2010 Annual Symposium of The China Council for International Cooperation on The Environment and Development Concluded

On November 12, 2010 annual symposium of China Council for the International Cooperation on the Environment and Development (CCICED) lowered its curtain after completing all topics for discussion. The symposium made great achievements and arrived at important consensuses. Zhou Shengxian, Minister of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and executive vice president of the CCICED was present at the closing ceremony and delivered a concluding speech.

Minister Zhou said that the Chinese Government paid great attention to this symposium. Premier Wen Jiabao received foreign members of  the CCICED, heard their advice on the economic and social development and environmental protection of China fully recognizing the works of the CCICED over last year. Li Keqiang, Vice Premier of the State Council and President of the CCICED attended the opening ceremony of the symposium and delivered an important speech. He clearly pointed that taking the construction of a resource-conserving and environment-friendly society as a focus is important for accelerating the transformation of economic development and to strive for a sustainable development path with low prices, good benefits, and low emissions. During the symposium, both the Chinese and foreign executive vice presidents and vice presidents of the CCICED delivered speechs, addressed around the theme of “Eco-system Management and Green Development – Exploring New Roads for Environmental Protection in China”, and Mr. Steiner, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) made a special speech upon invitation. The symposium heard reports on the research achievements on five tasks: strategies of China on eco-system service and management, eco-environmental problems and policies of China concerning the oceans sustainability, the China Ecological Footprint Report (2010), policies of China on soil environment protection, and policy framework for improving the service functions of the aquatic ecosystem; and policy advice proposed by integrating research achievements. The symposium established a forum theme to have an in-depth discussion over the two major topics “New Roads for Environmental Protection in China: Attention to Ecology and the Economy” and “the 12th Five-year Plan: Energy Conservation & Emission Reduction and Green Development”. The policy advisory panel carefully incorporated the opinions of all members and specialists and the revised and improved the policy advice, the revisions were approved by all members based on the principle of panel’s consideration.

Zhou Shengxian said that on this important occasion when China would soon to step into the first year of the “12th Five-year Plan”, the discussions in this annual symposium were distinctively retrospective and with a view to the future. During the symposium, all attendees presented many constructive opinions and advice on how to combine accelerating the transformation of the economic development method, intensify environmental protection, continue exploring new avenues for environmental protection in China, and facilitate economic and social development in a sound and fast manner and the great development of environmental protection. The annual symposium made great achievements and arrived at important consensuses: first, recognizing the progress and achievements made in environmental protection in China over the past five years. Members gave high appraisals to the major progress of China in environmental protection over the past five years, especially after the globle financial crisis. They unanimously believed that the targets for reducing sulfur dioxide and chemical oxygen demand were fulfilled in advance during period of the “11th Five-year Plan” under the condition that China enjoyed an annual average growth of GDP 3 percent higher than the expected, and the newly-increased coal consumption and installed power generation capacity 700 million tons and 270 million kW respectively, higher than the expected. This facilitated the optimal adjustment of China’s economic structure and the gradual improvement of environment’s quality, bringing about exceptional results. In the past five years, the Chinese Government established the Ministry of Environmental Protection to strengthen the power of environmental protection institutions; published “National Principal Functional Districts Program” to take resource and environment bearing capacity as a key factor for determining the regional development orientation and endeavor to construct a green development pattern; further highlighting the principles and requirements of environmental protection in the planning and formulation of policies for the development of the western regions and strategic emerging industries. All of these measures and achievements are worth recognition. Secondly, tightly holding the strategic opportunity period for the development of environmental protection in the coming five years. Members generally believed that the “12th Five-year Plan” is a period of great opportunities for Chinese environmental protection to go further ahead, assault fortified positions and make great accomplishments. The Chinese Government attaches more importance to environmental protection, regarding the increasing restriction of environmental protection over economic growth as the foremost problem on the route to sustainable development, the construction of a resource-conserving and environment-friendly society as an important focus for accelerating the transformation of economic development mode, and the improvement of ecological civilization as an important target of environmental protection. Facing a rare historic opportunity now, environmental protection should seize the strategic opportunity for development and take more initiatives to enter the trunk lines and main fields and stages of economic and social development in an effective manner. Thirdly, accelerating the coordination and integration between the transformation of development modes and environmental protection based on green development. The CCICED points out in its “Report on Concerned Problems in 2010” that competition exists between the efforts invested in environmental protection and short-term development targets accompanied by heavy resource and environment prices. To accelerate the transformation of economic development mode, we need to make deep adjustment in terms of development concept, mode, and route, transforming the contradictory and competitive relationship between environmental protection and economic development into win-win relationship with mutual reinforcement. For this reason, we need to promote green development more actively, put into full play the role of environmental protection to safeguard, promote and improve the transformation of economic development mode, and transmit the “reversed transmission of the pressure for easing monetary condition” from enviormental protection to restructuring and economic transformation, so as to better drive the economy and society onto a civilized development road featuring thriving production, an affluent life and a sound ecosystem. Fourth, intensifying ecological management and revitalizing important eco-systems. It is pointed out in “China Ecological Footprint Report” submitted by the CCICED that the ecological footprint per capita in China has reached double what the environment can cope with and the ecological deficit has been increasing gradually. We must regard the eco-systems “from mountains to seas” as a closely related and indivisible whole, give priority to protection and spontaneous recovery, and bring into full play the self-recovering capacity of eco-systems based on environmental capacity and ecological carrying capacity; by making full use of engineering, technical, ecological, and systemic approaches, we should intensify the protection of biodiversity, settle environmental problems that have been accumulateing for a long period of time by all means, and improve the eco-system services of natural environment.

In the symposium, Zhou Shengxian pointed out that all members and specialists expressed penetrating views regarding the topic of exploration of new routes for environmental protection in China, in combination with the theme of the CCICED and from the perspectives of promoting green development, construction of eco-civilization, and improvement of eco-system service functions. The exploration of new environmental protection routes, which feature low price, good benefit, low emission and sustainability and have rich meanings and diversified requirements. All new concepts, measures and suggestions which are beneficial to environment protection are useful contributions and active drives to new environmental protection roads.

The following year, Zhou Shengxian addressed, was the 20th anniversary of the founding of CCICED. Looking back over the past 20 years, the environment and development trend in China has experienced profound changes, and the working method and mechanisms of the CCICED has also been updated and adjusted continuously. What has remained the same, however, is that the CCICED had always been an irreplaceable think tank for Chinese Government to promote the harmony between economy and environment. Many policy advice proposed by members and specialists had been put into practice and many expectations have become reality. He hoped that all members should exercise their advantages and deepen their research with a view to the environment and development problems faced by China during the “12th Five-year Plan”, so as to contribute more wisdom and energy to the exploration of new environmental protection routes and improvement of the ecological civilization in China.

In the end, Zhou Shengxian, on behalf of the CCICED Presidium and the Ministry of Environmental Protection of the P.R.C, extends its thanks to all members and specialists for their contributions to the CCICED.

Xie Zhenhua, Deputy Director of the National Development and Reform Commission, attended the closing ceremony and delivered a speech. Zhu Guangyao, Secretary of the CCICED introduced the works of the CCICED in 2010 and the arrangements for the next year. The closing ceremony is presided by Biggs, executive vice president of the CCICED. (data source: website of the Ministry of Environmental Protection)