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E-mail China.org.cn, December 2, 2024
Speakers:
Mr. Huang Runqiu, minister of ecology and environment
Mr. Zhao Yingmin, vice minister of ecology and environment
Ms. Guo Fang, vice minister of ecology and environment
Mr. Dong Baotong, vice minister of ecology and environment and administrator of the National Nuclear Safety Administration
Chairperson:
Ms. Shou Xiaoli, director general of the Press Bureau of the State Council Information Office (SCIO) and spokesperson of the SCIO
Date:
Sept. 25, 2024
Shou Xiaoli:
Ladies and gentlemen, good morning. Welcome to this press conference held by the State Council Information Office (SCIO), as part of the series "Promoting High-Quality Development." Today, we have invited Mr. Huang Runqiu, minister of ecology and environment, to brief you on relevant developments and to take your questions. Also present today are Mr. Zhao Yingmin, vice minister of ecology and environment; Ms. Guo Fang, vice minister of ecology and environment; and Mr. Dong Baotong, vice minister of ecology and environment and administrator of the National Nuclear Safety Administration.
Now, I'll give the floor to Mr. Huang Runqiu for his introduction.
Huang Runqiu:
Thank you. Good morning, everyone. I am delighted to meet with you again today. First of all, on behalf of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE), I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude for your long-standing concern, participation and support for our ecological and environmental protection efforts.
High-quality development is the top priority in the new era and in building a modern socialist country in all respects. In recent years, under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, the MEE has been committed to driving high-quality development with high-standard protection, and making concerted efforts to cut carbon emissions, reduce pollution, pursue green development and boost economic growth. The outcomes of our coordinated approach to development and protection have continually improved.
We have made persistent efforts in the fight against pollution, leading to marked improvements in our ecological environment. We have promoted accurate, scientific, law-based and systematic pollution control s, and advanced continued efforts to keep the skies blue, waters clear and lands clean. As a result, the quality of the ecological environment has improved significantly, with public satisfaction rising from under 80% in 2017 to over 91% in 2023. Many of you have likely witnessed these improvements firsthand. The skies are becoming clearer. Last year, the average PM2.5 concentration in major cities nationwide was 30 micrograms per cubic meter, a 54% reduction compared to 10 years ago, while the number of heavily polluted days decreased by 83%. For four consecutive years, the proportion of days with good air quality has exceeded 86%. In Beijing, the improvement is even more remarkable; terms like "APEC blue," "military parade blue" and "Winter Olympics blue" are now being replaced by a more enduring "Beijing blue." Our waters are also becoming cleaner. Last year, the proportion of surface water classed as excellent and good quality reached 89.4%, an increase of 25.3 percentage points compared to 10 years ago. The Yangtze River's main stem has maintained Class II water quality for four consecutive years, and the Yellow River's for two years. Coastal water quality has reached an all-time high, with 85% of nearshore waters classified as excellent. Moreover, our ecosystems are becoming more beautiful. Last year, the national forest coverage rate reached 24.02%, with about a quarter of the world's new green areas since the beginning of this century having been created in China. We have designated 572 ecological civilization demonstration zones and 240 bases for innovative practices in line with the concept of "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets," making urban and rural environments more livable.
We have been actively advancing sustainable development through concerted efforts to reduce pollution and carbon emissions. On one hand, we have continuously optimized and adjusted the industrial structure, cumulatively phasing out 1 billion metric tons of outdated coal capacity, 300 million metric tons of steel capacity, and 400 million metric tons of cement capacity. Over 95% of coal-fired power plants and 45% of crude steel capacity have undergone ultra-low emission upgrades, creating the world's largest clean power and clean steel production systems. On the other hand, we have accelerated the clean and efficient use of energy, reducing the proportion of coal in primary energy consumption from 67.4% a decade ago to 55.3% last year. The number of coal-fired boilers has dropped from nearly 500,000 to fewer than 100,000. Additionally, we have completed clean heating and coal management upgrades for 39 million households in northern China. In the green transformation of transportation, over the past decade, more than 40 million high-emission vehicles have been retired, and the share of new energy buses has increased from less than 20% to over 80%. Clean transportation of bulk goods has also seen steady improvement.
We have resolutely safeguarded the ecological foundation of high-quality development, making the path to building a Beautiful China more secure. Over 30% of China's land is now designated as ecological protection zones. A nature reserve system, with national parks as the core, has been established, providing effective protection for 90% of terrestrial ecosystem types and 74% of key national wildlife species. Biodiversity continues to recover, we have achieved "zero import" of solid waste, and various environmental emergencies have been properly managed. Since 2017, we have completed environmental improvements in 185,000 villages nationwide, designated protection zones for 24,000 drinking water sources at the township level and above, maintained stable nuclear and radiation safety conditions, and further strengthened nuclear safety defenses.
We have advanced comprehensive reforms in ecological civilization, continually enhancing the institutional framework for green, low-carbon, high-quality development. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) has implemented major initiatives such as central government environmental inspections. The philosophy of lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets and the principle of prioritizing ecology and green development have gained wider acceptance. We are building a modern environmental governance system, establishing a nationwide ecological zoning control framework, achieving full coverage of pollutant discharge permits for fixed pollution sources, implementing a major national scientific project for comprehensive environmental management in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, and transitioning monitoring systems to digital platforms. We have also established the world's largest carbon emissions trading market, significantly improving our ecological and environmental governance capacity. Furthermore, China has demonstrated its responsibility as a major global player by making solemn commitments to achieve carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, and has played a key role in promoting the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. As such, China has become an important participant, contributor and leader in global environmental governance and sustainable development.
General Secretary Xi Jinping has underscored that the building of the ecological civilization is still at a critical period where we face multiple pressures and have a lot of difficulties to overcome. Moving forward, the MEE will earnestly implement the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress and the second and third plenary sessions of the 20th CPC Central Committee. The MEE will fully execute the decisions made at the national conference on ecological and environmental protection and advance reforms in the institutional arrangements related to ecological civilization. By so doing, the MEE aims to promote sustained and fundamental improvements to the ecological environment and build a beautiful China where humanity and nature coexist harmoniously.
That concludes my briefing. Next, my colleagues and I will take your questions. Thank you.
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