozone，Because these two have the same precursor, they can synergistically reduce PM2.5 and ozone. In the past two years, we have made some efforts and achieved initial results. In 2021, PM2.5 and ozone achieved a synergistic reduction.
Thirdly, we need to coordinate water resources, water environment, and water ecology well，In addition to having good water environment quality, a good water body should also have a good aquatic ecosystem, including water, grass, and fish. We still have a considerable gap in this regard, especially in the restoration and protection of aquatic ecology and biodiversity. We still need to make efforts.
Fourthly, we need to coordinate urban and rural areas，The environmental governance in rural areas is still our weakness and shortcoming, especially in terms of non-point source pollution, garbage and sewage, black and odorous water bodies, etc.
Fifth, we need to coordinate traditional pollutants and new pollutants，Especially, it is necessary to establish a risk prevention and control system for new chemical substances.
Thirdly, at the operational level, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment has planned eight landmark campaigns around the battle against pollution prevention and control, which have now been launched one after another.
Firstly, in the battle to protect the blue sky, we will focus on three major battles: basic elimination of heavy pollution weather, ozone control, and diesel truck control.
Secondly, in the battle to defend the clear waters, we will focus on the basic elimination of black and odorous water bodies, key sea area management, and the battle to control the Yangtze River and Yellow River.
Thirdly, in the battle to defend the Pure Land, we will focus on the black and odorous water bodies and domestic sewage in rural areas, and carry out the battle against agricultural and rural pollution control.
In short, during the 14th Five Year Plan period, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment will make greater efforts to solve prominent ecological and environmental problems around the people, and win their trust with practical results.
