44
J. Wu and H. Zhao
China put China’s economic reform on the track of market economy, under which
Chinese steel enterprises gradually crafted new path of development through fundraising in the capital market. As a result, production of coal and steel was in full
swing, ensued by soaring CO 2 emissions.
Stage two: China’s accession to the WTO in 2001 paved the way for the rise of
China as the factory of the world. Its phenomenal industrial production capacity,
especially that of energy-intensive industries such as steel, cement and automobiles,
has been ramping up. Investment in the secondary industry shot up from 1.6628
trillion yuan in 2003 to 10.1013 trillion yuan in 2010, an increase of 6.08 times,
which spawned a constant string of large industrial enterprises. In 1999, there were
83,738 large light industry enterprises and 81,342 big heavy industry enterprises,
each making over 5 million yuan a year. Fast forward to 2010, 188,040 light industry
businesses and 264,832 heavy industry businesses have reported yearly revenue of
over 5 million yuan, up 2.25 times and 3.26 times respectively. In addition, growing
urbanization has exerted mounting pressures on energy and transportation. Per capita
residential energy use surged from 42.4 kilowatt hours in 1990 to 383.1 kilowatt
hours in 2010, an increase of 9.04 times. The total length of highways climbed from
1.6798 million km in 2000 to 4.1064 million km in 2011, up 2.44 times. The total
length of expressways rose from 16,300 km in 2000 to 84,900 km in 2011, a growth
of 5.21 times. The expansion of industrial investment, rising number of industrial
enterprises, and skyrocketing housing construction areas made for a sharp increase
in carbon emissions.
Stage three: In 2012, China’s economy entered a phase known as the “new
normal”, as the 18th National Congress of Communist Party of China (CPC) set the
goal of promoting ecological civilization and its coordinated progress with politics,
economy, culture and society, or the “five-in-one” strategy. Eco-civilization has been
put high on the agenda; eco-environmental security has become a social consensus;
and the notion of “green mobility” has been reaffirmed and prioritized. The Third
Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee made the proposition of lowcarbon development and ecological protection. Premier Li Keqiang stressed the
need of strengthening rules and regulations to preserve the environment, overhauling
and innovating China’s transportation industry to reduce waste and emissions, and
creating a new norm of using institutional constraints for environmental protection. In
2017, the Report to the 19th National Congress of CPC identified “resource conservation and environmental protection” as basic state policy, upholding the philosophy of “green is gold” to ensure the harmonious coexistence between man and
nature. In February 2017, the General Office of the Central Committee of CPC and
General Office of the State Council distributed Several Opinions on Demarcating and
Keeping the Red Line for Ecological Protection, urging and supervising local governments to perform eco-environmental protection, and holding local party committees
and governments accountable for this effort. The document also requested scientific
demarcation and more stringent protection of ecological red lines through a blend
of “top-down and bottom-up” approaches whereby governments provide direction
for local implementation. A toolkit of control measures and incentives for ecological
protection should also be developed. To follow up with the mandates, central and
J. Wu and H. Zhao
China put China’s economic reform on the track of market economy, under which
Chinese steel enterprises gradually crafted new path of development through fundraising in the capital market. As a result, production of coal and steel was in full
swing, ensued by soaring CO 2 emissions.
Stage two: China’s accession to the WTO in 2001 paved the way for the rise of
China as the factory of the world. Its phenomenal industrial production capacity,
especially that of energy-intensive industries such as steel, cement and automobiles,
has been ramping up. Investment in the secondary industry shot up from 1.6628
trillion yuan in 2003 to 10.1013 trillion yuan in 2010, an increase of 6.08 times,
which spawned a constant string of large industrial enterprises. In 1999, there were
83,738 large light industry enterprises and 81,342 big heavy industry enterprises,
each making over 5 million yuan a year. Fast forward to 2010, 188,040 light industry
businesses and 264,832 heavy industry businesses have reported yearly revenue of
over 5 million yuan, up 2.25 times and 3.26 times respectively. In addition, growing
urbanization has exerted mounting pressures on energy and transportation. Per capita
residential energy use surged from 42.4 kilowatt hours in 1990 to 383.1 kilowatt
hours in 2010, an increase of 9.04 times. The total length of highways climbed from
1.6798 million km in 2000 to 4.1064 million km in 2011, up 2.44 times. The total
length of expressways rose from 16,300 km in 2000 to 84,900 km in 2011, a growth
of 5.21 times. The expansion of industrial investment, rising number of industrial
enterprises, and skyrocketing housing construction areas made for a sharp increase
in carbon emissions.
Stage three: In 2012, China’s economy entered a phase known as the “new
normal”, as the 18th National Congress of Communist Party of China (CPC) set the
goal of promoting ecological civilization and its coordinated progress with politics,
economy, culture and society, or the “five-in-one” strategy. Eco-civilization has been
put high on the agenda; eco-environmental security has become a social consensus;
and the notion of “green mobility” has been reaffirmed and prioritized. The Third
Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee made the proposition of lowcarbon development and ecological protection. Premier Li Keqiang stressed the
need of strengthening rules and regulations to preserve the environment, overhauling
and innovating China’s transportation industry to reduce waste and emissions, and
creating a new norm of using institutional constraints for environmental protection. In
2017, the Report to the 19th National Congress of CPC identified “resource conservation and environmental protection” as basic state policy, upholding the philosophy of “green is gold” to ensure the harmonious coexistence between man and
nature. In February 2017, the General Office of the Central Committee of CPC and
General Office of the State Council distributed Several Opinions on Demarcating and
Keeping the Red Line for Ecological Protection, urging and supervising local governments to perform eco-environmental protection, and holding local party committees
and governments accountable for this effort. The document also requested scientific
demarcation and more stringent protection of ecological red lines through a blend
of “top-down and bottom-up” approaches whereby governments provide direction
for local implementation. A toolkit of control measures and incentives for ecological
protection should also be developed. To follow up with the mandates, central and