China speeds up green transition for modernization of human-nature harmony

BEIJING -- China has ramped up its green transition in all areas with strengthened ecological protection and accelerated low-carbon development in pursuit of the modernization of harmony between humanity and nature.

Two officials and one expert in the field shared their insights into the country's green drive on the eighth episode of the China Economic Roundtable, an all-media talk show hosted by Xinhua News Agency, which was broadcast on Friday.

They discussed China's green transformation and explored what it means for the world, as well as how the country plans to tackle the challenges ahead.

GREEN DRIVE

"'Green' has become a defining feature of economic and social development," said Tian Chunxiu, deputy head of the policy research center under the Ministry of Ecology and Environment.

The transformation of a waste landfill in Nanchang, east China's Jiangxi Province, has offered a glimpse into the country's green shift. After starting operation in 1997, the open-air landfill for household solid waste drew frequent complaints by local residents for its overwhelming stench that can be smelled miles away on hot or windy days.

A turning point occurred in 2021, when the city undertook a major project valued at approximately 2.5 billion yuan (over 350 million U.S. dollars) to rebuild the landfill into a recycling industrial park.

Today, the entire waste treatment process is carried out in closed facilities, eliminating the risk of smells or pollutants leaking outside. The waste incineration and degradation process generates electricity, and the remaining slag is collected to produce building materials.

"The waste-to-energy process generates enough electricity for 120,000 nearby households," said Gong Yuliang from one of the companies operating the industrial park. About 1 million tonnes of household waste are treated there annually, accounting for 60 percent of Nanchang's total, Gong added.

In the future, more than 80,000 photovoltaic panels will be positioned at the industrial park to add to the facility's clean power capacity.

The dramatic transformation of the once troublesome landfill is a microcosm of China's broader green drive, and many similar changes have been evident nationwide over the past decade.

National campaigns to clean up rivers and lakes have turned polluted water bodies into vibrant ecological parks, and land-greening initiatives have transformed arid deserts into lush oases. The battle against air pollution has led to clearer skies and reduced numbers of smoggy days.

The country has fully implemented its river and lake chief system, establishing health records for over 9,800 rivers and lakes, said Li Qun, an official of the Ministry of Water Resources.

China has reported the world's fastest growth in forest resources and afforestation, led globally in renewable energy development, and realized one of the fastest national reductions in energy intensity in the world.

"Over the past decade, China has supported average annual economic growth of over 6 percent, with a 3 percent increase in energy consumption, and has reduced its energy consumption per unit of GDP by 26.8 percent," Tian said.

GLOBAL CONTRIBUTIONS

Guest speakers noted that a greener China is making substantial contributions to the global climate change response and green transformation.

As the world's largest clean energy market and equipment manufacturer, China has actively integrated into the global clean energy industrial chain, providing a stable supply of high-quality products, said Pan Huimin, a National Energy Administration official.

In 2023, China's exports of wind and photovoltaic products helped reduce carbon emissions in other countries by 800 million tonnes, and its own renewable energy generation directly reduced carbon emissions by about 2.45 billion tonnes.

From giant offshore wind turbines to cutting-edge crystalline silicon batteries, new energy products produced in China have achieved continuous technological breakthroughs, bringing higher energy conversion efficiency and significantly reduced costs.

Over the last 10 years, the respective costs of Chinese wind power and photovoltaic power equipment have dropped by 60 percent and 80 percent, lowering the development and construction costs of global clean energy projects significantly.

The country has set the ambitious targets of peaking its carbon emissions before 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060.

These goals have spurred enormous demand for traditional industry upgrades and green consumption, leading China to become the world's largest green market. The country is now the largest green credit market and second-largest green bond market globally.

China's rapid advancement of its low-carbon investment and green productivity will not only drive its own transformation -- it will also offer development opportunities for other countries and help build a cleaner, more beautiful world, experts on the show said.

BRAVING CHALLENGES

Despite its rapid transformation progress, China still faces challenges in its push for green and low-carbon development.

Guest speakers cautioned against imbalanced development, insufficient technological innovation, tightened resource and environmental constraints, and lagging traditional production capacities and growth models.

"Current developed countries typically only began focusing on strengthening carbon emission controls after addressing environmental pollution. In contrast, China needs to improve its ecological environment and achieve its carbon peak and neutrality goals simultaneously," Tian said, stressing that completing the dual tasks requires greater efforts.

Facing these challenges, Chinese policymakers at the third plenary session of the 20th Communist Party of China Central Committee in July announced measures to deepen the reform of the country's ecological conservation work.

"We must work to improve ecological conservation systems and make concerted efforts to cut carbon emissions, reduce pollution, pursue green development and boost economic growth," according to the resolution released after the meeting.

In August, China's central authorities made systematic arrangements for a comprehensive green transformation for the first time. Specific measures were unveiled to push forward transitions in industrial structure, energy, transportation, and urban and rural construction, and it was announced that more efforts will be made to promote comprehensive savings, green consumption models and technological innovation.

The main goals of these arrangements include fostering a 15-trillion-yuan energy-saving and environmental protection industry by 2030, raising non-fossil energy consumption to about 25 percent of the total national energy consumption, and utilizing 4.5 billion tonnes of major solid waste annually.

China will implement more tangible measures that would eliminate institutional barriers, allowing for the construction of a green, low-carbon, circular economic system that supports high-quality development, Tian said. 

The views don't necessarily reflect those of Qiushi Journal.