Think tank publication outlines nation's resolve

BEIJING, Aug. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report from China Daily:

An international think tank initiated by the Chinese government has published an annual report to review the country's progress in environmental policymaking since last year, shining a spotlight on China's resolve to curb pollution.

"The past year has been extraordinary and momentous," said the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development in the report's foreword, which listed a range of policy statements demonstrating the country's resolve in promoting green development.

Among them was the report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which states that the harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature is one of the important features and essential requirements of the Chinese path to modernization.

"That reflects the Chinese government's responsibility to promote sustainable development and its historic courage in exploring a new development path," the CCICED report said. It was released on the sidelines of the group's annual general meeting, a three-day event that closed on Wednesday in Beijing.

Covering a host of topics such as biodiversity and air pollution, the six-part report highlights the progress made in reining in fossil fuel emissions.

In the chapter on environmental lawmaking, it said the report to the 20th CPC National Congress, which was held in mid-October last year, proposed that the government "work actively and prudently" toward the dual goals of peaking carbon emissions before 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality before 2060, and suggested that climate legislation be fast-tracked.

In January, the National Development and Reform Commission, the country's leading economic planner, unveiled a plan to bolster green consumption and curb extravagance and waste, the report noted.

Many policy changes have shown a high level of correlation with recommendations proposed by the group, according to the report.

In one example, the group recommended last year that efforts be made to prioritize the development of a dedicated climate change law to set the necessary legal basis for China's climate transition, and explore the inclusion of the dual carbon targets and climate adaptation into the scope of public interest litigation by prosecutors. This has since happened.