China actively promotes environmental protection for half a century: minister

BEIJING -- China has made resolute efforts to strengthen environmental protection over the past 50 years following the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment held in Stockholm in 1972, Minister of Ecology and Environment Huang Runqiu said Thursday.

Huang made the remarks while addressing the Stockholm+50 stakeholder consultation in China via video. The ongoing event, co-organized by the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Environment Programme, takes place from April 27 to 29 in Beijing.

It is a part of the Stockholm+50 international meeting to be held in early June in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Stockholm Declaration, which was adopted at the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment.

Hailing the conference as a landmark of joint environmental protection efforts among people around the world, Huang noted that China has put environmental protection high on its agenda since then and made notable progress in resources conservation, sustainable development and international governance.

As the country advanced transformation and upgrading of economic, energy and industrial structures, strategic emerging industries related to energy-saving and environmental protection have grown rapidly and become pillars of the economy.

China is a world leader in using renewable energy resources, with installed capacity of hydropower, wind power, photovoltaic and other non-fossil energy topping 1.1 billion kilowatts. It is also one of the fastest countries worldwide to reduce energy consumption intensity, Huang added.

He also underlined continuous improvements in China's ecological environment. In 2021, the average concentration of PM2.5 in cities at or above the prefecture level decreased by 34.8 percent from 2015, while the proportion of surface water with good quality and forest coverage rate reached 84.9 percent and 23.04 percent, respectively, he said.

China has revised over 30 laws and regulations and released dozens of reform plans related to ecological and environmental protection. It has also facilitated the implementation of international environmental agreements, proposed carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals, and assisted developing countries in green growth.

The country will keep making efforts to promote green and low-carbon development and contribute to global cooperation on environmental protection, Huang said.