Facing environmental callenges, promoting green development

Human society has been challenged by overpopulation, unbalanced development, resource depletion, and environmental degradation, while creating unprecedented material wealth since the industrial revolution. For this consideration, the international community has been seeking a global solution to environmental and development issues, from the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm to "Rio +20" Summit and from the Declaration on the Human Environment to The Future We Want.

China, the world's largest developing country, is also experiencing unprecedented environmental challenges during the fast economic expansion. Environmental issues that occurred to developed countries towards industrialization in 100-200 years have exposed themselves in China in 30 years and show remarkable structural, compression, and complex features. New environmental issues become increasingly prominent before old ones are solved. Generally, the country faces more complex and difficult environmental issues than any other in the world.

As a responsible country, China has always followed the national strategy of sustainable development. It has made the overall layout of development integrating ecological, economic, political, social, and cultural aspects, and envisages the vision of a beautiful country. Ecological civilization philosophy and strategy is a major achievement of the Chinese Government in creative response to the relationship between economic development and environmental issues, but also the localization and escalation of sustainable development. To push ahead the ecological progress, Chinese Prime Minister highlighted in the Government Work Report this year that the Chinese Government will resolutely declare war against pollution and fight it with the same determination we battled poverty.

In China, the newly revised Environmental Protection Law marks a milestone in the environmental protection history with the adoption by the legislature on April 24, 2014. It maximizes the cohesion and absorption of consensus in all aspects and breaks through difficulties in promoting the green development model based on environmental carrying capacity and promoting the modern multi-party environmental governance system. For example, the law clearly defines the concepts of ecological civilization construction and sustainable development, and requires the establishment of environmental and public health monitoring and evaluation system and the rights of citizens to have access to environmental information, participation and supervision. Meanwhile, to address outstanding environmental problems threatening human health and improve environmental quality as soon as possible, the Chinese Government directs the attention to air, water and soil pollution prevention and control in the "resolute war against pollution". It has formulated and implemented in depth the Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Air Pollution and is stepping up the preparation of Clean Water Action Plan and the Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Soil Pollution, which highlights the firm determination to control pollution, improve environmental quality, and protect the health of the people.