Minister in call for cleaner country
By Chris Buckley |
March 1, 2011, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
China faces acute environmental and resource strains that threaten to choke growth unless the world's second-biggest economy cleans up, the nation's environment minister said in a blunt warning.
In an essay published yesterday, Zhou Shengxian also said his agency wants to make assessing projected greenhouse gas emissions a part of evaluating proposed development projects.
That could give the Ministry of Environmental Protection more sway in climate change issues, an area dominated by agencies whose main interest is industrial growth.
Zhou set environmental worries at the heart of China's next phase of economic development, a theme that will be in focus at the country's parliament session starting on Saturday.
"In China's thousands of years of civilization, the conflict between humanity and nature has never been as serious as it is today," Zhou said in the essay published in the China Environment News.
"The depletion, deterioration and exhaustion of resources and the deterioration of the environment have become serious bottlenecks constraining economic and social development," Zhou said.
His words highlight the policy struggle in China between stoking growth and taming pollution and resource consumption. On Sunday, Premier Wen Jiabao also said the country should aim for slower, cleaner growth.
Chinese officials often promote the need to maintain economic growth to pull citizens out of hardship. But Zhou said prospects for growth could be threatened unless smoggy skies, polluted rivers and reckless exploitation of mine reserves are taken much more seriously in setting policy.
"If we are numb and apathetic in the face of the acute conflict between humankind and nature, and environmental management remains stuck in the old rut with no efforts in environmental technology, there will surely be a painful price to pay, and even irrecoverable losses," said Zhou.
To double the size of the economy between 2000 and 2020 and keep environmental conditions at levels met in 2000, China will have to improve its efficiency in using resources by four to five times compared to 2000 levels, said Zhou, citing findings of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
"Voices across society urging concern for environmental health are rising, and this is having a negative effect on social harmony and stability," said Zhou.
To counter such threats, he proposed strengthening his ministry's ability to monitor and curb pollution.
Chinese greenhouse gas and climate change policy is dominated by the National Development and Reform Commission, an agency also charged with guarding industrial growth.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection will establish a "risk assessment system for atmospheric pollutants and climate change," and study how to embed climate change issues into environmental protection goals and assessment, said Zhou.
In an essay published yesterday, Zhou Shengxian also said his agency wants to make assessing projected greenhouse gas emissions a part of evaluating proposed development projects.
That could give the Ministry of Environmental Protection more sway in climate change issues, an area dominated by agencies whose main interest is industrial growth.
Zhou set environmental worries at the heart of China's next phase of economic development, a theme that will be in focus at the country's parliament session starting on Saturday.
"In China's thousands of years of civilization, the conflict between humanity and nature has never been as serious as it is today," Zhou said in the essay published in the China Environment News.
"The depletion, deterioration and exhaustion of resources and the deterioration of the environment have become serious bottlenecks constraining economic and social development," Zhou said.
His words highlight the policy struggle in China between stoking growth and taming pollution and resource consumption. On Sunday, Premier Wen Jiabao also said the country should aim for slower, cleaner growth.
Chinese officials often promote the need to maintain economic growth to pull citizens out of hardship. But Zhou said prospects for growth could be threatened unless smoggy skies, polluted rivers and reckless exploitation of mine reserves are taken much more seriously in setting policy.
"If we are numb and apathetic in the face of the acute conflict between humankind and nature, and environmental management remains stuck in the old rut with no efforts in environmental technology, there will surely be a painful price to pay, and even irrecoverable losses," said Zhou.
To double the size of the economy between 2000 and 2020 and keep environmental conditions at levels met in 2000, China will have to improve its efficiency in using resources by four to five times compared to 2000 levels, said Zhou, citing findings of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
"Voices across society urging concern for environmental health are rising, and this is having a negative effect on social harmony and stability," said Zhou.
To counter such threats, he proposed strengthening his ministry's ability to monitor and curb pollution.
Chinese greenhouse gas and climate change policy is dominated by the National Development and Reform Commission, an agency also charged with guarding industrial growth.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection will establish a "risk assessment system for atmospheric pollutants and climate change," and study how to embed climate change issues into environmental protection goals and assessment, said Zhou.
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