The Rise of a Green Society
469
radioactive security is effectively guaranteed. People have truly felt the positive
changes in environmental quality.”
In terms of energy conservation and emission reduction, China’s GDP has
increased faster than its total energy consumption after 2008. If we trace farther
back, our energy consumption per RMB 10,000 GDP has kept falling since the
reform and opening-up and hit 0.588 ton standard coal in 2016 according to data
from the National Bureau of Statistics. During the implementation of the 12th Fiveyear Plan, the carbon intensity in China dropped 20%, better than the 17% target
set in the plan. Our SO 2 emission has been on a continuous, accelerated downcurve
after peaking in 2006.
Yet we should have a right attitude toward the notable environmental improvements resulting from green social construction. On the one hand, we must fully
realize that this is the right direction, steadfastly promote green transformation in
society, continue to work for harmonious co-existence between man and nature, and
provide more quality ecological products to meet people’s ever-growing needs for a
beautiful environment. On the other hand, we should remain science-based and calm,
make continuous self-reflections, and fully realize that even we have achieved interim
positive results, local and green social construction is a complicated process. Without
comprehensive, in-depth and sustainable green social construction, the improvements
so far won’t sustain, and man-nature harmony will be hard to achieve or effectively
maintain.
Why? While building a green society is without any doubt the only right choice in
light of the country’s situation, the natural laws and the people’s needs, it is nonetheless a tough and long-term campaign. I can think of at least the following reasons.
First, human interference and impact is still limited in comparison to the environmental system’s own evolution. Some environmental problems have complicated
causes, either human or natural or both. For instance, our efforts to control air pollution can hardly affect climate change and the long-term, complicated evolution of
earth’s environmental system, both of which are usually important factors that either
aggravate air pollution or offset the effect of air pollution control. It’s safe to say that
our knowledge of the laws governing the operation and evolution of the earth and
the universe is very limited, so instead of indulging in our “victory” over nature, we
must more consciously respect, accommodate to and protect nature and abide by its
laws. Second, compared with fluid air and water pollution that is highly visible with
definite pollutants, pollution that’s invisible and stagnant with complex causes tends
to be neglected and therefore harder to address given its continuous accumulation,
extreme complexity and delayed social impacts, such as soil pollution, gene pollution
and biodiversity losses. As a matter of fact, this type of pollution may threaten human
health and social sustainability on a deeper level and in a wider scope, but we are
barely able to cope with it yet. Third, with regard to social transformation, the current
focus is on changing the administrative system and behaviors and adjusting the spatial
layout, industrial structure and production mode, which is onerous and difficult especially as sustained change faces objective challenges. In contrast, however, adjusting
lifestyle, guiding public behaviors and converging social consensus is something
more difficult where quick progress is almost impossible. In this field, we haven’t
469
radioactive security is effectively guaranteed. People have truly felt the positive
changes in environmental quality.”
In terms of energy conservation and emission reduction, China’s GDP has
increased faster than its total energy consumption after 2008. If we trace farther
back, our energy consumption per RMB 10,000 GDP has kept falling since the
reform and opening-up and hit 0.588 ton standard coal in 2016 according to data
from the National Bureau of Statistics. During the implementation of the 12th Fiveyear Plan, the carbon intensity in China dropped 20%, better than the 17% target
set in the plan. Our SO 2 emission has been on a continuous, accelerated downcurve
after peaking in 2006.
Yet we should have a right attitude toward the notable environmental improvements resulting from green social construction. On the one hand, we must fully
realize that this is the right direction, steadfastly promote green transformation in
society, continue to work for harmonious co-existence between man and nature, and
provide more quality ecological products to meet people’s ever-growing needs for a
beautiful environment. On the other hand, we should remain science-based and calm,
make continuous self-reflections, and fully realize that even we have achieved interim
positive results, local and green social construction is a complicated process. Without
comprehensive, in-depth and sustainable green social construction, the improvements
so far won’t sustain, and man-nature harmony will be hard to achieve or effectively
maintain.
Why? While building a green society is without any doubt the only right choice in
light of the country’s situation, the natural laws and the people’s needs, it is nonetheless a tough and long-term campaign. I can think of at least the following reasons.
First, human interference and impact is still limited in comparison to the environmental system’s own evolution. Some environmental problems have complicated
causes, either human or natural or both. For instance, our efforts to control air pollution can hardly affect climate change and the long-term, complicated evolution of
earth’s environmental system, both of which are usually important factors that either
aggravate air pollution or offset the effect of air pollution control. It’s safe to say that
our knowledge of the laws governing the operation and evolution of the earth and
the universe is very limited, so instead of indulging in our “victory” over nature, we
must more consciously respect, accommodate to and protect nature and abide by its
laws. Second, compared with fluid air and water pollution that is highly visible with
definite pollutants, pollution that’s invisible and stagnant with complex causes tends
to be neglected and therefore harder to address given its continuous accumulation,
extreme complexity and delayed social impacts, such as soil pollution, gene pollution
and biodiversity losses. As a matter of fact, this type of pollution may threaten human
health and social sustainability on a deeper level and in a wider scope, but we are
barely able to cope with it yet. Third, with regard to social transformation, the current
focus is on changing the administrative system and behaviors and adjusting the spatial
layout, industrial structure and production mode, which is onerous and difficult especially as sustained change faces objective challenges. In contrast, however, adjusting
lifestyle, guiding public behaviors and converging social consensus is something
more difficult where quick progress is almost impossible. In this field, we haven’t