Building a Resource-Saving Society (Policy Section)

Author: Jiang Weixin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: Achieving sustainable development is the correct choice made by humanity in reflecting on past economic growth models and development paths, aiming to alleviate the increasingly pressing conflicts between population, resources, and the environment. China is a developing country with a large population, relatively insufficient resources, and inherently fragile ecological conditions. With rapid economic growth and increasing population, efforts to mitigate resource shortages, continuously improve the ecological environment, and achieve sustainable development have become our urgent task. For a long time, the Chinese government has attached great importance to the issue of sustainable development. After the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, a specialized institution was established to promote the sustainable development strategy nationwide, and in 1994, China was the first to complete the "China Agenda 21," integrating the concepts and requirements of sustainable development into national development policies and action plans. A series of measures, including extensive publicity, legal regulation, policy guidance, increased investment, and enhanced management, were adopted to comprehensively implement the sustainable development strategy across various fields, yielding positive results. In 2004 compared to 1990, the energy consumption per 10,000 yuan of GDP in the country decreased by 45%, saving and reducing the use of 700 million tons of standard coal in total; the energy consumption per unit of thermal power generation, specific energy consumption per ton of steel, and comprehensive energy consumption of cement decreased by 11.2%, 29.6%, and 21.9%, respectively, gradually narrowing the gap with international advanced levels. However, the extensive economic growth model has not been fundamentally transformed. On one hand, economic growth still largely relies on high input of resources, and the contradiction of insufficient energy, fresh water, land, and mineral resources has become increasingly prominent. On the other hand, resource output efficiency is low, and there is significant potential for conservation. Currently, the unit product energy consumption of eight high-energy-consuming industries—steel, non-ferrous metals, power, and chemical industries—is more than 40% higher than the world's advanced level on average; the heating energy consumption per unit of building area is 2 to 3 times that of developed countries with similar climatic conditions; the industrial water reuse rate is 15–25 percentage points lower than the international advanced level; and the total recovery rate of mineral resources is 20 percentage points lower. It is estimated that if China's resource utilization efficiency reaches the international advanced level, the existing energy-saving potential calculated based on unit product energy consumption and end-use equipment energy consumption could reach 300 million tons of standard coal.
More than 2,000 years ago, the ancient Chinese philosopher Xunzi proposed: "Strengthen the foundation and conserve expenditure, and Heaven cannot make one poor." China's resource reserves are not strong, and if we do not focus on "conserving expenditure," ignoring nature, disregarding costs, and neglecting the future, exhausting fish stocks and mining resources, we will not only quickly deplete domestic resources but also increase global resource supply pressure. The Earth is the only one, and to balance the needs of the present and future generations for sustainable development of human society, we must transform our growth model, reduce resource consumption, and accelerate the construction of a resource-conserving society—this is our inevitable choice. Just a few days ago, the State Council Executive Meeting discussed and approved the "About Making Solid Efforts to Advance the Key Work of Building a Resource-Conserving Society in the Near Future" and the "About Accelerating the Development of Circular Economy" proposed by the author in conjunction with relevant departments. We will focus on achieving a fundamental transformation of the economic growth model, adhering to the principle of "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle," with improving resource utilization efficiency as the core, and taking energy conservation, water conservation, material conservation, land conservation, comprehensive resource utilization, and the development of circular economy as key priorities. We will adopt comprehensive measures from institutional, policy, technological, and management perspectives to accelerate the construction of a resource-conserving society and vigorously promote the sustainable development of the economy and society.
Building a resource-conserving society, fundamentally speaking, requires focusing on constructing new growth and consumption models.
First, we must focus on constructing a resource-conserving growth model. The construction of a resource-conserving growth model requires four transformations: the demand structure should shift from primarily relying on investment and export to drive growth to consumption and investment, as well as domestic and foreign demand jointly driving growth; the industrial structure should transform from primarily relying on industry to drive growth to industry, services, and agriculture jointly driving growth; the input of factors and resources should shift from primarily relying on capital and natural resources to more reliance on human capital and technological progress; and the resource utilization method should transform from a one-way linear process of "resource-product-waste" to a feedback circular process of "resource-product-waste-regenerated resources," establishing economic growth on the basis of optimized economic structure, increased technological content, and improved quality and efficiency, gradually forming a "low-input, low-consumption, low-emission, high-efficiency" economic growth model.
Second, we must focus on constructing a resource-conserving industrial structure. While consolidating agriculture and strengthening industry, we must place greater emphasis on the development of services and increase the proportion of the tertiary industry in the national economy. Vigorously develop high-tech industries, particularly accelerating the development and expansion of the information industry to speed up the process of informatization. Accelerate the transformation of traditional industries using advanced technologies and applicable technologies, promote the upgrading of traditional industries. Accelerate the elimination of backward processes, technologies, and equipment. Promote enterprise restructuring to improve industrial concentration and scale efficiency. Vigorously develop intensive agriculture. Adjust the energy consumption structure and increase the proportion of high-quality energy. Determine the development direction and functional positioning of different regions based on resource conditions and environmental carrying capacity to optimize regional industrial layout.
Third, we must focus on constructing a resource-conserving urbanization model. Urban development must fully consider resource conditions and environmental carrying capacity, conserving and intensively utilizing important resources such as land, fresh water, and energy. Strictly manage land use planning, improve building structures, make full use of available space, and combine the intensive use of urban construction land with the improvement of the urban environment, rationally allocating green space. Vigorously develop energy-saving buildings and urban centralized heating systems. Plan and construct a resource-conserving comprehensive transportation system, prioritizing the development of urban public transportation and improving the efficiency of the transportation system. Vigorously promote urban water conservation and make full use of various available water resources. Establish a standardized recycling and utilization system for renewable resources.
Fourth, we must focus on constructing a resource-conserving consumption model. In the entire society, foster a concept of advocating thrift, rational consumption, and moderate consumption, guiding consumption patterns through resource-conserving consumption concepts to gradually form a civilized and resource-conserving behavioral model. Especially in the service sector and daily consumption, vigorously advocate resource-conserving practices, making energy conservation, water conservation, material conservation, grain conservation, waste classification and recycling, and reducing the use of single-use products the conscious actions of every citizen, gradually forming a resource-conserving consumption model adapted to the national conditions.
In the process of accelerating the construction of a resource-conserving society, China will focus on implementing the following policies: , adhere to the principle of prioritizing conservation. Building a resource-conserving society requires abandoning traditional development thinking and models and persistently implementing the principle of prioritizing conservation in the long term. In all fields of production, construction, circulation, and consumption, conserve resources and place them in a prominent position, strive to reduce consumption, minimize waste, and improve resource utilization efficiency. Accelerate the construction of a resource-conserving society as a key task in the national economic and social development "11th Five-Year Plan" and as an important guiding principle in the formulation of various special plans, regional plans, and urban development plans. The principle of prioritizing conservation should also be reflected in the formulation and implementation of development plans, industrial policies, investment management, as well as price, financial, tax, and financial reforms, and should be seriously implemented.
Second, improve laws and standards and strengthen supervision and management. Strengthen legal and regulatory construction, promptly formulate and revise laws and regulations to promote the effective use of resources and address issues of no legal basis and incomplete legal systems. Formulate and improve standards, proposing stricter industrial access standards for high-consumption, high-pollution industries in terms of energy, water, land, and environmental protection for new projects, accelerating the formulation of mandatory energy and efficiency standards, revising and improving energy-saving design specifications for major energy-consuming industries and building energy-saving standards. Establish strict management systems in accordance with the law and intensify law enforcement and supervision.
Third, improve incentive policies and establish long-term mechanisms. Accelerate the market-oriented process of resource product prices such as water, electricity, petroleum, and natural gas, establishing a price formation mechanism that reflects the scarcity of resources and fully playing the fundamental role of the market in allocating resources. Establish a sound fiscal and tax policy system conducive to building a resource-conserving society, accelerating the formulation of financial and tax policies to encourage the production and use of energy-saving and water-saving products, energy-saving buildings, and low-fuel-consumption, low-emission vehicles, improving tax incentives for comprehensive resource utilization, and adjusting import and export policies for high-consumption products.
Fourth, accelerate technological innovation and break through technological bottlenecks. Attach great importance to the application of information, advanced processes, and manufacturing technologies in resource development and utilization, adhering to the combination of introducing technology with digestion, absorption, and innovation, strengthening scientific and technological research and industrialization of resource conservation and circular utilization technologies. Focus on developing and demonstrating resource-saving and comprehensive utilization technologies with significant promotional value. Accelerate the popularization and application of new technologies, new products, and new materials for resource conservation. Increase support for major projects and technological development and industrialization demonstration projects for resource conservation and circular economy.
Fifth, promote new mechanisms and give full play to the guiding role of the market. Implement energy efficiency labeling management to guide users and consumers to purchase energy-saving products and promote enterprises to accelerate the research and development of high-efficiency energy-saving products. Implement demand-side management for electricity to optimize power consumption patterns and improve terminal power efficiency. Promote contract energy management to provide enterprises with one-stop services for energy-saving transformation, including diagnosis, design, financing, transformation, operation, and management. Promote energy-saving voluntary agreements to encourage enterprises or industries to achieve energy-saving goals through voluntary means. Implement government energy-saving procurement, gradually expanding the scope of energy-saving and water-saving product procurement and reducing energy costs for government agencies.
Sixth, strengthen publicity and education and raise the awareness of the entire population for conservation. Conduct extensive, in-depth, and long-term publicity on resource conservation through various media such as radio, television, newspapers, magazines, and the internet, as well as through special lectures, seminars, experience exchange meetings, achievement exhibitions, case analyses, and the issuance of promotional materials, to enhance the public's understanding of the major significance of building a resource-conserving society and strengthen sense of urgency and responsibility. Compile training materials and organize training for relevant management and technical personnel. Draft consumption behavior codes and resource conservation agreements to guide rational consumption and regulate consumption behavior.
Building a resource-conserving society is a major strategic task for China's economic and social development in the coming period. We hope that the experts and scholars attending the conference will conduct in-depth discussions on the major theoretical and practical issues related to building a resource-conserving society, especially on the institutional and mechanism issues conducive to its construction, and propose constructive suggestions and opinions. We hope to continue strengthening exchanges and cooperation with international organizations, foreign governments, research institutions, and enterprises to make new contributions to improving resource utilization efficiency, promoting sustainable economic and social development, and protecting the common home of humanity.
(This article is the speech delivered by the author at the "China Development Forum International Conference on Building a Resource-Conserving Society")