Last update: November 2022

After 20 years of full steam development, China entered the new millennium with such an amount of pollution to rise an ever growing social alarm and concern, due to its impact on people health, pushed also by such a severe air pollution that, in many major cities, the sky was screened by a permanent layer of smog for most part of the year.

During the 11^th Five Year Plan (2005 - 2010), the  Communist Party of China (CPC) understood the importance of setting a new course, introducing a new radical vision incorporating environmental protection into the concept of development, under the name of "Ecological Civilization".

Last update: November 2022

The 14^th Five Year Plan made a world media sensation for its pledge to peak CO₂ emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060; some commentators celebrate the Plan as the China’s blueprint decarbonisation and the jumpstarting of China’s industrial decarbonisation revolution, others are very sceptical and think about the pledges just for the sake of form.

After China surged as the Largest Economy in backing up Paris Agreement, after US withdrawal, a declaration about the timings for the peak emissions and the carbon neutrality was the least political commitment to undertake, which China delivered in the first available framework programme.

Anyway, 121 Countries out of the 190 enforcing the Paris Agreement[1], together with the European Union, already pledged to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050: China’s choice delays its carbon neutrality by 10 years.

Last update: November 2022

Among the 5 binding indicators listed in in the “Green Ecology” section in Title 1 of Article 3 of the 14th FYP, two binding indicators (#14 and #15) are related to reduction of carbon intensity and energy intensity, the other are related to environmental protection:

• #16 increase the percentage of days with good air quality, in cities at the prefecture level and above, from 87% to 87.5%;
• #17 increasing the percentage of surface water beyond the 3^rd class from 83.4% to 85%
• #18 rising the percentage of forest coverage from 23.2% to 24.1%

The three articles of Title 11 are dedicated to green development and environmental and ecological protection: “Promoting Green Development and promoting the harmonious coexistence of Mankind and Nature”.