Experts tout sustainable development at forum

Quickening the pace of China's industrial transformation and upgrading is seen as being critical in balancing high-quality development and environmental protection, officials said on Sunday at a forum of the ongoing annual general meeting of the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province.

"Green development is key to realizing high-quality modernization and solving ecology-related problems," said Li Ganjie, minister of ecology and environment and executive vice-chairman of the CCICED.

Nowadays the environment faces challenges brought by overpopulation, urbanization, economic development, and technological and climate changes, said Liu Jian, chief scientist of the United Nations Environment Program at the forum.

Air pollution tops the list for premature death across the globe, according to Liu. He said one out of every eight species could be on the edge of extinction in the following 10 to 20 years. Plastics, the rise in temperature and ocean acidification threaten the diversity of marine life. By 2050, another 50 percent of food will be needed to feed the world's population though the land resources are already at risk.

With the deterioration of the environment threatening the whole globe, China is making efforts to improve the circumstances, officials at the forum said.

Companies that cause excessive pollution, or have high energy consumption and use obsolete technology are being removed from the market. A group of ecological industries have sprung up, and a number of traditional industries are optimizing their production, according to Li.

In 2018, China's investment in ecological protection and environmental governance grew by 43 percent from a year earlier.

The contribution of environmental protection-related industries to the economy has also seen significant growth, he said.

For example, greater investment and consumption were created by encouraging the public to use natural gas or electricity instead of coal, he added.

Li's speech at the forum also focused on his vision for China's green development during the 2021-25 period.

"In the next step, we will continue to balance economic and social development with ecological conservation to achieve positive results at all levels," he said.

In the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20), China has put forward a development idea based on innovation, joint negotiation, green development, openness and mutual sharing, said Zheng Xinli, executive president of the China Association of Policy Science.

Construction of ecological civilization and a community with a shared future for mankind has been written into the country's Constitution, Zheng said.

Implementation of green development and realization transformation will be a major task for the next Five-Year Plan, he noted, adding more effort should be put toward combating of haze, water pollution, garbage and landfills.

Maria Krautzberger, president of Germany's environment agency, said green economy encourages inclusiveness and innovation, which enables public and private companies to participate.

She suggested releasing more government information about the environment and enhancing technological innovation.

Zhu Baoliang, an economist at the State Information Center, suggested combining technological innovation with urbanization, promoting supply-side reform in the financial industry based on green consumption, and enhancing international cooperation in green development and climate change.