Resource Conservation and Environmental Protection: a Basic National Policy

Environmental protection became a basic national policy in the 1980s, and resource conservation was added to the policy in the 1990s. Since 2012, the CPC Central Committee has made more efforts to ensure the implementation of this policy and fight pollution. Its political bureau held a group study session on eco-civilization in May 2013.

Xi Jinping pointed out at the study session that resource conservation is essential for protecting the environment. China needs to conserve resources and use them efficiently, bring about a fundamental change in the way of resource utilization, increase whole-process conservation control, and dramatically reduce the consumption of energy, water and land resources per unit of GDP. The country needs to vigorously develop a circular economy to reduce resource consumption and waste generation, and re-use and recycle waste in the process of production, distribution and consumption.

A sound eco-environment lays the foundations for sustainable development. Emphasis should be placed on addressing serious environmental problems that pose health hazards to the people, and on taking a holistic approach to preventing and controlling water, air and soil pollution, with the focus on the prevention and control of water pollution in key river basins and air pollution in key regions and industrial sectors.

節約資源和保護環境的基本國策

20世紀80年代和90年代，保護環境和節約資源先后成為中國的基本國策。中共十八大以來，以習近平同志為核心的中共中央，不斷加大節約資源和保護環境基本國策的實施力度，堅決打贏打好污染防治攻堅戰。2013年5月，中共中央政治局就大力推進生態文明建設專門進行了集體學習。習近平強調，節約資源是保護生態環境的根本之策。要大力節約集約利用資源，推動資源利用方式根本轉變，加強全過程節約管理，大幅降低能源、水、土地消耗強度，大力發展循環經濟，促進生產、流通、消費過程的減量化、再利用、資源化。良好生態環境是人和社會持續發展的根本基礎。環境保護和治理要以解決損害群眾健康突出的環境問題為重點，堅持預防為主、綜合治理，強化水、大氣、土壤等污染防治，著力推進重點流域和區域水污染防治，著力推進重點行業和重點區域大氣污染治理。