China Promoting Green GDP for More Balanced Development

E-International Relations, 2021

China’s economy has developed rapidly in the past 40 years since the reform and opening up. However, China’s irrational economic structure, low efficiency of resource utilization and serious environmental pollution have become important factors restricting the long-term healthy development of China’s economy. More importantly, pollution issues in China seriously affect the development of the regime due to public concerns in terms of health issues. In 2014, senior government officials said publicly that China would “declare war on pollution.” Since then, air pollution has improved to a certain extent, with PM 2.5 levels falling 23.6 percent from 2013 to 2015, but still falling far short of people’s expectations. In 2016, the Chinese government promised in the EEP plan to make up for the shortfall and strengthen environmental protection. The Five-Year Plan initially refers to the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) leading role in setting growth targets and launching reforms to map strategies for economic development. Since the 10th Five-Year Plan passed in 2001, all subsequent plans have included regulations and goals for protecting the environment within the agenda. Internationally, with the rapid development of China’s economy it has developed into one of the largest economies in the world. Accordingly, it has become one of the countries with the most serious air pollution problems. In 2014, China surpassed the United States and became the largest emitter of the greenhouse gases in the world, accounting for 27 percent of global emissions. Environmental problems, especially air problems, are not a local problem but are a regional one. In a recent podcast for the Center for International Strategic Studies, Sandalow said that if China keeps the current rate of greenhouse gas emission, the global average temperature will rise by 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit in 2030. As the biggest country responsible for climate change, the success or failure of China’s environmental policy objectives will have a great impact on the ability of global society to limit human-induced climate change. Examining the effectiveness of China’s environmental policy has global implications.

Engineering, 2016

China's green investment needs up to 2020 are ¥1.7 trillion-2.9 trillion CNY ($274 billion-468 billion USD) per year. Estimates of financing requirements are provided for multiple sectors, including sustainable energy, infrastructure (including for environmental protection), environmental remediation, industrial pollution control, energy and water efficiency, and green products. The context to China's green financing is discussed, covering urbanization, climate change, interactions between infrastructure sectors, and the transformation of industry. Much of the infrastructure financing will occur in cities, with a focus on equity, environmental protection, and quality of life under the National New-Type Urbanization Plan (2014-2020). China has implemented many successful policies in the building sector, but there is still considerable scope for improvement in the energy efficiency of Chinese buildings. China is currently pursuing low-carbon growth strategies that are consistent with its overall environmental and quality-of-life objectives. Beyond 2020, China's future as an ecologically balanced civilization will rest on the implementation of a central infrastructure policy: China 2050 High Renewable Energy Penetration Scenario and Roadmap Study. As exemplified by the Circular Economy Development Strategy and Near-Term Action Plan, an essential part of China's green industrial transformation involves engineering systems that conserve materials, thereby reducing or even eliminating wastes. To better understand changes to China's economy under its green transformation and to unlock large potential sources of finance, it is necessary to undertake a fuller examination of all of China's infrastructure sectors, particularly freight rail infrastructure and ports. Large investments are required to clean up a legacy of environmental contamination of soil and groundwater and to reduce industrial pollution. Transformation of the power sector away from coal will avoid some industrial treatment costs. The contribution of engineers in planning, designing, and constructing China's new green infrastructure will be furthered by understanding the broad policy context and the interactions between land use, infrastructure, and environmental performance.

The “Green Dragon”: China’s sustainable development strategy under Xi Jinping, 2021

China is nowadays a global leader in manufacturing clean energy. Unexpectedly, the serious environmental degradation that has been occurring since 1990s is now under control, as well as the critic air pollution's situation. Many steps still need to be taken in order to fix all the problems linked with the long-aged environmental crisis. However, since Xi Jinping’s advent to power in 2012, Beijing has undertaken a solid ecological path. As evidence of this, China has recently been labeled as the “Green Dragon”. This paper, besides examining the environmental crisis occurring in China before Xi’s presidency and the measures adopted by him to tackle the disastrous consequences of pollution nationwide, will analyze the high Electric Vehicles (EVs) diffusion in China. After comparing Chinese EVs market with western nations, I intend to shed light on the “green revolution” occurring in the Asian demographic giant since 2012.

A Manual for Policy Makers, 2014

In recognition of increasingly serious environmental constraints to China's development, the Chinese government has decided to invest substantially in an ambitious green transformation of the economy during the last two Five Year Plan periods (i.e. from 2005). The most important strategic goals are: China's emission of CO 2 per GDP unit (the carbon intensity) shall improve by 40-45% by 2020 Non-fossil energy (renewable and nuclear energy) shall account for around 15% of the primary energy consumption by 2020. There are several factors behind the formulation of these goals: China's national security of fossil energy supply is seriously threatened Globally, China is one of the most polluted countries in the world and its biggest emitter of greenhouse gases China cannot copy the Western development model and must embark on a more sustainable development path at an earlier stage China eyes an opportunity to become the leading nation in green-tech.

British Journal of Applied Science & Technology, 2017

China will account for around 50% of the global built up area by 2020. To curb the energy demand and environmental conservation the government launched several programs and policies. Combined, the increase in construction activities and stringent enforcement of the green laws, have created demand for sustainable buildings and economy. Moreover, China adopted two green building rating systems: Three-Star and LEED. This paper examines the green policies and their effects on the construction industry in China. It reviews past literature on green policy development with focus on origin and other major milestones. Furthermore, it comprehensively explores the, direct and indirect, impacts of the green development China. The papers primary study done among experts practising sustainable developments points out: the current practices and drivers and challenges of the green development in China. The major drivers include Government enforcement policies, incentives and the developer's vision. On the other hand, the major challenges were green certification-costly and time-consuming, cost of green projects, and lack of qualified green suppliers.