610
M. Shen
and space uses within the territory, and centralized protection and restoration of
mountains, waters, forests, farmlands and lakes.” This pointed out the direction
for the institutional reform of the State Council. The most eye-catching part
of the State Council’s latest institutional reform plan involved the Ministry of
Natural Resources, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, and the National
Forestry and Grassland Administration. The reformed Ministry of Natural
Resources integrated the functions of eight departments, and the Ministry of
Ecology and Environment and the National Forestry and Grassland Administration each seven departments. From the perspective of the ecological civilization system, the institutional reform of the State Council has at least resolved to
a considerable extent the long-standing problem of decentralization of power
for environmental protection.
(2) The accounting system is reformed in accordance with the understanding
that “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets.” Promoting
economic and social development and strengthening ecological and environmental protection both aim to improve human well-being. Therefore, generally
speaking, environmental protection, like economic development, is considered
in the performance assessment of government officials. But environmental
benefits are slower to come by than economic benefits. That’s why government
departments are more interested in attracting investment than in protecting the
environment. In this case, from a static point of view, the comprehensive benefits, i.e. the sum of ecological and economic benefits, may be increasing while
the ecological benefits are decreasing, which means that economic development is at the expense of ecological benefits and thus unsustainable. Therefore,
it is necessary to adopt the dynamic perspective and strive to maximize the
comprehensive benefits. During his tenure in Zhejiang, Comrade Xi Jinping
divided officials’ understanding of the relationship between economic development and environmental protection into three stages. First, only economic
benefits matter; second, both economic benefits and ecological benefits matter;
and third, lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets. The most
important is the statement that “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets.” After assuming office as the President of the People’s Republic
of China and General Secretary of CPC Central Committee, Xi clearly put
forward three important conclusions: “We want both ecological and economic
benefits, ecological benefits are more important than economic benefits, and
lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets.” Following Xi’s instructions, China has vigorously reformed and explored the resource tax, environmental tax, carbon tax system, ecological compensation, circular subsidies, and
low-carbon subsidies, and promoted pilot projects of the paid use and trading
of water rights, pollution discharge rights, forest rights and carbon emission
rights. The economic value of lucid waters and lush mountains is materializing
in more and more sectors.
M. Shen
and space uses within the territory, and centralized protection and restoration of
mountains, waters, forests, farmlands and lakes.” This pointed out the direction
for the institutional reform of the State Council. The most eye-catching part
of the State Council’s latest institutional reform plan involved the Ministry of
Natural Resources, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, and the National
Forestry and Grassland Administration. The reformed Ministry of Natural
Resources integrated the functions of eight departments, and the Ministry of
Ecology and Environment and the National Forestry and Grassland Administration each seven departments. From the perspective of the ecological civilization system, the institutional reform of the State Council has at least resolved to
a considerable extent the long-standing problem of decentralization of power
for environmental protection.
(2) The accounting system is reformed in accordance with the understanding
that “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets.” Promoting
economic and social development and strengthening ecological and environmental protection both aim to improve human well-being. Therefore, generally
speaking, environmental protection, like economic development, is considered
in the performance assessment of government officials. But environmental
benefits are slower to come by than economic benefits. That’s why government
departments are more interested in attracting investment than in protecting the
environment. In this case, from a static point of view, the comprehensive benefits, i.e. the sum of ecological and economic benefits, may be increasing while
the ecological benefits are decreasing, which means that economic development is at the expense of ecological benefits and thus unsustainable. Therefore,
it is necessary to adopt the dynamic perspective and strive to maximize the
comprehensive benefits. During his tenure in Zhejiang, Comrade Xi Jinping
divided officials’ understanding of the relationship between economic development and environmental protection into three stages. First, only economic
benefits matter; second, both economic benefits and ecological benefits matter;
and third, lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets. The most
important is the statement that “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets.” After assuming office as the President of the People’s Republic
of China and General Secretary of CPC Central Committee, Xi clearly put
forward three important conclusions: “We want both ecological and economic
benefits, ecological benefits are more important than economic benefits, and
lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets.” Following Xi’s instructions, China has vigorously reformed and explored the resource tax, environmental tax, carbon tax system, ecological compensation, circular subsidies, and
low-carbon subsidies, and promoted pilot projects of the paid use and trading
of water rights, pollution discharge rights, forest rights and carbon emission
rights. The economic value of lucid waters and lush mountains is materializing
in more and more sectors.