Evolution of the Green Development Concept and the Path …
369
not fully reflected in the targets set. There are six targets related to resources and the
environment, accounting for 18.2% of the total, lower than the level of JS’s plan and
the national plan. The plan includes targets for industrial water consumption, total
consumption in production, improvement of air quality and surface water quality,
pollutant emission reduction, and wetland conservation, the last of which is a special
characteristic of CS city. Many environmental factors, such as farmland, forests and
energy structure are left, and the targets, especially the targets for air quality, surface
water quality, and major pollutant discharge reduction, are not specific enough. To
achieve its targets, CS, with a strong economy, emphasized green development and
made great efforts to transform and upgrade its economic structure by restructuring
energy-intensive and highly polluting traditional industries, moving faster to phase
out outdated capacity, pushing major industries towards the high end of the industry
chain, improving technology, developing environmentally friendly emerging industries, and fostering new growth drivers. There is a gap between what CS said about
green development in its development plan and what it actually did. Though green
development is highlighted in the city’s development plan for the 13th Five-Year
Plan period as a guiding thought, a basic principle, a development strategy and an
important goal of development, resource and environment-related targets make up
only a small proportion of all the targets set, covering a limited scope and having
inadequate binding force.
4 Conclusions and Recommendations
The concept of green development is proposed to address China’s problems in
resources, the environment and development in the new era. It is an innovative
development model that is conducive to resource conservation, environmental protection and ecological improvement while taking into full consideration the carrying
capacity of the environment and resource endowment. In China’s pursuit of green
development, development plans play a leading role. If China is to actually achieve
its targets for green development, what is specified in the national plan must truly
count at local levels, and this requires coordination between various policies and
measures and collaboration between different levels of the government. Therefore,
to continue its pursuit of green development in the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China
is recommended to:
(1) Strengthen macro control and guidance for local governments in regard to
green development. In accordance with the overall requirement, the government needs to strengthen the macro control and differential constraints on
provincial-level governments in the preparation of their own development plans
to ensure that the national binding targets for resources, the environment and
ecology can be met.
(2) Develop a stronger sense of responsibility for green development in local
governments, and stimulate their enthusiasm and creativity for this purpose.
369
not fully reflected in the targets set. There are six targets related to resources and the
environment, accounting for 18.2% of the total, lower than the level of JS’s plan and
the national plan. The plan includes targets for industrial water consumption, total
consumption in production, improvement of air quality and surface water quality,
pollutant emission reduction, and wetland conservation, the last of which is a special
characteristic of CS city. Many environmental factors, such as farmland, forests and
energy structure are left, and the targets, especially the targets for air quality, surface
water quality, and major pollutant discharge reduction, are not specific enough. To
achieve its targets, CS, with a strong economy, emphasized green development and
made great efforts to transform and upgrade its economic structure by restructuring
energy-intensive and highly polluting traditional industries, moving faster to phase
out outdated capacity, pushing major industries towards the high end of the industry
chain, improving technology, developing environmentally friendly emerging industries, and fostering new growth drivers. There is a gap between what CS said about
green development in its development plan and what it actually did. Though green
development is highlighted in the city’s development plan for the 13th Five-Year
Plan period as a guiding thought, a basic principle, a development strategy and an
important goal of development, resource and environment-related targets make up
only a small proportion of all the targets set, covering a limited scope and having
inadequate binding force.
4 Conclusions and Recommendations
The concept of green development is proposed to address China’s problems in
resources, the environment and development in the new era. It is an innovative
development model that is conducive to resource conservation, environmental protection and ecological improvement while taking into full consideration the carrying
capacity of the environment and resource endowment. In China’s pursuit of green
development, development plans play a leading role. If China is to actually achieve
its targets for green development, what is specified in the national plan must truly
count at local levels, and this requires coordination between various policies and
measures and collaboration between different levels of the government. Therefore,
to continue its pursuit of green development in the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China
is recommended to:
(1) Strengthen macro control and guidance for local governments in regard to
green development. In accordance with the overall requirement, the government needs to strengthen the macro control and differential constraints on
provincial-level governments in the preparation of their own development plans
to ensure that the national binding targets for resources, the environment and
ecology can be met.
(2) Develop a stronger sense of responsibility for green development in local
governments, and stimulate their enthusiasm and creativity for this purpose.