Environmental Protection in China in the Past 70 Years
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a thriving human civilization; (ii) we must promote harmony between human and
nature; (iii) lucid water and lush mountains are invaluable assets; (iv) a good environment is the fairest public good; (v) mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes and
grasslands are interconnected ecosystems; (vi) we should adopt the strictest institutional and legal systems to protect the environment; (vii) we should mobilize the
whole society for the Beautiful China campaign; and (viii) as a major country in
the world, China should shoulder its due responsibilities for the development of an
ecological civilization in the world.
Second, China is winning the battle against pollution. It has solved many major
ecological and environmental problems. In 2018, the percentage of days with good
air quality in 338 cities at and above prefecture level was 79.3%, and the average
concentration of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5), a major indicator of air quality,
was 43 µg/m
3 , a decrease of 24.6% compared with 2015. Up to 36% of the cities
met the requirements for air quality. In terms of water environment, the quality of
71.0% of water bodies was at or higher than Grade III, already exceeding the target
set for the 13th Five-Year Plan period; the quality of 6.7% of water bodies was
lower than Grade V. The country’s chemical oxygen demand, ammonia nitrogen
emissions, sulfur dioxide emissions, and nitrogen oxide emissions fell by 8.5%,
8.9%, 18.9%, and 13.1% respectively, and the carbon dioxide emissions per unit
of GDP fell by 14.2%. The country strengthened coordination between different
ecological protection and pollution prevention mechanisms, and comprehensively
improved the stability and functions of various ecosystems. It also strengthened the
control of non-point source pollution caused by agricultural activities, improved
the rural environment, launched large-scale greening projects, and accelerated the
comprehensive control of soil erosion and desertification. The country continued to
implement the projects to turn farmland to back to forests and grasslands as well as
pilot projects of cropland rotation and fallowing, and built national parks, ecological
corridors and ecological networks for biodiversity conservation.
Third, ecological and environmental protection has accelerated supply-side structural reforms and effectively promoted high-quality development. China stepped up
the effort to cut backward production capacity and overcapacity. As of 2018, the
country had cut 155 million tons and 810 million tons of capacity in steel and coal
production, respectively. It shut down enterprises illegally discharging pollutants,
strengthened the environmental regulation on enterprises and industrial clusters, and
took effective measures to prevent bad money from driving out good money. The
market environment of industrial products became healthier and better regulated,
and the capacity utilization rate of major industries increased significantly. Measures
were also taken to optimize the energy and transportation structures of the country.
As of 2018, the country had built the world’s largest clean coal power sector, and
the capacity of coal-fired power plants with ultra-low-emissions in China reached
more than 810 million kW, accounting for 80% of the total installed capacity of
coal-fired power generation in the country. Clean energy accounted for 22.1% of
China’s energy consumption, and the share of coal power dropped to 59%. In 2018,
China’s railway freight transportation increased by 19.9% compared with the 2015
41
a thriving human civilization; (ii) we must promote harmony between human and
nature; (iii) lucid water and lush mountains are invaluable assets; (iv) a good environment is the fairest public good; (v) mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes and
grasslands are interconnected ecosystems; (vi) we should adopt the strictest institutional and legal systems to protect the environment; (vii) we should mobilize the
whole society for the Beautiful China campaign; and (viii) as a major country in
the world, China should shoulder its due responsibilities for the development of an
ecological civilization in the world.
Second, China is winning the battle against pollution. It has solved many major
ecological and environmental problems. In 2018, the percentage of days with good
air quality in 338 cities at and above prefecture level was 79.3%, and the average
concentration of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5), a major indicator of air quality,
was 43 µg/m
3 , a decrease of 24.6% compared with 2015. Up to 36% of the cities
met the requirements for air quality. In terms of water environment, the quality of
71.0% of water bodies was at or higher than Grade III, already exceeding the target
set for the 13th Five-Year Plan period; the quality of 6.7% of water bodies was
lower than Grade V. The country’s chemical oxygen demand, ammonia nitrogen
emissions, sulfur dioxide emissions, and nitrogen oxide emissions fell by 8.5%,
8.9%, 18.9%, and 13.1% respectively, and the carbon dioxide emissions per unit
of GDP fell by 14.2%. The country strengthened coordination between different
ecological protection and pollution prevention mechanisms, and comprehensively
improved the stability and functions of various ecosystems. It also strengthened the
control of non-point source pollution caused by agricultural activities, improved
the rural environment, launched large-scale greening projects, and accelerated the
comprehensive control of soil erosion and desertification. The country continued to
implement the projects to turn farmland to back to forests and grasslands as well as
pilot projects of cropland rotation and fallowing, and built national parks, ecological
corridors and ecological networks for biodiversity conservation.
Third, ecological and environmental protection has accelerated supply-side structural reforms and effectively promoted high-quality development. China stepped up
the effort to cut backward production capacity and overcapacity. As of 2018, the
country had cut 155 million tons and 810 million tons of capacity in steel and coal
production, respectively. It shut down enterprises illegally discharging pollutants,
strengthened the environmental regulation on enterprises and industrial clusters, and
took effective measures to prevent bad money from driving out good money. The
market environment of industrial products became healthier and better regulated,
and the capacity utilization rate of major industries increased significantly. Measures
were also taken to optimize the energy and transportation structures of the country.
As of 2018, the country had built the world’s largest clean coal power sector, and
the capacity of coal-fired power plants with ultra-low-emissions in China reached
more than 810 million kW, accounting for 80% of the total installed capacity of
coal-fired power generation in the country. Clean energy accounted for 22.1% of
China’s energy consumption, and the share of coal power dropped to 59%. In 2018,
China’s railway freight transportation increased by 19.9% compared with the 2015