366
C. Bao
quality, which were included for the first time, marking a strategic adjustment to the
priorities in China’s environmental protection efforts.
The 11th, 12th and 13th five-year plans respectively included 7, 12 (in 8 categories)
and 16 (in 10 categories) targets related to resources and the environment, accounting
for 31.8%, 33.3% (42.9% in terms of the numbers of targets) and 40% (48. % in terms
of the number of targets) of the total. The concept of green development and the
targets related to resources and the environment gained importance and preponderance. These targets can be divided into three types: targets of resources and energy,
targets of pollution control, and targets of ecological security. Resources and energy
targets mainly involved the consumption of resources and energy in production,
pollution control targets were about emission reduction and environmental quality,
and ecological security targets were mainly about farmland and forests.
Examining these targets, we note that from the 11th to the 13th five-year plan, the
concept of green development evolved, showing mainly the following changes:
First, the focus of environmental efforts shifted from monitoring intensity or
efficiency to controlling both intensity and total consumption. The 11th Five-Year
Plan included, for the first time, a target for energy consumption intensity per unit of
GDP as a binding target, requiring it to be down by 20% from the level of 2005. The
12th Five-Year Plan set the target of decreasing energy consumption per unit of GDP
by 16% from the level of 2010, and aimed to keep the total energy consumption within
reasonable limits, showing that China is attaching importance to the control of both
energy consumption intensity and total energy consumption. Based on achievements
made in the 11th and 12th Five-Year Plan periods, progresses were significant in
energy conservation. As China’s GDP increased from RMB 18.2 trillion in 2005
to RMB 67.7 trillion in 2015, up 14.04% annually, its total energy consumption
increased from 2.22 billion tons of standard coal equivalent in 2005 to 4.3 billion
tons of standard coal equivalent in 2015, up only 6.83% annually, much lower than
that the GDP growth. According to the 13th Five-Year Plan, China will decrease its
energy consumption per unit of GDP by 15% by 2020, and will impose limits on total
energy consumption, consumption intensity, water resource consumption, and land
use for construction purposes. This means that China continued with the practice
of controlling both total resource consumption and the consumption intensity in the
management of water resources, land for construction and other resources. Imposing
limits on both total consumption and consumption intensity is a natural consequence
of the development of China’s policies for conservation and efficient use of resources.
It is vital to addressing the environmental and resource challenges that China is facing.
Such measures embody China’s determination to control pollution with continuous
efforts and improve the environment, which will create a huge market for the energy
conservation and environmental protection industries.
Second, China sought to improve environmental quality while controlling the
total consumption of energy and resources. For the first time, the 13th Five-Year
Plan included targets for air quality and surface water quality, specifically targets of
the proportion of days with good air quality in cities at and above the prefecture level,
decrease in PM 2.5 concentration in cities with poor air quality at and above prefecture level, proportion of surface water quality at or above Grade III, and proportion of
C. Bao
quality, which were included for the first time, marking a strategic adjustment to the
priorities in China’s environmental protection efforts.
The 11th, 12th and 13th five-year plans respectively included 7, 12 (in 8 categories)
and 16 (in 10 categories) targets related to resources and the environment, accounting
for 31.8%, 33.3% (42.9% in terms of the numbers of targets) and 40% (48. % in terms
of the number of targets) of the total. The concept of green development and the
targets related to resources and the environment gained importance and preponderance. These targets can be divided into three types: targets of resources and energy,
targets of pollution control, and targets of ecological security. Resources and energy
targets mainly involved the consumption of resources and energy in production,
pollution control targets were about emission reduction and environmental quality,
and ecological security targets were mainly about farmland and forests.
Examining these targets, we note that from the 11th to the 13th five-year plan, the
concept of green development evolved, showing mainly the following changes:
First, the focus of environmental efforts shifted from monitoring intensity or
efficiency to controlling both intensity and total consumption. The 11th Five-Year
Plan included, for the first time, a target for energy consumption intensity per unit of
GDP as a binding target, requiring it to be down by 20% from the level of 2005. The
12th Five-Year Plan set the target of decreasing energy consumption per unit of GDP
by 16% from the level of 2010, and aimed to keep the total energy consumption within
reasonable limits, showing that China is attaching importance to the control of both
energy consumption intensity and total energy consumption. Based on achievements
made in the 11th and 12th Five-Year Plan periods, progresses were significant in
energy conservation. As China’s GDP increased from RMB 18.2 trillion in 2005
to RMB 67.7 trillion in 2015, up 14.04% annually, its total energy consumption
increased from 2.22 billion tons of standard coal equivalent in 2005 to 4.3 billion
tons of standard coal equivalent in 2015, up only 6.83% annually, much lower than
that the GDP growth. According to the 13th Five-Year Plan, China will decrease its
energy consumption per unit of GDP by 15% by 2020, and will impose limits on total
energy consumption, consumption intensity, water resource consumption, and land
use for construction purposes. This means that China continued with the practice
of controlling both total resource consumption and the consumption intensity in the
management of water resources, land for construction and other resources. Imposing
limits on both total consumption and consumption intensity is a natural consequence
of the development of China’s policies for conservation and efficient use of resources.
It is vital to addressing the environmental and resource challenges that China is facing.
Such measures embody China’s determination to control pollution with continuous
efforts and improve the environment, which will create a huge market for the energy
conservation and environmental protection industries.
Second, China sought to improve environmental quality while controlling the
total consumption of energy and resources. For the first time, the 13th Five-Year
Plan included targets for air quality and surface water quality, specifically targets of
the proportion of days with good air quality in cities at and above the prefecture level,
decrease in PM 2.5 concentration in cities with poor air quality at and above prefecture level, proportion of surface water quality at or above Grade III, and proportion of