China, the second largest economy in the world, will observe the first national ecological day to ensure the effort to keep their sky blue, water and land clean.
"Events will be held to mark China's first National Ecology Day in an effort to keep our skies blue, waters clear, and lands clean. We carried out the first batch of the third round of the central government’s environmental inspections with these efforts, China's environment saw steady improvements," Chairman of National Development and Reform Commission ( NDRC) Zheng Shanjie said.
The report on the implementation of the 2023 plan for National Economic and Social Development and the 2024 draft plan for national economic and social development revealed the information in a press conference organised on the occasion of the second session of the 14th National People’s Congress ( NPC).
NDRC chairman Zheng Shanjie on Wednesday briefed and answered to the questions to the journalists held at the Media Centre Hotel in Beijing.
Zheng Shanjie said they had promoted concerted efforts to cut carbon emissions, reduce pollution, expand green development, and pursue economic growth and made new progress in the green and low-carbon transition.
He also called upon for coordinated efforts to advance the conservation and improvement of mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes, grasslands, and deserts in a holistic and systematic way, and intensify the battle against pollution.
He also said China took active and prudent steps to achieve carbon peak and carbon neutrality.
"We also worked faster to establish an economic system that facilitates green, low-carbon, and circular development," he added.
Zheng Shanjie said environmental protection and governance were strengthened and the national conference on ecological and environmental protection was held and the guidelines on comprehensively advancing the “Beautiful China Initiative” were introduced.
He also mentioned China had improved the system for region-specific environmental management and worked to implement the pollutant discharge permit system across the board and intensified efforts to control plastic pollution throughout the entire process from production to recycling and launched a three-year "Bamboo as a Substitute for Plastic" initiative.
Mentioning that they accelerated the implementation of major projects for protecting and restoring key ecosystems, he said that comprehensive measures were taken to better prevent and control soil erosion and desertification. A total of 63,000 square kilometres of land suffering from runoff and soil erosion was restored in 2023, which ensured that 72.5% of China's overall land area is now in good condition.
Minister of Finance Lan Fo'an, Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao, Governor of the People's Bank of China Pan Gongsheng, Chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission Wu Qing also attended the press conference on economy for the second session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing.