China makes notable achievements in environmental protection: report

BEIJING -- China has made notable achievements in protecting and improving the environment, noted a report on environmental protection law enforcement.

It was submitted to the ongoing session of the National People's Congress Standing Committee for deliberation on Tuesday, which runs from Aug. 30 to Sept. 2.

In 2021, the air quality of cities was good or excellent for 87.5 percent of the year. The number of days of heavy air pollution had fallen by 53.6 percent compared to 2015, the year the revised law on environmental protection went into effect, according to the report.

The country also enjoys clean water, read the report. The proportion of excellent and good-quality surface water reached 84.9 percent, while that of sub-standard Class V surface water dropped to 1.2 percent.

As for the prevention and control of solid waste pollution, the country enforced a ban on importing waste, promoted household waste sorting, and strengthened the supervision of hazardous waste.

Due to the efforts of law implementation, the natural ecosystems have become stable and positive, read the report. China's forest cover and stock volume have maintained growth, and the country has realized the most growth in forest resources among all countries in the world, said the report.

Efforts were also made to promote the production and use of clean energy. China has led the world in the development and utilization of renewable energy, as well as the output and sales of new energy vehicles.

The report noted the legislative efforts in environmental protection. It pointed out there are currently more than 30 laws concerning ecological and environmental protection, over 100 administrative regulations, and over 1,000 local regulations in effect.

The report also highlighted the strict law enforcement and supervision. From 2015 to 2021, China brought 175,000 prosecutions against 284,000 people suspected of crimes related to environmental and resource damage, and the courts across the country dealt with more than 977,000 environmental and resource cases of the first instance.