From January 23rd to 24th, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment held the 2024 National Conference on Ecological Environment Protection in Beijing. Sun Jinlong, Secretary of the Party Group of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, attended the meeting and delivered a speech, while Huang Runqiu, Minister of Ecology and Environment, attended the meeting and delivered a work report.
The conference pointed out that 2023 was the first year of implementing the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and also marked an important milestone in the field of ecological environment. The CPC Central Committee held the National Ecological Environmental Protection Conference again after five years. General Secretary Xi Jinping attended the conference and delivered an important speech, providing a fundamental guide and action plan for strengthening ecological environmental protection and comprehensively promoting the construction of a beautiful China in the new journey. The national ecological environment system should deeply comprehend the decisive significance of the "Two Establishments," enhance the "Four Consciousnesses," strengthen the "Four Self-Confidences," and achieve the "Two Maintenances." They should thoroughly promote the study, publicity, and implementation of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speech and Xi Jinping's Thought on Ecological Civilization. By deeply grasping the "Four Major Transformations," "Five Major Relationships," "Six Major Tasks," and "One Major Requirement," they should strengthen historical self-confidence, deepen understanding of laws, anchor forward directions, shoulder political responsibilities, and strive to write a new chapter in ecological civilization construction in the new era.
The conference emphasized that promoting China's modernization in the Chinese way to comprehensively advance the construction of a powerful country and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is the central task of the whole Party and the people of all ethnic groups in the new era and on the new journey. It is necessary to firmly grasp the promotion of China's modernization in the Chinese way as the biggest politics, embrace the "great matters of the country," dare to take on responsibilities, earnestly perform duties, vigorously implement work, and become the vanguard and main force in the construction of a beautiful China. It is necessary to firmly grasp the theme and primary task of promoting high-quality development, promote the construction of a green, low-carbon, and circular economic system, and achieve a benign interaction between high-level protection, high-quality environment, and high-quality development. In the process of green transformation, efforts should be made to achieve effective qualitative improvement and reasonable quantitative growth in development. It is necessary to firmly grasp the fundamental principle of precise, scientific, and law-based pollution control, continuously improve working methods, put in meticulous effort, identify the main direction of attack, take measures to address both symptoms and root causes according to objective laws, understand, know, and apply the law, and resolutely rectify formalism and bureaucratism issues such as simplification and "one-size-fits-all." It is necessary to firmly grasp reform and innovation as an important magic weapon, further strengthen goal-oriented and problem-oriented approaches, promote system integration and mechanism innovation in a coordinated way, enhance the systematicness, integrity, and coordination of reform measures, and continuously improve the modernization level of ecological environmental governance. It is necessary to firmly grasp cadres as the decisive factor, focus on improving the capabilities and skills of the ecological environmental protection team, continuously strengthen work style construction, and forge an iron army for ecological environmental protection with a thorough spirit of self-revolution.
The conference believed that in the past year, facing the severe and complex situation of ecological environmental protection, under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as its core and the scientific guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, the national ecological environment system fully implemented the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the Second Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, earnestly studied and implemented the spirit of the National Ecological Environmental Protection Conference, rose to the challenge and actively acted, promoted high-quality economic development and high-level ecological environmental protection in a coordinated way, vigorously promoted the construction of a beautiful China, and, while fully supporting and serving the overall improvement of economic operation, withstood multiple pressures such as extremely unfavorable meteorological conditions, and achieved stable improvement in ecological environmental quality. Firstly, it conscientiously implemented the decisions and deployments of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, promoted the issuance of the "Opinions on Comprehensively Promoting the Construction of a Beautiful China," strengthened the research, publicity, and interpretation of Xi Jinping's Thought on Ecological Civilization, organized and conducted the first batch of the third round of central ecological environmental protection inspections, and formulated and implemented several measures for the ecological environment to promote steady growth and serve high-quality development. Secondly, it adhered to precise, scientific, and law-based pollution control, continued to effectively fight the blue sky, clear water, and pure land defense battles, and strengthened the treatment of solid waste and new pollutants. Thirdly, it actively promoted green and low-carbon development, established and improved the system of ecological environment sub-regional management and control, vigorously promoted ecological environmental protection work related to major regional strategies, steadily carried out collaborative innovation in pollution reduction and carbon reduction. It further promoted work on addressing climate change, successfully concluded the second compliance period of the national carbon emissions trading market, and launched the national voluntary carbon emissions trading market. Fourthly, it continuously consolidated the ecological environmental safety defense line, strengthened the supervision of ecological protection and restoration, enhanced biodiversity conservation, effectively managed ecological environmental safety, and strictly supervised nuclear and radiation safety. Fifthly, it focused on building a modern environmental governance system, promoted the implementation of major reform measures, improved the system of laws, regulations, and standards, strengthened innovations in ecological environmental governance, continuously improved the level of ecological environmental monitoring and law enforcement efficiency, strengthened financial support, carried out civil actions, and deeply participated in global environmental and climate governance.
The conference pointed out that building a Beautiful China is a long-term and arduous strategic task and systematic project. It is necessary to clearly recognize the current situation facing ecological environmental protection, and to anchor the goal of building a Beautiful China, advancing it in stages and with plans. At this stage, we should focus on the target tasks for the "14th Five-Year Plan" period and up to 2027, expanding and consolidating the achievements in pollution prevention and control, and continuously and stably improving the quality of the ecological environment, in order to make a good start and lay a solid foundation for comprehensively advancing the construction of Beautiful China. We should take the construction of Beautiful China pilot zones as the focal point, and advance in a hierarchical manner to create demonstration models for the construction of Beautiful China; take promoting high-quality development as the theme, and simultaneously advance high-quality development and high-level protection; take promoting the synergistic enhancement of pollution reduction and carbon reduction as the main line, and fight key battles in the pollution prevention and control campaign; take strengthening the coordination of goals, the coordination of multi-pollutant control, departmental coordination, regional coordination, and policy coordination as the orientation, and enhance the level of ecological environmental governance; take strengthening the unified supervision of ecological protection and restoration as the breakthrough, and enhance the diversity, stability, and sustainability of ecosystems; and take adhering to the principle of combining incentives and constraints as the principle, and enhance the internal motivation of all parties to protect the ecological environment.
The conference emphasized that 2024 is the 75th anniversary of the founding of New China, a crucial year for achieving the target tasks of the "14th Five-Year Plan," and an important year for comprehensively advancing the construction of Beautiful China. To do well in ecological environmental protection work, we must take Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, especially Xi Jinping's Thought on Ecological Civilization, as our guide, comprehensively implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the Second Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, as well as the spirit of the Central Economic Work Conference, thoroughly implement the spirit of the National Ecological Environmental Protection Conference, adhere to seeking progress while ensuring stability, promoting stability through progress, and establishing before breaking, emphasize precise pollution control, scientific pollution control, and pollution control according to the law, take the construction of Beautiful China as the overall goal, and synergistically promote carbon reduction, pollution reduction, green expansion, and growth, continue to overcome difficulties and deepen reforms and innovations, promote continuous and stable improvement in ecological environmental quality, support high-quality development with high-level protection, and work with vigor and vitality to build a Beautiful China where humans and nature coexist in harmony.
The conference determined the following eight key tasks to be focused on in 2024. First, actively promote the construction of Beautiful China pilot zones. Push for the establishment of an implementation system and a promotion and implementation mechanism for the construction of Beautiful China, research and formulate a system of performance assessment indicators and assessment methods, and promote local practices for the construction of Beautiful China at different levels. Second, consistently fight the battle against pollution prevention and control. Fight the blue skies, clear waters, and pure land defense battles with higher standards, and strengthen the governance of solid waste and new pollutants. Third, actively promote green and low-carbon high-quality development. Fully serve and support the sustained improvement of economic operation, deeply promote the collaborative innovation of pollution reduction and carbon reduction in cities and industrial parks. Promote the implementation of major projects in the field of ecological environment. Actively respond to climate change, improve the national carbon trading market, and strengthen daily supervision of carbon market data quality. Fourth, increase the supervision of ecological protection and restoration. Strengthen the investigation and rectification of ecological damage issues, promote the implementation of major biodiversity conservation projects, and strengthen the prevention and control of ecological security risks. Fifth, ensure nuclear and radiation safety. Promote the establishment of a modern nuclear safety regulatory system, strengthen the operational supervision and environmental supervision of nuclear power plants, research reactors, and nuclear fuel cycle facilities, and strengthen the decommissioning and treatment of key nuclear facilities. Sixth, strengthen ecological environmental supervision, law enforcement, and risk prevention. Deeply promote central ecological environmental protection inspections, continuously improve the efficiency of ecological environmental supervision and law enforcement, and strengthen environmental risk prevention and control and emergency response to environmental incidents. Seventh, vigorously promote scientific and technological innovation in the field of ecological environment. Strengthen the construction of ecological environmental science and technology platforms, build strategic scientific and technological forces in the field of ecological environment, promote the transformation of ecological environmental scientific and technological achievements, and expand the application of digital technology. Eighth, accelerate the improvement of the modern environmental governance system. Deepen reforms in the field of ecological environment, improve laws, regulations, policies, and standards related to the ecological environment, accelerate the establishment of a modern ecological environment monitoring system, promote nationwide action for ecological and environmental protection, and deepen international dialogue and cooperation in the field of ecology and climate.
At the conference, the principal responsible comrades of the ecological environment departments (bureaus) of Tianjin, Heilongjiang, Fujian, Hunan, Guangdong, Tibet Autonomous Region, and Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region made exchange speeches. Shanxi, Zhejiang, Shandong, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and Sichuan's ecological environment departments made written exchanges.
Zhao Yingmin, member of the Party Leadership Group and Deputy Director-General of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, presided over the opening ceremony. Guo Fang, member of the Party Leadership Group and Deputy Director-General of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Liao Xiyuan, member of the Party Leadership Group and Head of the Discipline Inspection and Supervision Group of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection stationed at the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Dong Baotong, member of the Party Leadership Group and Deputy Director-General of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Liu Bingjiang, Chief Engineer of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, some retired leaders and cadres attended the meeting.
Representatives from relevant departments of the central and state governments, relevant central enterprises, heads of the ecological environment departments (bureaus) of all provinces (autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the central government), the Ecological Environment Bureau of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, and the Military Facilities Construction Bureau of the Logistics Support Department of the Central Military Commission; comrades responsible for the Discipline Inspection and Supervision Group stationed at the Ministry; party and government principals of all departments of the Ministry, all dispatched institutions, direct subordinate units, and related units; and cadres at the department head level and above from the Ministry's departments attended the meeting. Cadres at the department head level and above from the Ministry's departments attended the meeting as observers.
Source: Ministry of Ecology and Environment
