Escort green development with systems
【Green Development】
The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China pointed out that green development should be promoted and harmonious coexistence between man and nature should be promoted. Improving and strengthening the green protection system to ensure green development is undoubtedly an urgent task at present. The author believes that relevant laws and policies should be further improved to achieve institutional escort for green development and enhance the "green content" of economic and social development.
Green development, the rule of law first. Only by implementing the strictest system and the strictest rule of law can we provide a reliable guarantee for the construction of ecological civilization. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, in terms of ensuring green development, China's legislative process has advanced rapidly, revising the "strictest" environmental protection law, amending and formulating individual laws such as the Air Pollution Prevention and Control Law, the Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law, and the Soil Pollution Prevention and Control Law, and implementing the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China... A series of powerful measures have upgraded green development from concept to system, green principles as one of the basic principles of civil law, and ecological environmental protection as a basic obligation to fix. In March 2018, the Third Plenary Session of the First Session of the 13th National People's Congress voted to adopt the Amendment to the Constitution of the People's Republic of China, and "ecological civilization" was officially written into the Constitution, which strongly promoted the construction of ecological civilization in the new era.
Under the escort of the rule of law, China's ecological environment has been significantly improved, and green industries have become a new driving force for economic growth. Relevant data show that in 2022, the average concentration of fine particulate matter in cities at the prefecture level and above in China will be 29 micrograms per cubic meter, making China the country with the fastest improvement in air quality in the world. The proportion of excellent cross-sections of surface water quality in the country reached 87.9%, and the goal of "zero import" of solid waste was achieved; Green supply capacity has been significantly enhanced, million-kilowatt hydroelectric generator sets have been successfully put into operation for power generation, polysilicon, silicon wafers, cells and modules account for more than 70% of the world's production, new energy vehicle production and sales have ranked first in the world for 8 consecutive years, and the international market share of green power ships such as liquefied natural gas and methanol is close to 50%......
The implementation of the ecological environment damage compensation system is an important measure to escort green development with the system. The Civil Code of the People's Republic of China stipulates that if the infringer intentionally pollutes the environment or destroys the ecology in violation of the law and causes serious consequences, the infringed party has the right to request corresponding punitive damages. In order to promote the effective implementation of the ecological environment damage compensation system in the judicial field, China has issued the Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on the Application of Punitive Damages in the Trial of Ecological and Environmental Infringement Dispute Cases. Statistics show that by the end of 2021, China had handled about 11,300 ecological and environmental damage compensation cases, involving a compensation amount of more than 11.7 billion yuan. The compensation and fines were used to promote the restoration of more than 36,955,700 cubic meters of soil, 1,666,300 cubic meters of groundwater, 369 million cubic meters of surface water, 61,552,200 square meters of forest land, 2,138,800 square meters of farmland, and the removal of 89,842,500 tons of solid waste, achieving obvious results in punishing illegal acts of the ecological environment and promoting the restoration of the damaged ecological environment.
Exploring the implementation of green incentive mechanisms is another important aspect of institutional green protection. This has been well practiced in the process of promoting the implementation of the "dual carbon" goal. In recent years, China has accelerated the construction of a national carbon trading market and vigorously implemented the carbon emission trading system. According to the "China Carbon Emissions Trading Market Report (2021-2022)", China's carbon market shows a situation in which the national carbon market and the regional pilot market develop simultaneously. By the end of 2022, the cumulative trading volume of carbon emission allowances in the national carbon market was about 230 million tons, with a cumulative turnover of 10.48 billion yuan. At present, China's regional carbon trading pilot market has covered about 3,000 major polluting enterprises in more than 20 fields such as electric power, steel and cement, and the national carbon market is expected to expand from the power generation industry to more industries such as steel and chemicals.
After the "dual carbon" policy was proposed, China's green finance standards have been released one after another, the scope of incentive and constraint mechanisms has been expanded, and new products and formats such as "green bonds", "green insurance" and "green funds" have continued to emerge. The implementation of a series of green incentive systems has stimulated enterprises to adopt more environmentally friendly production methods to reduce pollution and carbon emissions, and shift to a greener development path. At the same time, the construction of the above-mentioned green system can also give full play to China's advantages as a manufacturing country and a large-scale market, and the large scale of carbon emission trading, which plays an important role in promoting the formulation of international carbon trading standards, building a carbon exchange with international influence, and enhancing the game power of the global carbon trading market.
In the future, as China continues to promote green development, deepening reforms in all areas of social economy will need to be deepened, which will trigger the emergence of various new situations and problems. At the institutional level, we should keep pace with the times, optimize and improve relevant laws and policies, promptly check and fill gaps in supporting rules and implementation rules, and build a solid foundation for institutional green protection.
In terms of the compensation system for ecological and environmental damages, there are still some outstanding problems in China, including the lack of elimination of backward production capacity, illegal pollution discharge by enterprises, lagging behind in cross-border mining and ecological restoration of mines, and illegal construction of nature reserves, etc., which need to strengthen the implementation of the punitive compensation system and further increase the cost of violations, so as to form a deterrent force and provide a reliable guarantee for the construction of ecological civilization.
In terms of encouraging green technology innovation system, it is recommended that relevant departments refine innovation standards and certification systems to promote their application and development in various industries. For example, formulate an environmental protection product certification system, encourage enterprises to produce environmental protection products, and improve market competitiveness. At the same time, strengthen the protection of intellectual property rights for green technologies to ensure their dominant position in market competition.
In terms of green incentive systems, we should further strengthen exploration and practice, increase the enthusiasm of enterprises for green transformation through incentive measures such as tax incentives and government subsidies, and enhance consumers' preference for low-carbon environmental protection products. On the one hand, vigorously develop the green economy, green products and service industries based on the carrying capacity of resources and the capacity of the ecological environment, and urge enterprises to earnestly assume the social responsibility of environmental protection; On the other hand, expand the production and supply of green products, expand the green consumption market, formulate green consumption incentive mechanisms, use social media to promote the concept of green consumption, encourage the promotion of green consumption through social e-commerce and other platforms, live streaming and other channels, and meet the diversified needs of different subjects.
In the construction of green development system, it is also necessary to guide the whole society to form a greener production and lifestyle. To this end, first, we should introduce advanced environmental protection concepts and promote sustainable urban design, including building low-carbon cities, encouraging green travel, and building environmentally friendly communities; Second, we can comprehensively explore, promote and implement the carbon credit system for residents, guide residents to practice low-carbon life in various fields such as clothing, food, housing, use, and transportation, and encourage the public to actively participate in environmental protection affairs; Third, we should strengthen publicity and education on environmental protection, improve the public's awareness of environmental protection and sense of responsibility, and encourage everyone to do their best for the green and sustainable development of the economy and society.
(Author: Wang Defan, researcher of Chongqing Medical University Branch of Chongqing Research Center for Theoretical System of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics, standing director of Civil Procedure Law Research Association of Chongqing Law Society)
