：生态环境治理的核心是处理环境与发展之间的关系，以实现可持续发展。摘 要：生态环境治理的核心是处理环境与发展之间的关系，以实现可持续发展。本文揭示，传统工业时代形成的生态环境治理思维，更多的是建立在环境保护与发展之间相互冲突的传统工业化发展范式和发展理论基础之上。不仅环境保护与发展之间存在两难关系，当代人与后代人之间在资源分配上，以及国与国之间在分担全球环境责任上，均存在两难关系。这样，传统工业时代的生态环境治理思路，更多的就只能是通过技术进步和提高治理效率来扩大两难冲突的折中空间，难以从根本上解决环境与发展的关系问题。生态文明思维下的生态环境治理，则是通过新发展理念及相应约束条件的改变，促进发展范式的根本转变，形成环境保护与发展之间相互促进的关系，进而实现各国从环境负担分担转向机遇共享的共赢关系，以及实现当代人与后代人的共赢。
China’s manufacturing sector is on the move towards carbon peak and carbonneutrality, but carbon-neutral consumption has yet to take off. As the external constraintsto consumption behaviors, carbon peak and carbon neutrality (CPCN) commitments willtransform energy-dependent modern lifestyle and excessive material consumption andencourage circular and sustainable consumption. According to international experience,low-carbon consumption can be achieved primarily by reducing per capita household andoffice carbon emissions and encouraging e-mobility, low-carbon mobility, recycling andcircular economy. In promoting green and low-carbon consumption, China should focus oneight areas, including food, clothing, transportation, housing, consumer goods and energy.Among them, a priority is to prevent food waste and establish a new food culture. Foodwaste stems from various reasons, such as communal dining, the profit-driven businesspractices of catering companies, the influence of traditional dining culture, and diningon public funds. We suggest conducting special research and pilot programs on greenand low-carbon dining consumption, involving the masses, and exploring ways for theimplementation of the Anti-Food Waste Law.
Carbon peak and carbon neutrality are both important goals in the Chinesegovernment’s plans for future economic development. With heterogeneous resourceendowments, economic and technological levels, and industrial structures across China’smany regions, regional differentiation can significantly affect the design of pathwaystoward achieving carbon peak and carbon neutrality. Regionally coordinated low-carbondevelopment may be the only way for the Chinese government to mitigate supply anddemand imbalances in the distribution of energy resources and green technologies. China’sinterregional energy industry and pollution abatement collaboration have also createdconditions for regional collaboration in low-carbon development. Nevertheless, successfulregional coordination for low-carbon development requires overcoming the institutionalproblems.
The carbon neutrality goal is of far-reaching influence to China’s socioeconomicsystems. Domestically, carbon neutrality will promote China’s high-qualityeconomic development and green transition. Internationally, it represents an opportunityfor China to lead the global low-carbon technology development. Yet daunting challengeslie ahead for this ambitious goal to be achieved in such a short time. As a driving force oftechnology progress, innovation plays a pivotal role in achieving carbon neutrality, butis faced with many obstacles in China, including the currently low level of innovation,institutional inadequacies, lack of innovation input, and inadequate fundamental conditions.Under the vision of carbon neutrality, we should identify technology innovation pathwayson the three aspects of energy supply, energy consumption and carbon sink. Following thosetechnology pathways, progress should be made in technology development in various stageswith different priorities and objectives based on China’s energy mix and industrial carbonemission characteristics. On the policy side, we should deepen top-down design, enhancestrategic researches, expedite technology development and commercialization, and fosterR&D talents to bring out the full potentials of technology innovation in supporting carbonneutrality.
The Report to the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China(CPC)called for steadfastly implementing the new philosophy of “innovative, coordinated,green, open, and shared” development, for expediting China’s green and low-carboneconomic transition, and for developing a so-called “ecological civilization with Chinesecharacteristics.” As an extensive and profound socio-economic transformation in buildinga strong, modern nation, the green and low-carbon transition is viewed as an essentialrequirement for creating an ecological civilization in line with Xi Jinping Thought onSocialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. The transition reflects thecommitment of the CPC to its original aspirations to increase the welfare of the people andthe principle of putting the people first as well as China’s resolve and ambition to confrontclimate change issues.
The key of environmental governance is to tackle the environment-developmentrelationship so to achieve sustainability. This paper reveals that the traditional concept ofenvironmental governance that took hold in the industrial era is rooted in the traditionaldevelopment paradigm and theory that conflict environmental protection with economicdevelopment. Dilemmas exist not only between the environment and development, but in theresource distribution between current and future generations and in the sharing of globalenvironmental responsibilities among countries. Consequently, in the traditional industrialera, environmental governance mainly focused on broadening the space of compromiseby facilitating technology progress and raising efficiency, which is hard to solve theunderlying environment-development conflict. Under the concept of ecological civilization,environmental governance brings about a mutually-beneficial relationship betweenenvironmental protection and economic development and thus could turn environmentalburden into a shared opportunity among countries, and into a “win-win” relationshipbetween current and future generations.