A New Kind of Sharing

Abstract

In the late 1970s, when the world community began to build a modern, comprehensive approach to emerging environment and development (E&D) issues, China was still in the early stage of its “reform and opening up.” A decade later, when many Western economy nations had already formed specialized environmental organizations to address rising pollution and other risks, China, like most other developing nations, was struggling with how to address these new problems.

Introduction

In the late 1970s, when the world community began to build a modern, comprehensive approach to emerging environment and development (E&D) issues, China was still in the early stage of its “reform and opening up.” A decade later, when many Western economy nations had already formed specialized environmental organizations to address rising pollution and other risks, China, like most other developing nations, was struggling with how to address these new problems. There was some level of resolve to do so, but there was concern that environmental success would interfere with rising economic growth rates. By the early 1990s, there was both national and international pressure for China to strengthen its environmental protection efforts. The China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED) came into being in 1992 as one important means to accelerate the process of change since it could identify policy needs based on international experience and China’s situation (see CCICED’s current mission and tasks in Box 1.1).

Box 1.1. Mission and Tasks as Defined Currently in CCICED’s Charter

Mission

Inspired and driven by a vision of building towards a more beautiful China and a green and bountiful world, CCICED is committed to promoting ecological civilization and sustainable development by serving as a platform for exchanges on environment and development.

policies between China and the international communities, for promoting collaborative efforts to achieve ecological civilization, and for advocating innovative and better governance system of the global environment.

Tasks

• 1. CCICED will provide policy analysis and recommendations, technical support, best practice experience and early warning in support of the national five-year plans and China’s goal of building a moderately well-off (Xiaokang) society. CCICED will support the implementation of the Chinese government’s socio-economic and sustainable development strategies, the accelerated development of a resource-conserving and environmentally friendly society, and an evidence-based approach to comprehensive, coordinated, and balanced policies covering the environment, the economy, and society.

• 2. CCICED will share research findings with the international community and will focus on the interaction between China and the global environment and development.

• 3. CCICED also will facilitate the Chinese Government’s consideration of Council recommendations, promoting their eventual adoption into policy, legislation, regulations, and operational directives.

• 4. The CCICED will monitor and report on China’s progress in implementing its policy recommendations.

For the past 30 years, since 1992, the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED) has provided policy advice regarding Chinese and international matters on a wide range of problems and strategies related to E&D. This time period covers a significant period when global environmental concerns such as pollution, climate change, and ecological damage have expanded in their complexity and impacts.¹ China has participated in addressing such concerns while at the same time addressing its own set of E&D concerns nationally and locally.² The dramatic changes in China’s economic, social and environmental situation are unprecedented in their scope and intensity—often with combinations of domestic, regional, and global implications. The full impacts, positive and negative, arising from what is now a generation-long transformation are still fresh and not fully understood. China and the world are now on a precipice where ever-greater sustainable development action is needed to prevent our planet from tumbling into very inhospitable environmental conditions. This current decade can become the turning point away from the precipice, and China is well placed to be a leader in this process.

Our report describes a unique long-term partnership to identify policy innovations and strategies for E&D based on both Chinese and international needs and experience. CCICED was initiated by, and inputs directly to, China’s State Council at the highest levels. CCICED draws upon the work and expertise of leading Chinese and international individuals and organizations from a wide array of relevant fields. Our Council operates at the boundary between science and high-priority policy needs. With a relatively flexible organizational setup, CCICED can fast-track advice based on its findings but also at times be reflective and long-term in its perspectives. Its work is knowledge-based and cross-disciplinary, drawing upon many existing sources within and outside of China. This expertise comes from government agencies, research institutions, universities, academies, civil society organizations, the United Nations (UN) and other international agencies, development banks and leading Chinese and international enterprises. CCICED’s output is always based on inputs from a combination of Chinese and international sources.

CCICED reflects a new kind of international/national sharing where very important concerns can be examined with a level of independence, openness, and equal exchange that builds frankness, mutual understanding, and exploration of alternative solutions regarding key E&D issues. CCICED has helped with advice for new pathways and ways to accelerate progress on major economic, fiscal, legal, and social reforms, as well as matters related to organizational needs, strengthened R&D, and mechanisms for piloting, scaling up, and identifying adaptive planning and management needs. There is confidence and trust on the part of both Chinese and international leaders involved that CCICED produces an output of high value worthy of consideration as China formulates new domestic policies for green development and ecological civilization—and as the country enhances its efforts to strengthen sustainable development globally. In 2022, CCICED will initiate its seventh 5-year phase (CCICED Phase VII).

The basic purpose of this CCICED at 30 report is to explain and celebrate what we believe has been accomplished through CCICED’s international cooperation approach and how it was done. The CCICED approach includes: (1) pursuing complex topics over extended time periods; (2) undertaking integrative approaches covering a range of specific topics and linking these to bigger pictures of E&D progress; and (3) defining innovative policy synergies on a scale covering what are now often described as global “environmental emergencies” (pollution, climate change, and biodiversity/ecological protection and restoration.) In fact, our work extends beyond these matters as we must look at underpinnings/drivers such as national and international laws and regulations, market and economic approaches, finance, investment and trade, institution strengthening, public participation, and many of the aspects now identified under the umbrella of the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs).

Some key CCICED achievements³ have been “building awareness of environmental problems and their impacts; identifying methodologies for solutions and needed policy tools; recommending the directions and roadmaps for medium-term policy implementation; relationship-building that opens perspectives and builds capacity to understand best practices and how they can be applied in China, regionally or globally; and successful pilot efforts to implement policy recommendations at local levels.” The range of topics covered is broad:

• Ecological civilization, sustainable development, integrated development

• Green transition

• Green governance

• Rule of law

• Economics, green finance, trade, and investment

• Social development, including civil society participation in environment and development matters, health, and education

• Ecosystems, ecological services, and biodiversity conservation

• Energy, environment, and climate change

• Individual and enterprise E&D concerns and responsibilities, including sustainable consumption.

Planning for sustainable development, conservation, and environmental protection, including the 2030 SDGs in China and internationally.

• Pollution prevention, control, and mitigation

• Regional and global engagement

• Green agriculture, industrialization, urbanization, and transportation

• Science, technology, and innovation.

CCICED at 30 Report

This 30th-anniversary publication provides insights about how CCICED, hosted by China’s State Council but also with many other international and Chinese partners, is recognized as a senior source of independent, trusted policy-related advice to China’s State Council at a leadership level. Through CCICED’s members, research contributors, and supporting organizations, the desire of international bodies and other countries to better engage with China on E&D problems of priority concern can be at least partially met through CCICED’s efforts.

For the several thousand individuals who have participated in one or more CCICED activities, new windows have been opened, friendships and linkages developed, and new ways worked out for understanding and solving the formidable challenges of E&D issues. Some of CCICED’s members and experts, funding bodies, and other partners have been involved with CCICED over its entire 3-decade existence. As priorities shift, new partnerships have emerged, and new insights have helped in its renewal. This report cannot hope to cover the full range of initiatives carried out by CCICED, and it is not intended to serve as an assessment or program review document. All CCICED recommendations, research studies, and major Annual General Meeting (AGM) outputs can be accessed on the Internet in both Chinese and English.

Transformative change towards green and sustainable development has become an overarching objective globally and in China. From CCICED’s start, there has been recognition that initiatives should be seen through the lens of both Chinese and international approaches so that CCICED outputs are formulated as policy advice “with Chinese characteristics.” Over the three decades of our work, we have witnessed many positive changes in E&D relationships, as reviewed in this report. But major challenges remain and demand comprehensive action across government and in the entire society.

Since about 2015 and certainly until 2035, a concerted effort has been underway to build an ecological civilization within China as the fundamental path for future prosperity and security. This two-decade period will lead to new green technology, development shifts, and behavioural changes in production and consumption planning and management that are intended to shape China’s position in the world and complete its transition to becoming a “modernized” country. Central to this effort is building a society harmonious with the natural world by the middle of this century.

The issues covered by CCICED range from very specific topics—such as reduction in mercury use, specific environmental laws, soil pollution, ecological redlining, etc.—to very broad themes, such as biodiversity conservation, energy and climate change, sustainable land, freshwater and ocean use, human and planetary health, global green governance issues, environment and trade, green urbanization, green technology innovation, green finance, and public participation in environmental improvement efforts.

The above topics and many others have been examined in detail through CCICED’s Working Groups (WGs), Task Forces (TFs), Special Policy Studies (SPSs), and Roundtables involving experts from China and abroad. Policy recommendations from their studies are reviewed by CCICED members during CCICED’s AGM prior to their presentation to China’s State Council. Two conditions are (1) that all work be carried out and discussed in a collaborative fashion between international and Chinese experts and CCICED members, and (2) that the finished products be made accessible to all who are interested.⁴ Studies and recommendations are available on the Internet in both Chinese and English.

CCICED’s Chair is a member of the Politburo Standing Committee, at the level of a Vice Premier. A small CCICED Executive (Bureau), headed by China’s Minister for Ecology and Environment and by a person of equivalent rank drawn from the international community, provides oversight. The organization’s Charter has been in place from CCICED’s beginning, and Charter amendments are developed and agreed upon by both the Government of China and the major donors of CCICED, generally at the start of new phases. Formal adoption by members of any changes in the Charter takes place at the CCICED AGM.

Continuity, Change, and Progress Documentation

When CCICED was launched, there was no precedent for the model described above to be found in any country. It remains a unique organization today. CCICED has tapped into the experience and talent of leading figures and organizations within China and internationally to serve as a think tank able to directly provide policy advice to the most senior levels of the Chinese government. At the same time, CCICED builds international understanding on China’s approaches, concerns, and needs related to E&D. There has been unwavering overall financial and other support over 3 decades to enable a broad reach of topics and advice. CCICED has provided input annually to China’s State Council during six five-year phases. Even during the difficult period of COVID-19, CCICED has been able to continue its research and policy work through a combination of in-country and virtual meetings.

For CCICED, the coming 5–10 years may become the most significant period of its existence. Pressing issues such as climate change, biodiversity conservation, ecological restoration, and pollution are now mainstreamed at all levels, from local to global. This new decade, 2021–2030, offers the opportunity to accelerate the pace of transformative change towards sustainable green development. China is better equipped now to deal with E&D issues than it was a decade ago when we produced CCICED at 20.⁵ For the first two decades of CCICED advice, the main focus was on China’s domestic needs. Consideration of China’s global roles on E&D was somewhat limited, especially when the subject of potential E&D leadership was raised. That has changed and likely will change further during this current decade.

CCICED’s very extensive digital trail of WG, TF, and SPS research reports, roundtables, and other special session documentation, plus AGM recommendations to the State Council, and other important documents have been well tapped for this 30th anniversary document.⁶, ⁷ We also have reviewed speeches, research presentations, independent articles, and other documentation. In addition, we have referenced some of the extensive published literature reflecting on China’s E&D progress and challenges, and the roles and approaches China takes on international stages. Together, this information has provided a solid knowledge base to ensure the accuracy of CCICED at 30.

Understanding and Contributing to Policy Development

CCICED advice has been used to bring about transformative change, sometimes quickly, but sometimes in a stepwise approach lasting the full three decades. Drivers of policy transformation, notably those with both domestic and international elements, can create new opportunities but also highlight the complexity of challenges. Hence, policies seen to be useful at one point often later have been re-opened by CCICED for review and improvement, sometimes with drastic changes suggested.

CCICED is one player among many tapped into contributing inputs to any particular policy change in China. Therefore, our approach is to track whether new or revised policies are consistent with our suggestions. Where appropriate, we continue to advocate for positions that we believe are of high importance, even if they have not yet been adopted. One very significant point is the quite dramatic shift in the emphasis of CCICED’s work from an earlier approach focused mainly on China’s domestic E&D policy needs to today’s (and certainly tomorrow’s) interests for mutual sharing of solutions and China’s growing interest in participating in global and regional E&D governance. Of course, China’s domestic environmental concerns are still paramount. We hope that this China at 30 Report will be helpful for planning the approach to CCICED’s new Phase VII (2022–2026).

Transformative Change, Green Development, and “Ecological Civilization”

China plans for another full generation of transformative changes between now and 2060 with continued emphasis on green and sustainable development as the country embraces its own style of ecological civilization and green development.⁸ New Chinese efforts are intended to bridge “Two Centuries,” the first being the time frame from 1921 to 2021 devoted to forming a new nation and its initial transformation into a “moderately prosperous” society where extreme poverty has been eliminated. The second century refers to the period of the “New China” era starting from 1949. The expressed goal is to build a comprehensively prosperous, modern nation with leading characteristics in technology, etc., by 2049. Future changes are intended to address ecological restoration, create a prosperous future where people and nature can live harmoniously, and reach the point where pollution and other environmental issues are fully resolved. Basic modernization requiring transformative changes towards building an ecological civilization is to be in place by 2035. These Chinese aspirations will have to be met over a time frame where many other parts of the world are still far from achieving such lofty goals. Thus, an important question that has been prominent in CCICED’s current sixth phase of work is how China’s experiences, for example, from the ongoing “War on Pollution,” can be made of value to other nations, especially those in the developing world.

China has signalled its intention to become carbon neutral by 2060, addressing the global climate change crisis. And by hosting the Global Convention on Biological Diversity COP 15 (2021–2022 meeting of the Conference of the Parties), China is demonstrating its concern for ecological security. This is in line with the global Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) 2050 objective of achieving a harmonious relationship between humanity and nature. As evidenced by COVID-19, many more challenges are likely to be experienced in the decades ahead, not only for China but also for the broader community of nations, rich and poor. We can assume that the post-COVID style of globalization will be very different from earlier periods, especially from the globalization style as practised from the mid-1990s onwards under the World Trade Organization (WTO) and regional trade agreements. Green growth and investment, green development, and other expressions of high-quality, inclusive development are needed for an environmentally secure global future. What happens in China over the coming half-decade and well beyond is critical for success in meeting global needs such as those covered by the UN 2030 SDGs.

Audience

China at 30 should be of interest not only to individuals already familiar with CCICED but also to others who want to understand how China has been able to construct its E&D initiatives in an adaptive planning and management way. Aspects of the CCICED type of partnership approach may be of special value to other nations, such as those engaged with China on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and for those dealing with environment and trade concerns such as those associated with the circular economy, green development, commodity trade, and green technologies. We hope our report can stimulate interest in many circles. While CCICED at 30 is a contribution to China’s environmental history, its main value is about describing the construction, operation, and outcomes of a trust-based robust national mechanism for international cooperation on E&D. It is a remarkable story about the complexity of change in thinking, policies, and actions as China prepares itself to become an environmentally friendly global citizen.