Evolution of the Green Development Concept and the Path …
367
surface water rated below Grade V in quality. This change reflects a shift of focus in
environmental protection from quantity to quality. It is imperative to properly handle
the relationship between quantity and quality in environmental protection. Setting
limits on quantity is a major way to improve the environment. As pollutant emissions
from various sources have direct or indirect impact on the environment, emissions
reduction, though not the only way to improve the environment, contributes significantly to environmental quality improvement. The 13th Five-Year Plan included
targets for total emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, ammonia and nitrogen,
and chemical oxygen demand which shall be achieved by putting in place relevant
facilities and phasing out outdated capacity at pollution sources in major industries.
Meanwhile, emissions reduction shall be achieved without compromising development quality. Emissions reduction is a fundamental and compulsory requirement,
while environmental quality improvement is a red line that must not be crossed.
1
Third, the binding effect of green development targets grew. In the 11th Five-Year
Plan, five of the seven resource and environment-related targets were binding, in the
12th Five-Year Plan, seven out of eight such targets were binding, and in the 13th
Five-Year Plan, all were binding. Binding targets, which are considered government
commitment to society, have binding effect on governments at all levels, especially
government performance related to public services, environmental protection and
land use. It is evident that the plans for national economic and social development
have had an increasingly binding effect in the environment and resource sectors. This
significantly improved the constraint mechanism which ensured that governments at
all levels would fulfill their environmental protection responsibilities, so that China
on the whole can meet or even exceed the green development targets as scheduled.
3 Implementation of the Green Development Concept
at Local Levels
Development plans for the 13th Five-Year Plan period of 29 provincial-level regions
in China were gathered from the Internet and a brief look through them reviewed
that 19 had targets related to resources and the environment, accounting for over
30% of the total. Most of them have specific requirements for environmental quality
improvement, mostly the same or even higher than the national targets, including
targets for 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 the prefecture level, proportion of surface water quality at or above Grade
III, and proportion of surface water below Grade V.
Nonetheless, we still found the following problems in their pursuit of green development. First, the binding force of green development targets needs to be strengthened. While local authorities have set most environment and resource-related targets
as binding ones (Beijing and Jilin each has one anticipatory target related to resources
1 http://politics.people.com.cn/n1/2016/0122/c1001-28075425.html.
367
surface water rated below Grade V in quality. This change reflects a shift of focus in
environmental protection from quantity to quality. It is imperative to properly handle
the relationship between quantity and quality in environmental protection. Setting
limits on quantity is a major way to improve the environment. As pollutant emissions
from various sources have direct or indirect impact on the environment, emissions
reduction, though not the only way to improve the environment, contributes significantly to environmental quality improvement. The 13th Five-Year Plan included
targets for total emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, ammonia and nitrogen,
and chemical oxygen demand which shall be achieved by putting in place relevant
facilities and phasing out outdated capacity at pollution sources in major industries.
Meanwhile, emissions reduction shall be achieved without compromising development quality. Emissions reduction is a fundamental and compulsory requirement,
while environmental quality improvement is a red line that must not be crossed.
1
Third, the binding effect of green development targets grew. In the 11th Five-Year
Plan, five of the seven resource and environment-related targets were binding, in the
12th Five-Year Plan, seven out of eight such targets were binding, and in the 13th
Five-Year Plan, all were binding. Binding targets, which are considered government
commitment to society, have binding effect on governments at all levels, especially
government performance related to public services, environmental protection and
land use. It is evident that the plans for national economic and social development
have had an increasingly binding effect in the environment and resource sectors. This
significantly improved the constraint mechanism which ensured that governments at
all levels would fulfill their environmental protection responsibilities, so that China
on the whole can meet or even exceed the green development targets as scheduled.
3 Implementation of the Green Development Concept
at Local Levels
Development plans for the 13th Five-Year Plan period of 29 provincial-level regions
in China were gathered from the Internet and a brief look through them reviewed
that 19 had targets related to resources and the environment, accounting for over
30% of the total. Most of them have specific requirements for environmental quality
improvement, mostly the same or even higher than the national targets, including
targets for 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 the prefecture level, proportion of surface water quality at or above Grade
III, and proportion of surface water below Grade V.
Nonetheless, we still found the following problems in their pursuit of green development. First, the binding force of green development targets needs to be strengthened. While local authorities have set most environment and resource-related targets
as binding ones (Beijing and Jilin each has one anticipatory target related to resources
1 http://politics.people.com.cn/n1/2016/0122/c1001-28075425.html.