Chapter IV Green revolution
Transition in environmental governance focusing on solving the smog problem
The frequent smog occurrence is ostensibly the environmental governance issue but substantially, it is the issue of transition of economic development mode. In the 13th Five-year Plan, promoting the green revolution should focus on solving the smog problem to realize the transition of environmental, industrial and economic governance. This is a profound revolution of the mode of production and life.
On January 18, 2016, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized “there is no substitute for ecological environment, it is hardly noticed when using it, while none of us can live without it” at the opening ceremony of special seminar of studying and implementation of the spirit of the Fifth Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party of main leading cadres at the provincial or ministerial level. China’s economy keeps over 30 years of rapid growth, but the resource, environment and ecological protection face severe challenge, and it becomes a prominent social issue increasingly. In the air, water, soil and other pollution issues, the air quality issue caused by the smog becomes the prominent issue that the whole society has the most direct feeling and reflects most strongly. In the face of frequent smog occurrence, achieving the green development and living becomes the common aspiration and goal pursuit of whole society. Ostensibly, the smog is the environmental governance issue, but substantially, it is the issue of transition of economic development mode. In the “Thirteenth Five-year Plan”, the containment of smog raging momentum needs to substantially promote the transition of environmental, industrial and economic governance and the modernization of environmental governance system and ability.
Section I Thirteenth Five-year Plan: smog - severe challenge of economic transition
With the further advance of industrialization and urbanization process, China’s economic transition faces growing ecological environment pressure. Heavy air pollution involving the smog governance is not only the major challenge of China’s environmental governance in the “Thirteenth Five-year Plan” but also one of major marks of success or failure of economic transition.
I. Smog gives prominence to the urgency change of the economic development mode
In the Thirteenth Five-year Plan, the resource and environmental constraint for economic and social development is further increased. The frequent smog occurrence not only gives a wake-up call to China’s environmental governance, but also gives prominence to the urgency change of the economic development mode. The smog governance is good for both construction of people’s livelihood and reduction of the economic loss and even matters to success or failure of economic transition.
1. Smog governance is one of the largest “livelihood projects”
(1) The smog affects many regions and persons. Continuous largescale smog pollution has involved 17 provinces, cities, and autonomous regions, nearly 1/4 of national territorial area, and directly affected about 600 million people since 2013. From 2013 to 2015, although annual average PM2.5 concentration in China dropped to 81 μg / m3 from 90 μg / m3, it is still higher than average concentration limit of 10μg / m3 given by W. H. O. The proportion of total days over standard of air quality of 74 cities reaches 68.4% and that of heavy and severe pollution reaches 30.2%, especially PM2.5 exceeds the standard badly and average over standard rate is 68.9%. 49% of days of air quality in Beijing in 2015 failed to meet the standard, including the proportion of heavy pollution days is 13% 1. “Nationwide smog prevention” is extremely urgent.
(2) Smog seriously threatens the health of urban and rural residents. smog is called “hidden killer” of people’s health. The hazardous substance mixed in smog directly harms the health, including the damage to human respiratory system, cardiovascular system and nervous system. smog affects the health of people of all ages, easily induces chronic bronchitis, skin allergy and other potential complications, and especially affects the health of susceptible population, such as the aged, children and pregnant women.
(3) The smog governance matters to the well-being of people’s livelihood. The smog governance has become the focus of attention of people’s livelihood. smog involves basic survival environment of human and becomes the first thing affecting people health and living quality. Just as the Fifth Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party said, “the green is an essential condition of sustainable development and an important embodiment of people’s pursuit of a better life”, the smog governance is the important livelihood project keeping the people’s physical fitness.
2. Economic loss caused by smog is hardly estimated
(1) Raging smog causes direct economic loss and public health loss. Research data shows that the health loss caused by PM2.5 heavy pollution in Beijing in 2013 was about 1.74 billion Yuan (as shown in Figure 4.1). According to a research report of Peking University, conservative estimates say that direction economic loss of national traffic and health is about 23 billion Yuan, the direction economic loss caused by civil aviation flight delay is 270 million Yuan, the charge loss caused by expressway closure is near 188 million Yuan, the costs of emergency treatment and outpatient service caused by smog event reach 22.6 billion Yuan, and it also increases the government’s medical insurance pressure.
Foreword
In the 13th Five-year Plan Period, China shows outstanding historic characteristics of its transformation and development. On one hand, contradictions between economic slide and economic structure adjustment and relevant risk factors gradually increase, bringing obviously higher pressure. On the other hand, economic transformation and upgrading contain enormous development potential and market space. Against the specific backdrop, in order to grasp opportunities and deal with challenges, it is a must to firmly establish the development concept of innovation, coordination, green, open and sharing, boost structural reform with economic transformation as the core and release the domestic demand potential of transformation and development.
During China’s economic transformation period, structural reform has its specific connotation of times: with structural adjustment as the key task, improvement of total factor productivity as the basic target, and systemic innovation as major measures. It needs not only structural adjustment, but also structural reform; not only structural reform in the demand side, but also structural reform in the supply side. Recently, Secretary-general Xi Jinping addressed, “the emphasis of structural reform in the supply side is to emancipate and develop social productivity, and boost structural adjustment through reform.” The structural reform with economic transformation as the theme during the 13th Five-year Plan Period will focus on correctly handling relationship among markets, enterprises and governments, giving a greater play of market’s decisive role in resource allocation, further activating enterprises’ vitality, and strengthening more effective system supply to achieve essential breakthroughs of economic transformation.
In front of the severe challenge of economic transformation, how can we “overcome difficulties and make breakthroughs” in the 13th Five-year Plan Period? We believe that the key is to accelerate the progress of structural reform with economic transformation as the main theme. Based on this, the book titled BREAKTHROUGHS in TRANSFORMATION--The 13th Five-year Plan Period: Historic Challenges for Structural Reform strives to analyze the basic trend and major approaching challenges of the economic transformation and upgrading during the 13th Five-year Plan Period in an objective mode. In Decisive Choices during Transformation (Annual Report on China Reform 2016) and other books, we have studied and analyzed the four major historic trends of China’s economic transformation and upgrading: first, the industrial structure reform trend from an industrial sector dominant structure to a service sector dominant structure; second, the urbanization structure reform trend from the urban-rural dual household system to the residence certificate system; third, the consumption structure reform trend from material consumption as the dominant part to service consumption as the dominant part; and fourth, the grand open-up and transformation trend with the full implementation of free trade strategy as the core. The book composes of the Overview and six chapters. The Overview elaborates the major idea of the structural reform with economic transformation as the theme during the 13th Five-year Plan Period. The six chapters propose the six major tasks of boosting structural reform during the 13th Five-year Plan Period, namely, first, the marketization reform with service market’s open-up as the key point; second, the financial reform with acceleration of financial supervision transformation as the emphasis; third, the finance and taxation system reform with the focus on public service improvement; fourth, the environmental treatment transformation and reform with smog elimination as the emphasis; fifth, the education structure adjustment and reform with open-up and “de-administration”; and sixth, the supervision transformation from traditional market supervision modes to market governance innovation.
The release of annual reform research report is one of the important tasks of China Institute for Reform and Development(CIRD)’s efforts for building China’s Reform Think Tank. Over the past years, the annual reform research reports of CIRD was deemed as important references for governmental planning and policy drafting, or designated as readings for cadres by ministries, provinces and municipalities. Some reports became bestseller books and were translated into multiple languages for global issuance, producing extensive influence home and abroad. This book reflects CIRD’s further study on the previous reform research at the new historic start point. We expect the book to continue receiving the great favor of its readers, activate the readers’ further consideration on China’s economic transformation and structural reform and produce active influence to the transformation and development in the 13th Five-year Plan Period.
The research report is collectively made by the research team of CIRD. Relevant leaders and experts as well as plenty of domestic and foreign literature were consulted for the selection of topics, outlines, contents and revisions. The main editors include Chi Fulin, Fang Shuanxi, Xia Feng, Kuang Xianming, Zhang Fei, He Dongni, Liu Feng, Gan Lu and Cai Wenlong. Some others including Chen Suohua, Chen Wei, Guo Da, Song Xue, Yang Tianying, Li Xuka, Ren Xiping, Tan Huaiyu, Zhao Shanmei, Zhao Zukang and Yuan Shuzhuo participated in material collection, revision and edition. Experts including Wei Liqun, Zhang Zhuoyuan, Chang Xiuze, Li Xiaoxi, Cao Yuanzheng, Jia Kang and Liu Shangxi offered valuable proposals to the compilation. China Intercontinental Press offered great support for the edition and publication of the book. I hereby extend gratitude to them all.
Chi Fulin
February 1, 2016