454
C. Wang
Human Environment in Stockholm, Our Common Future published in 1987, the 1992
UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, the 2002 UN
World Summit on Sustainable Development or Rio + 10 in Johannesburg, the 2012
UN Conference on Sustainable Development or Rio + 20, and the Transforming
Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted by UN General
Assembly in New York in 2015—all of them are milestones in this process, witnessing
how sustainable development has evolved from a concept to a common development
strategy and practice upheld by all countries in the world.
Though the modern idea of sustainable development originated in the west, China
has gradually accepted it while reflecting on its own development process and later
elevated it to be a national strategy. During its reform and opening-up, China has not
only witnessed and experienced global sustainable development, but also, as a major
developing country, actively promoted this strategy and made immense contributions
to it. Especially in the new era, China has provided Chinese wisdom to help achieve
global sustainability, promoted win–win cooperation with ecological thinking, and
endeavored to build a community with a shared future for mankind.
In some way, China’s ecological civilization is consistent with the sustainable
development advocated by the international community in that they both take
an ecological view of the biosphere on earth, which gives birth to an ecological consensus on global development. They are both related and different from
a rigorous academic point of view. Sustainable development is the result of deep
reflections, made with ecological, process, organic and dialectical thinking, on the
problems occurring in the highly advanced industrial (post-industrial) society. A
basic consensus can be reached among all countries on sustainable development and
environmental protection because sustainable development reflects the basic laws of
biosphere. As a new concept that looks at the relations between man and nature, environment and economic development, and inter-generational and intra-generational
equity in an ecological light, it in a way transcends such barriers as ideology, race and
religious belief. The whole world implementing this concept is good for promoting
ecological civilization in the human society on a higher level.
In comparison with sustainable development, ecological civilization is more
macroscopic. Standing at a new height to grasp the development of human civilization, and holistically coordinates ecological, resource, environmental and development issues, and lets the ruling Party and government to deploy and plan ecological progress on all fronts, covering economy, politics, culture and society. Making
ecological progress a component of the Five-Sphere Integrated Plan, China aims
at the harmony between man and nature, environment and economy, and man and
society on a higher level. The concept is a more scientific guide on enhancing our
ability of sustainable development and achieving lasting development of the Chinese
nation, and also a huge contribution to world sustainability, both theory and practice. The internationally advocated sustainable development is highly aligned with
China’s ecological civilization for their consistence in background, problems to be
solved, path of implementation and goals to be achieved. They are essentially related
as ecological civilization can be deemed as the expansion and sublimation of sustainable development and the Chinese wisdom and plan to bring it into reality. Going
C. Wang
Human Environment in Stockholm, Our Common Future published in 1987, the 1992
UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, the 2002 UN
World Summit on Sustainable Development or Rio + 10 in Johannesburg, the 2012
UN Conference on Sustainable Development or Rio + 20, and the Transforming
Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted by UN General
Assembly in New York in 2015—all of them are milestones in this process, witnessing
how sustainable development has evolved from a concept to a common development
strategy and practice upheld by all countries in the world.
Though the modern idea of sustainable development originated in the west, China
has gradually accepted it while reflecting on its own development process and later
elevated it to be a national strategy. During its reform and opening-up, China has not
only witnessed and experienced global sustainable development, but also, as a major
developing country, actively promoted this strategy and made immense contributions
to it. Especially in the new era, China has provided Chinese wisdom to help achieve
global sustainability, promoted win–win cooperation with ecological thinking, and
endeavored to build a community with a shared future for mankind.
In some way, China’s ecological civilization is consistent with the sustainable
development advocated by the international community in that they both take
an ecological view of the biosphere on earth, which gives birth to an ecological consensus on global development. They are both related and different from
a rigorous academic point of view. Sustainable development is the result of deep
reflections, made with ecological, process, organic and dialectical thinking, on the
problems occurring in the highly advanced industrial (post-industrial) society. A
basic consensus can be reached among all countries on sustainable development and
environmental protection because sustainable development reflects the basic laws of
biosphere. As a new concept that looks at the relations between man and nature, environment and economic development, and inter-generational and intra-generational
equity in an ecological light, it in a way transcends such barriers as ideology, race and
religious belief. The whole world implementing this concept is good for promoting
ecological civilization in the human society on a higher level.
In comparison with sustainable development, ecological civilization is more
macroscopic. Standing at a new height to grasp the development of human civilization, and holistically coordinates ecological, resource, environmental and development issues, and lets the ruling Party and government to deploy and plan ecological progress on all fronts, covering economy, politics, culture and society. Making
ecological progress a component of the Five-Sphere Integrated Plan, China aims
at the harmony between man and nature, environment and economy, and man and
society on a higher level. The concept is a more scientific guide on enhancing our
ability of sustainable development and achieving lasting development of the Chinese
nation, and also a huge contribution to world sustainability, both theory and practice. The internationally advocated sustainable development is highly aligned with
China’s ecological civilization for their consistence in background, problems to be
solved, path of implementation and goals to be achieved. They are essentially related
as ecological civilization can be deemed as the expansion and sublimation of sustainable development and the Chinese wisdom and plan to bring it into reality. Going