Despite the successful completion of eight binding indicators in the field of ecological environment in 2021, achieving dual reductions in PM2.5 and ozone concentrations for two consecutive years, and achieving a good start in ecological environment protection during the 14th Five Year Plan period, the turning point of China's ecological environment quality from quantitative to qualitative change has not yet arrived.

At the February regular press conference held by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment this morning (February 23), Sun Shouliang, Director of the Comprehensive Department of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, stated that China's ecological civilization construction is in a stage of pressure accumulation and heavy progress, and ecological environment protection still faces many pressures and challenges.

He introduced that currently, the structural pressure on ecological environment protection in China is still significant, and the tasks of industrial restructuring and energy transformation development are still relatively heavy. The foundation for improving the ecological environment is not yet stable. The pollution problem in key regions and industries is still prominent, and the turning point of ecological environment quality from quantitative to qualitative change has not yet arrived. The capacity and level of ecological environment governance need to be improved, and there are prominent shortcomings in environmental infrastructure.

The monitoring data released by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment today shows that in 2021, the proportion of days with good air quality in prefecture level and above cities nationwide reached 87.5%, an increase of 0.5 percentage points year-on-year; The concentration of PM2.5 reached 30 micrograms/cubic meter, a year-on-year decrease of 9.1%; The ozone concentration was 137 micrograms per cubic meter, a year-on-year decrease of 0.7%. The proportion of Class I-III surface water quality sections in China has increased by 1.5 percentage points year-on-year. The target for reducing carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP is expected to meet the schedule requirements of the 14th Five Year Plan.
Sun Shouliang revealed that the "14th Five Year Plan for Ecological Environment Protection" (hereinafter referred to as the "Plan") has been listed as a national key special plan. According to the deployment requirements of the State Council, the preparation of the "Plan" is led by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, and the work of each link has been successfully completed. The text of the "Plan" is being made public to the society according to the procedure.

In addition, various special plans in the field of ecological environment and action plans for various iconic battles in pollution prevention and control have been basically completed synchronously and are being gradually introduced.

When answering questions from reporters about the highlights and innovations of the "Plan", Sun Shouliang introduced that the "Plan" effectively deals with "two relationships". One is the relationship between "stability and progress", emphasizing the pursuit of progress while maintaining stability, and promoting high-quality economic development and high-level ecological environment protection in a coordinated manner; The second is the relationship between quantity and quality, which is not only about pursuing changes in quantity, but also emphasizes the improvement of quality, emphasizing the development of connotation and the sense of gain for the masses.

"That is to say, if you want face, you need inner integrity; if you want appearance, you need quality," said Sun Shouliang.

At the press conference, Sun Shouliang also revealed that the Ministry of Ecology and Environment will further deepen the "streamlining administration and delegating powers and improving services" reform this year, continuously improve the top-level design and implementation of policies and mechanisms to support the green development of service enterprises, and continue to promote overall solutions for ecological environment, custody services, and third-party governance. Enterprises supporting projects such as desulfurization, denitrification, dust removal, carbon capture, utilization, and storage are eligible for income tax incentives, and pilot projects for climate investment and financing are being launched. Manage the second performance cycle of the national carbon emission trading market and improve the ecological protection compensation system. Establish a reasonable burden mechanism for environmental costs, so as to provide greater and better market space for green products, green technologies, and green processes.