The Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the State Council unveiled on Sunday a set of groundbreaking guidelines to accelerate green transition in all areas of economic and social development – the country's first systematic deployment of its green and low-carbon goals, according to Xinhua reports.
Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the Chinese mainland has secured historic achievements in eco-environmental protection and green growth. Carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP dropped by over 35 percent compared to that of 2012, according to the Ministry of Ecology and Environment. Renewable energy capacity surpassed thermal generation for the first time in December last year, occupying more than half of its installed power generation capacity.
However, the green transition in the Chinese mainland faces challenges. The energy structure remains biased toward coal, the proportion of fossil energy and traditional industries remains high, and the foundation for better ecological and environmental quality needs strengthening.
In this context, the new state-level guidelines, which have set quantitative work goals and a series of tasks, are necessary and essential to achieve the Chinese mainland's carbon emission targets, promote a green transition in the development model, and realize high-quality growth, said Ma Jun, director of the Beijing-based Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs.
\"The guidelines have not only updated and expanded China's previous policy system of green and low-carbon development, but also made comprehensive and systematic deployments of the new challenges China is facing in its pursuit of green growth,\" Yu Xiang, the director of the Climate Change Economics Research Office at the Research Institute for Eco-civilization, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told CGTN. He added that the documents will further promote the comprehensive green transition in all economic and social sectors.
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
