Report on the State of the Environment in China 2014
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2014 The 2014 Report on the State of the Environment in China is hereby announced in accordance with the Environmental Protection Law of the People's Republic of China. Minister of Environmental Protection The People’s Republic of China May 19, 2015 2014 Pollutant Discharge ................................................................................... 1 Freshwater Environment ...........................................................................5 Marine Environment ............................................................................... 19 Atmospheric Environment ......................................................................23 Acoustic Environment ............................................................................. 29 Radiation Environment ........................................................................... 31 Natural and Ecological Environment .....................................................35 Land and Rural Environment ................................................................40 Forest Environment .................................................................................43 Grassland Environment .......................................................................... 44 Climate and Natural Disasters ............................................................... 46 Transportation .........................................................................................53 Energy ...................................................................................................... 55 Data Sources and Evaluation ................................................................. 57 Environmental Protection Law................................................................. 4 International Cooperation on Environmental Protection .................... 18 2014 Annual General Meeting of China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development................................... 30 County-level Eco-environmental Quality Monitoring, Assessment and Evaluation in National Key Ecological Functional Areas .................... 34 Environmental Incidents and Their Settlement.....................................39 Remote Sensing for Environmental Monitoring ...................................45 EIA Approval Reform ............................................................................. 52 Mid-term Evaluation of the 12th Five-Year Plan for Environmental Protection and the13th Five-Year Plan ...................................................54 Full Implementation of the New Ambient Air Quality Standards in 338 Cities at or above the Prefecture Level .................................................. 56 2014 Xi Jinping delivered an important speech at the Central Economic Work Conference in Beijing during December 9-11, 2014. From the perspective of resource and environmental bottlenecks, the environmental carrying capacity is reaching the upper limits. The Conference highlighted that we must promote green, low-carbon, and circular development, in order to meet the people's expectations of a favorable ecological environment. Photo by Xinhua News Agency Li Keqiang, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Premier of the State Council, presided over the working meeting on energy conservation and emission reduction in Beijing on March 21, 2014. Li said that we have made new progress last year, but still face an arduous task this year, with an aim to cut the energy intensity by 3.9% while maintaining a 7.5% economic growth. We are unswerving in energy conservation and emission reduction despite the downward pressure on the economy and challenges to stable growth. To achieve the target, we are embarking on new ways to boost economic development and reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions, in a responsible attitude to the current and future generations. Photo by Xinhua News Agency 2014 In 2014 we ushered in a new era of deepening reform. In the face of complicated and volatile international situation and arduous task of reform, development and stability, following the general guideline of making progress while ensuring stability, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the State Council of China united with and led the people of all nationalities in adapting to the new normal and pushed forward sustainable, stable economic and social development. Local governments and departments firmly implemented the decisions and deployments of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, and with reform and innovation as the driving force and problem-solving as orientation, achieved positive progress in environmental protection. First, a new step forward has been made in the prevention and control of air, water and soil pollution. The Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Air Pollution was put into practice. 1) Pollution control in key industries was intensified. Air pollution governance programs were printed and issued for key industries in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region, Yangtze River Delta (YRD), Pearl River Delta (PRD) and the surrounding areas. The Action Plan to Upgrade the Quality of Refined Oil for Air Pollution Prevention and Control, the Program for the Comprehensive Management of Volatile Organic Compounds in the Petrochemical Industry, and the action program to promote oil and gas recovery technologies in piers were rolled out. This year, the outdated and excess production capacity was eliminated, involving 31.1 mil. t of steel, 81 mil. t of cement, and 37.6 mil. weight boxes of plate glass. More than 6 mil. yellow-label vehicles and old and used cars and 55,000 small coal-fired boilers were removed. 2) Regional cooperation was enhanced. The task of air quality assurance during the Beijing Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit and Nanjing Youth Olympic Games was satisfactorily completed. In particular, the “APEC Blue” was staged with excellent air quality in four days and good in seven days and the average concentration of pollutants fell to the five-year lowest levels. 3) Regulation of atmospheric environmental law enforcement was tightened. By high-tech means of satellite and unmanned aerial vehicles, environmental protection departments carried out special inspections monthly through joint enforcement, cross-department enforcement and regional enforcement and the results are communicated to local governments and to the public. 4) The monitoring and early warning system was improved. The 1,436 monitoring sites in 338 cities at or above the prefecture level are all capable of monitoring according to the new ambient air quality standards. Regional air quality forecasting and early warning platforms have been basically built in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta. 5) The supporting policies were introduced at a quicker pace. The State Council printed and distributed the Performance Assessment Measures 2014 for the Action Plan for Air Pollution Prevention and Control (Trial), according to which, 19 policy measures and 20 pollutant emission standards were released. 6) The foundation was consolidated. The Central Government has arranged a special fund of 10 bn. yuan to support air pollution prevention and control. The Clean Air Research Program and the Blue Sky Technology Program were launched, Collection of Advanced Technologies for Air Pollution Prevention and Control unveiled, and results about source apportionment of atmospheric particulates in Beijing, Tianjin, Shijiazhuang and Shanghai published. Through these efforts, the mean annual concentration of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in 74 cities at StageⅠof the new Ambient Air Quality Standards was reduced by 11.1% to 64 µg/m3 this year. Water pollution prevention and control was advanced. The Action Plan for Water Pollution Prevention and Control (Draft for Approval) was prepared. China assessed the performance of water pollution control plans in major river basins, talked with leaders of local governments failing in the assessment, and restricted the examination and approval of regional environmental impact assessment (EIA). With the prior approval of the State Council, Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP), in conjunction with other departments, printed and distributed the Master Plan for Eco-environment Protection of Lakes with Good Water Quality (2013-2020). The Central Government allocated 5.5 bn. yuan to better protect 55 lakes with good water quality. Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (MOHURD) and National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) actively promoted urban water conservation, while Ministry of Water Resources (MWR) and Ministry of Land and Resources (MLR) launched the national groundwater monitoring project. Soil pollution prevention and control was strengthened. MEP drafted, jointly with relevant departments, the Action Plan for Soil Pollution Prevention and Control and issued, in conjunction with MLR, the Bulletin on National Soil Pollution Survey. The Central Government allocated 5.9 bn. yuan to support the pollution control and prevention of contiguous polluted rural areas. Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) conducted a general survey and dynamic monitoring of heavy metal soil contamination in agricultural producing areas and implemented restoration projects in nine areas. The formula fertilizer project implemented this year helped to save nearly 2 mil. t of fertilizer. Second, the annual task of reducing total emissions was