China embarks on closed-loop journey to ecological security

‍Editor's note: Wu Changhua is the executive director of the Professional Association for CHINA's environment. The article reflects the author's views, and not necessarily those of CGTN.

Zero emissions, no-waste city, 100 percent renewable energy and 100 percent recyclable materials are becoming more common goals that the government and businesses are committed to. CHINA has been steadfast in preventing pollution in the recent decade. Improvement in air and water quality is extraordinary.

According to the Ministry of Ecology and environment, in 2018, up to 79.3 percent of the days in 338 Chinese cities were blue, 1.3 percent increase from one year before. And the average ambient concentration of PM2.5 was down 9.3 percent during the same period of time.

Also, in 2018, about 71 percent of surface water was considered grade III or better, which means they are suitable for drinking and fishing.

Despite remarkable progress as reported by Premier Li Keqiang in his government work report, there is still a long way to go for the country to reach its targets of much-improved air and water quality by 2020.

Shifting from end-of-pipe to closed-loop model becomes a top national strategy to reach the goals.

End-of-pipe refers to pollution control after it has occurred from the production and consumption process.

Though there are government-set standards (GBs) to regulate how much pollutants can be discharged or emitted, the size and scale of CHINA's economy, its rapid industrialization and urbanization in recent decades literally have overwhelmed nature's carrying capacity to dilute or absorb the pollutants at such scale and pace.

Green scenery in CHINA. /VCG Photo

Therefore, closed-loop is now recognized as an important pathway to improving the environment. It emphasizes the principles of reduce-reuse-recycle and renewable-repurpose-redesign.

The Law of Promotion of Circular Economy was the first piece of legislation to guide the country's efforts to address wastes challenges.

Often called “resources at the wrong place,” wastes from production and consumption, from urban and rural, from industrial and infrastructure, if sorted, can be turned into new materials that benefit the country.

A more recent regulation is the Extended Producers' Responsibility that requires producers to play a more important role in managing, controlling and preventing wastes. If wastes are generated at the end, producers are held accountable for their treatment and management.

Life cycle industrial ecology, eco-design, and extended producers' responsibility are reshaping CHINA's industrialization policy. Businesses are playing a vital role in the country's ambitious Blue Sky and Beautiful CHINA campaigns.

As Premier Li stressed in the government work report, companies are both polluters and solution providers and they can expect more governmental support in 2019 in environmental protection.

To improve the environment, policy incentive is the key. For instance, resource tax is effective in controlling pollution. The more one consumes, the more one has to pay.

Moreover, back in mid-January, the Ministry of Ecology and environment, jointly with other government agencies, launched a pilot project of Ten Zero Waste Cities. The purpose is to chart a new course of urbanization that is smart, green, low carbon and zero waste to the environment.

The significance of policies should never be underestimated. Closed-loop is significant in boosting regional development. The Yangtze River watershed conservation, which hosts 40 percent of the country's population and contributes at least 40 percent of the nation's GDP, cannot possibly be achieved without a system change in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

Although it is a long journey, CHINA is on its way to a greener future.

(If you want to contribute and have specific expertise, please contact us at opinions@cgtn.com.)