China admits it has a “long way to go” to protect the environment Business and Economics

Beijing’s sincere recognition comes when it sets new goals to reduce emissions and clean up air and water.

China has a “long way to go” to protect the environment, as its State Council approved on Sunday because it announced a “deep” fight against pollution with new targets for cleaner air and water and measures to combat carbon emissions.

The State Council, China’s cabinet, said there have been some improvements in the country’s ecological situation since the start of the anti-pollution campaign, Xinhua state news agency reported.

But the Council said it would be difficult to tackle pollution and ensure that carbon emissions peak in 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, as promised by President Xi Jinping.

China is the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases.

“The campaign to protect ecology and the environment has a long way to go,” the council said in a statement.

China aims to raise the proportion of good water quality in its coastal regions to 79 percent, essentially eliminating polluted weather, effectively controlling soil pollution risks and significantly improving its ability to treat solid waste and new pollutants, the council said.

The government has also pledged to reduce the amount of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides emitted by the oil and chemical industries by at least 10 per cent by 2025 from 2020 to halt the rise in soil ozone pollution.

It will seek to meet its ambitious environmental goals without significantly disrupting economic and industrial activity and people’s daily lives, the council said, adding that the fight against the environment will also be coordinated with other national actions, including energy and food security campaigns.

The Council of State aims to adapt about 93 per cent of polluted agricultural land to agriculture by the end of 2025, above the 90 per cent set by the end of 2020, and to reduce heavy metal waste emitted by key industries by 5 per cent compared to 2020 levels. .

China will focus on key sectors such as energy, steel and transportation in its efforts to reduce carbon emissions, he said.

President Xi has been criticized by, among others, US President Joe Biden for not attending the United Nations climate meeting now taking place in Glasgown, Scotland.

Beijing has also not set any new targets in its national climate change plans, known as the NDC, to be submitted to the UN on a regular basis under the 2015 Paris Agreement to address climate change.