Report on the Work of the Government was the most important document released in the two sessions period (the National People's Congress and the Chinese Political Consultative Conference). The report is a review of the work of the government, and an introduction of the work plan and targets of the coming year. The author quotes all the key points of the report, with a special focus on the sustainability issues as follows:
Energy
- Strengthen energy conservation and emissions reduction and impose a ceiling on total energy consumption. This year, we aim to cut energy intensity by more than 3.9%. The emissions of sulfur dioxide and chemical oxygen demand will both be reduced by 2%.
- Strengthen environmental protection, energy consumption, and technology standards; abolish preferential policies; absorb some excess production capacity and strictly control increases in production capacity in industries with severe overcapacity.
- Raise the proportion of electricity generated by non-fossil fuel, develop smart grids and promote balanced distribution of energy resources, encourage the development of wind and solar power and biomass energy, and start construction of a number of hydropower and nuclear power projects.
- Strengthen exploration, exploitation and utilization of natural gas, coal seam gas and shale gas.
- Reform pricing of resource products and establish a sound system of tiered pricing for household water and gas consumption.
- Enhance energy efficiency of buildings and subsidize the production of energy-efficient products; develop clean production, green and low-carbon technologies and the circular economy; and become better able to respond to climate change.
- Implement the functional zoning system and give impetus to the establishment of trans-regional and cross-watershed mechanisms to compensate for ecological damage.
- Reform the resource tax, and move ahead with legislation on environmental protection tax.
Pollution prevention
- Take strong measures to strengthen pollution prevention and control, starting by reducing PM10 and PM2.5 emissions.
- Improve the new mechanism involving government, enterprises and the general public, coordinate prevention and control efforts in affected regions, and fully implement the action plan for preventing and controlling air pollution.
- The emissions of sulfur dioxide and chemical oxygen demand will both be reduced by 2%.
- Implement the clean water action plan, strengthen the protection of sources of drinking water, prevent and control water pollution in key river basins.
- Carry out land restoration.
- Control non-point agricultural source pollution and build beautiful rural areas.
Social governance
- Promote innovation in social governance, focusing on law-based governance and involve all parties in social governance.
- Get social organizations to play a bigger role in delivering public services and exercising social governance.
Work safety and compliance
- Strictly enforce laws and regulations on workplace safety, fully implement the responsibility system for it, and resolutely prevent the occurrence of major and very serious work-related accidents.
- Energetically build a system for combating corruption and upholding integrity, resolutely investigate corruption cases, and penalize offenders without mercy in accordance with the law.
- Apply the strictest possible oversight, punishment and accountability to prevent and control food contamination and ensure that every bite of food we eat is safe.
Transparency
- Move faster to put in place a social credibility system, share more government information between government departments and with the public.
- Implement a blacklisting system for enterprises that violate market competition principles and infringe on the rights and interests of consumers.
- Make those who lose credibility pay the price and smooth the way for those who have credibility.
Trade and cooperation
- Foster a new open-economy system and advance a new round of opening up to embrace the international market. This will lead to deeper reform and structural adjustment and enhance China's ability to compete internationally.
- Make progress in negotiations on agreements concerning trade in services, government procurement and information technology, and speed up negotiations on new areas such as environmental protection.
Public welfare
- Improve rural infrastructure such as roads, telecommunications services, and water, electricity and methane supply.
- Give high priority to resolving problems facing children, women and older people who are left behind in rural villages by rural migrant workers working in cities.
- Safe drinking water will be made available to another 60 million rural residents.
- Develop services for the elderly, protect women's rights and interests.
- Care for the wellbeing of young people, better protect minors, meet the basic living needs of families in straits.
- Provide adequate basic public services to the disabled and effectively prevent disabilities.
- Take targeted measures to ensure that assistance reaches poverty-stricken villages and households.
- Guide nongovernmental forces to participate in poverty alleviation.
Industry in focus
Finance:
- Promote the healthy development of Internet banking.
- Ensure that financial services play an active role in meeting the needs of the real economy, including small and micro businesses, agriculture, rural areas, and farmers.
- Actively develop agricultural insurance and explore how to establish a catastrophe insurance system.
ICT:
- Implement China's broadband strategy.
- Speed up the development of 4G mobile communications.
- Build 100M fiber optic networks in cities and extend broadband connectivity to rural villages.
- Encourage the creati*ve development of e-commerce.
- Safeguard cyber-security.
- Promote the healthy development of Internet banking.
- Cut distribution costs and encourage development of logistics and delivery, express delivery services, and online shopping.
Manufacture:
- Reduce outdated production capacity of 27 million metric tons of steel, 42 million metric tons of cement and 35 million standard containers of plate glass.
- Strictly enforce laws and regulations on workplace safety, fully implement the responsibility system for it, and resolutely prevent the occurrence of major and very serious work-related accidents.
Food and beverage:
- Strictly follow laws and regulations and comply with standards, and apply the strictest possible oversight, punishment and accountability to prevent and control food contamination and ensure that every bite of food we eat is safe.
Edited by Guo Peiyuan and Valentina Wu
This article was published in China ESG Monitor (March 2014) -- a monthly newsletter highlighting ESG trends and research relevant to sustainable investment in China.
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