The State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) said on Monday that
10 municipalities and provinces, including Beijing, have started
work to take environmental costs into account when calculating
their gross domestic product (GDP).
The first results of the pilot are expected to be released early
next year and, it is hoped, will lay a good foundation for
nationwide implementation of what has been called "green GDP"
calculation.
The country's economic boom has had a negative impact on its
environment. Experts have been calling for GDP figures to include
environmental costs to counter the ecological damage that GDP
targets are thought by some to exacerbate.
Experts estimate that when environmental costs are deducted, the
average annual GDP growth rate in China will be cut by as much as 2
percentage points. The national GDP growth was 8 percent in 2002
and exceeded 9 percent for the past two years.
According to SEPA Vice Minister Pan Yue, different systems for
environmental accounting will be set up to match the various
conditions in diverse municipalities and provinces.
Meanwhile, ways to assess and calculate economic damage caused
by pollution will be developed and payments for environmental harm
studied.
Pan said the scheme would be significant in laying a foundation
for sustainable development, but admitted that there would be many
difficulties in setting up a nationwide green GDP calculation
system.
Chief engineer at the Chinese Academy for Environmental
Planning, Wang Jinnan, said a technical guide for environmental
economic accounting has been designed as a reference for
municipalities and provinces.
Based on the guide, accounting systems will be developed to
match each area's specific conditions, Wang said. Training programs
will also be offered later this month for officials from
participating areas to help them better understand and complete the
work.
Wang's academy is the leading research organization offering
technical support to the work, a joint undertaking of the
administration and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The two
authorities set up a team last March to carry out preliminary
studies.
Wang said they are also doing similar calculations at the
national level, but these results will not come out until next
May.
Chen Kun of the Chinese Society for Sustainable Development said
the move is a great step forward for the government but pointed out
that green GDP is only a start and that much more will be
required.
"Green GDP can expose existing problems, but it is not the
solution," he said.
Chen said the best way for China is to change its model of
economic development and pursue a more sustainable "circular
economy" that employs the most efficient use of resources and
achieves maximum economic and environmental benefits at minimum
cost.
Also yesterday, members of the Standing Committee of the
National People's Congress (NPC) approved
a law to prioritize renewable energy in the country's energy
strategy.
The law would be effective next year and aims to encourage the
use of renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar and thermal
power.
(China Daily March 1, 2005)