China and sustainable development
Why is China important for sustainable development?
China is home to one in five people on earth and is
currently the world's fourth largest economy.
Its impressive
economic performance in recent years has brought great benefits to the global
economy and consumers around the world - but there have been environmental and
social costs.
In a world of increasing economic and ecological
interdependence, the UK needs to work in partnership with China to
tackle common challenges such as deforestation, the depletion of fish
resources and, ultimately, the protection of our fragile planet.
The sheer size of China's own environmental problems means they have
an impact across the whole world, and this should concern us all,
wherever we live. Furthermore, with its economy set
to quadruple in size within one generation, we all have a common
stake in improving China’s domestic environmental performance.
Working with China will be important to realising our own
environmental aspirations. Many of the goods we consume are produced
in the country. If we are serious about reducing the environmental impacts
of our own lifestyles, we need to work closely with China to improve
its environmental standards.
What is China already doing?
The Chinese government and people are, understandably, very
concerned about the deleterious environmental and social impacts of
rapid economic growth. Over the last decade, the number of mass
protests in China has increased tenfold, with the majority of cases
related to pollution and land grabs for urban development.
The creation of a so-called "Harmonious Society" has therefore
become a priority for the government, and addressing environmental
deterioration and rising income inequality are considered to be
crucial to achieving this. For a lower middle income country, this
emphasis on the sustainability of growth is remarkable.
The Chinese government’s commitment to environmental improvement is
clearly signalled in the setting of very ambitious targets for
pollution reduction, energy efficiency improvements, increasing
forest coverage, and increasing water and garbage treatment. These
objectives are backed by a raft of concrete measures, including
legislative change, fiscal and financial incentives, regulatory
reform, public private partnerships, research and development. The
economic stimulus package that the government announced recently
includes about £35 billion investment in ecological improvement.
How is the UK collaborating with China?
The UK-China Sustainable Development Dialogue (SDD) is the main
vehicle for cooperation with China on sustainable development.
The SDD is a broad partnership between the UK and China that promotes
collaboration and the exchange of good practice in sustainable
development. It covers five thematic areas:
- sustainable consumption and production
- natural resource management
- governance and capacity building for sustainable
development
- sustainable urban development
- financing for sustainable
development (to start in 2009).
Since its official launch in November 2005, the SDD has evolved into a genuinely cross-governmental platform for policy exchanges and
technical collaboration, involving the active participation of 17
government departments, and agencies from both countries. It also
engages a range of stakeholders from government, academia, business
and civil society, many of whom are now taking forward specific projects.
To date, over 40 projects have been carried out, covering a range of
sustainable development issues, including: forestry, fisheries,
agriculture, biodiversity, sustainable urban development, chemicals
management, business resource use efficiency, environmental
governance and capacity enhancement. A number of working groups have
also been established.
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