Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
transformation can push the entire society onto a sound development path with
increasing production, affluent lifestyles, and good ecology.”
On the questions of “what are the principal targets of environmental protection
in the 12th Five-Year Plan? How can we keep good and sound economic develop-
ment and at the same time achieve much more in environmental protection?” Zhou
pointed out, “One of the principal targets of economic and social development
during the 12th Five-Year Plan is the conspicuous reduction of major pollutant
emissions, which will lead to obvious improvement of the ecological environment.”
Zhou also said, “facing increasingly pressing environmental constraints, we need to
firmly establish the idea of green and low carbon development, with an emphasis on
energy saving and emission reduction, and accelerate the construction of resource-
saving and environment-friendly production modes and consumption patterns, so as
to strengthen the ability to develop sustainably.”
Conclusion
On becoming the world's second largest economy, China also tops the world in
CO
2
emissions, and severe environmental pollution becomes a huge cost of
China's speedy economic growth. Issues of environmental pollution and carbon
emissions make China the focus and target of international talk and criticism as it
increasingly gains international influence. Therefore, for global emission reduction
China needs to lead the efforts. China is becoming a leader in the world, and should
take the lead in emission reduction and giving green contributions to humanity.
Meanwhile, China's previous and current efforts and contributions to reduce
emissions cannot be overlooked. Actually, China's reduction actions are the
strictest in the world and its enforcement is the strongest. During the 11th Five-
Year Plan, China's energy/GDP ratio decreased by 19.1 %, use of non-fossil
energy rose to 8.4 %, national chemical oxygen demand decreased by 12.5 %,
and emissions of SO
2
dropped by 14.5 %. Truly speaking, China reduces and
achieves the most in the world. No one except China dares to propose the targets
of a 20 % reduction regarding energy saving and emission in every 5 years and a
10 % reduction in major pollutants.
It is no exaggeration that only China has taken certain measures, and only
China can achieve so much within so short a time. It reflects that China is a
responsible power and China contributes the most to emission reduction and
efforts on climate change across the world.
The 12th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development
proposes that China will accelerate the “transformation of economic development
mode” and take “green development”, “recycling economy, “low carbon technol-
ogy”, and “sustainable development with environmental and ecological protection
as the new direction of future national development. The idea of “green develop-
ment” raised by the 12th Five-Year Plan is a significant turning point in China's
economic development and will fundamentally change China's economic and
social development mode and produce lasting and deep influence in the world.
Finally, we conclude the discussionwith a sentence from the China LowCarbon
Economic Development Review 2011: We hope that when China makes the
economic miracle, it can alsomake a miracle of low carbon China at the same time.
