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D. Hong
countercurrent, China’s green social construction has further asserted its independence rather than being forced by external influence. What exactly is the endogenous
drive of such a green turn in Chinese society? This involves multiple forces of all
fronts and levels, with the following five points being especially crucial.
First, the conflict between development and environment becomes increasingly
pointed and environmental quality faces serious threat. After decades of traditional
high-speed growth, the huge debts we owe to ecological environment have become a
marked weak link. In 2012, China’s economic aggregate accounted for about 11.5%
of world total, for which, however, we consumed 21.3% of global energy, 45% of
steel, 43% of copper, 54% of cement and emitted the most SO 2 and NO x . In 1985,
China discharged 34,154.2 million ton wastewater, which kept rising to 71,109.54
million tons in 2016; it emitted 13.25 million ton SO 2 in 1985, which peaked at
25.888 million tons in 2006 and fell to 11,028,643 tons in 2016.
According to the Bulletin of Environmental Situation in China issued by the
Ministry of Ecology and Environment in 2017, only 99 of the 338 cities (29.3%) of
and above prefecture level passed muster in urban air quality, while the rest 239 cities
(70.7%) all fell short of the standard. Of the 112 important lakes (reservoirs) nationwide, 6 had Grade I water quality, 27 Grade II quality, 37 Grade III, 22 Grade IV, 8
Grade V and 12 Grade V-minus, accounting for 5.4%, 24.1%, 33.0%, 19.6%, 7.1%
and 10.7% respectively. Regarding the quality of groundwater, monitoring points
that recorded excellent, good, fairly good, fairly bad and bad groundwater quality
accounted for 8.8%, 23.1%, 1.5%, 51.8% and 14.8% respectively. In fact, in addition
to grave air and water pollution, other forms of pollution such as solid waste and
soil pollution are serious too; and there wasn’t just environmental pollution, but also
ecological destruction. Of all 2591 counties across the country, those with “excellent” and “good” environmental quality take up only 42.0% of national territory, the
“mediocre” ones take up 24.5% and “fairly bad” and “bad” ones 33.5%. Moreover,
the worsening environmental quality has led to mounting threats to food and drug
safety, life and health. These make the background and key motivation for us to
restructure the society.
Second, people’s needs have changed dramatically. The biggest achievement in
our social construction since reform and opening-up is that we have substantially
raised people’s living standards, basically satisfied their material needs, and kept
them generally well-off. According to the current standard, the ratio of poor rural
population fell from 97.5% in 1978 to 3.1% in 2017, and a national subsistence
allowance system for both urban and rural residents has been put in place to institutionally guarantee the basic life of every citizen. In 2017, the per capita disposable
income in China reached RMB 25,974, and the Engel coefficient fell to 29.3% in
general from 57.5% (urban) and 67.7% (rural) in 1978, hitting the affluence line set
by the UN. More importantly, the more assets people have, the more capable they are
to fend off risks. For instance, the total household deposits increased from RMB 21.1
billion in 1978 to RMB 62.6 trillion in 2017. On that basis, people’s needs are more
diverse and high-level, with greater emphasis on security, comfort and sustainability.
Eating safe good, drinking clean water, breathing clean air, and living a sustainable
life in a pleasant environment have been increasingly acknowledged as the basic need.
D. Hong
countercurrent, China’s green social construction has further asserted its independence rather than being forced by external influence. What exactly is the endogenous
drive of such a green turn in Chinese society? This involves multiple forces of all
fronts and levels, with the following five points being especially crucial.
First, the conflict between development and environment becomes increasingly
pointed and environmental quality faces serious threat. After decades of traditional
high-speed growth, the huge debts we owe to ecological environment have become a
marked weak link. In 2012, China’s economic aggregate accounted for about 11.5%
of world total, for which, however, we consumed 21.3% of global energy, 45% of
steel, 43% of copper, 54% of cement and emitted the most SO 2 and NO x . In 1985,
China discharged 34,154.2 million ton wastewater, which kept rising to 71,109.54
million tons in 2016; it emitted 13.25 million ton SO 2 in 1985, which peaked at
25.888 million tons in 2006 and fell to 11,028,643 tons in 2016.
According to the Bulletin of Environmental Situation in China issued by the
Ministry of Ecology and Environment in 2017, only 99 of the 338 cities (29.3%) of
and above prefecture level passed muster in urban air quality, while the rest 239 cities
(70.7%) all fell short of the standard. Of the 112 important lakes (reservoirs) nationwide, 6 had Grade I water quality, 27 Grade II quality, 37 Grade III, 22 Grade IV, 8
Grade V and 12 Grade V-minus, accounting for 5.4%, 24.1%, 33.0%, 19.6%, 7.1%
and 10.7% respectively. Regarding the quality of groundwater, monitoring points
that recorded excellent, good, fairly good, fairly bad and bad groundwater quality
accounted for 8.8%, 23.1%, 1.5%, 51.8% and 14.8% respectively. In fact, in addition
to grave air and water pollution, other forms of pollution such as solid waste and
soil pollution are serious too; and there wasn’t just environmental pollution, but also
ecological destruction. Of all 2591 counties across the country, those with “excellent” and “good” environmental quality take up only 42.0% of national territory, the
“mediocre” ones take up 24.5% and “fairly bad” and “bad” ones 33.5%. Moreover,
the worsening environmental quality has led to mounting threats to food and drug
safety, life and health. These make the background and key motivation for us to
restructure the society.
Second, people’s needs have changed dramatically. The biggest achievement in
our social construction since reform and opening-up is that we have substantially
raised people’s living standards, basically satisfied their material needs, and kept
them generally well-off. According to the current standard, the ratio of poor rural
population fell from 97.5% in 1978 to 3.1% in 2017, and a national subsistence
allowance system for both urban and rural residents has been put in place to institutionally guarantee the basic life of every citizen. In 2017, the per capita disposable
income in China reached RMB 25,974, and the Engel coefficient fell to 29.3% in
general from 57.5% (urban) and 67.7% (rural) in 1978, hitting the affluence line set
by the UN. More importantly, the more assets people have, the more capable they are
to fend off risks. For instance, the total household deposits increased from RMB 21.1
billion in 1978 to RMB 62.6 trillion in 2017. On that basis, people’s needs are more
diverse and high-level, with greater emphasis on security, comfort and sustainability.
Eating safe good, drinking clean water, breathing clean air, and living a sustainable
life in a pleasant environment have been increasingly acknowledged as the basic need.