The PRC’s development from 1949 to the present day has been marked by many more transformative changes than most other nations have experienced over that same time period. Much of China’s change initially focused on meeting basic needs linked to a new nation with a predominantly rural and poor population. Importantly, the 1978 “Opening Up” policy quickly became dominated by rapid economic growth as the central focus. In 1978, China’s permanent urban population was less than 20%; soon, it will be 70%. While urbanization has promoted major transformative shifts in population, it is also very important to recognize that very significant E&D needs exist in the countryside and will take decades to address. Current rural vitalization policies emphasize that “by 2050, rural areas should have robust agriculture, beautiful landscapes and prosperous farmers.”Footnote 1

Structural to Transformative Change

China’s guiding economic approach from the 1980s onwards into the early 2000s was “structural change” in keeping with economic theories promoted internationally and within countries at that time.Footnote 2 Early development emphasized food production and other extractive aspects of natural resource uses consistent with primary sector development.

From the first decade of the new century onwards in China, this emphasis gradually shifted to include major efforts for secondary sector development with the rise of industrial production and manufacturing coupled with international trade successes. This was a mixed transformational and structural stage that required greater attention to energy and other infrastructure, both generally linked closely to urban development. By 2004, China became the world’s largest single consumer of concrete and steel, among other materials. China’s entry into the WTO created unbelievably high economic growth rates, and the ensuing relative prosperity brought about a major emphasis on tertiary service sectors.

Despite international financial disruptions in 2008, structural change continued to play a major role with still high economic growth rates, while government modernized systems for all three main sectors. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in China went from very low to the world’s largest in terms of both total production and consumption, although the picture shifts when the figures are translated into per capita and historically cumulative emissions.

Environmental quality achievements failed to keep up with economic growth impacts. The race for financial prosperity came without adequate attention and capacity to address pollution control, sustainable land and water use, and other serious E&D concerns. While modern environmental controls lagged in priority during China’s governance in earlier years, by 1990, a basic system for environmental protection was in placeFootnote 3 through vigorous efforts of pioneers such as Qu Geping, who had become China’s first environmental administrator.

By 1992, when the global community at the Rio Earth Summit initiated policy pathways towards sustainable development, China’s government made the transformative decision of linking E&D by setting up CCICED and various other ways it treated the environment. The debate in formulating the Council’s work plans and the advice provided to the Government of China has never been about environment alone. Instead, the focus has always been on the complex relationships between the two. CCICED’s efforts have focused on transformative change to some extent throughout all six phases of its efforts, although not always headlined with that phrase. Yet much of the first two decades of CCICED work had to be directed towards dealing with the consequences of past structural change.

Some of the architects of the ground-breaking 1994 China Agenda 21 were members of CCICED at that time, notably Ms. Deng Nan, a daughter of Deng Xiaoping. At the 1994 CCICED AGM, she presented the framework of this White Paper on China’s Population, Environment and Development in the 21st Century.Footnote 4 She reminded those present that CCICED had discussed the formulation of the document during the September 2003 AGM and that these comments had been helpful in the document’s drafting: “We hope that the future work of the CCICED will be closely linked with the implementation of China’s Agenda 21. We will extensively absorb the knowledge, wisdom and experience of both the Chinese and foreigners so as to do a better work in the future.”Footnote 5 A decision had already been made by President Jiang Zemin and the State Council that Agenda 21 would be incorporated within the 9th FYP (1996–2011). The presentation by Deng Nan to CCICED certainly had a lasting influence on CCICED members. At the time, China’s Agenda 21 was considered one of the most advanced efforts anywhere towards a national sustainable development plan.

During China’s Sixth National Conference on Environmental Protection in 2006, Premier Wen Jiabao emphasized “three transformations.” The first concerns the change from economy-centred development to equal attention for both environmental protection and economic development. The second is the change from delayed environmental protection after economic development to simultaneous environmental protection and economic development. The third is the change from mainly administrative measures to an integrated approach of legal, economic, technical, and necessary administrative measures. At the 2006 CCICED AGM, Minister Zhou Shengxian noted that this is a strategic policy shift based on the “lessons and experience” of developed countries and can lead to an era “where environmental protection can optimize economic growth.”

CCICED’s 2007 AGM recommendations to the State Council noted with approval the signals for a strategic transformation of Chinese government policy relevant to environment, including elevating environment protection to the level of an “ecological civilization,” where the objective is building a resource-conserving and environment-friendly society. The guiding idea has shifted from “rapid and sound development” to “sound and rapid development.” CCICED’s recommendations concluded that other countries such as Germany and Japan, in their period of transformative change for environmental improvement, found four key factors influence success: (1) public participation and involvement of the whole society in decisions; (2) in most cases, it is problems of environment and health that have galvanized action; (3) the need for a progression of changes, some immediate and others longer-term, towards fundamental technological and institutional changes over periods generally of 5–10 years; and (4) taking into account international aspects of major policy shifts, including impacts of the transformation on other nations.

We indicated in the 2007 CCICED Recommendations that “China is now in the most significant period for strategic transformation when it will be possible to accelerate the turn-around in the relationship between E&D. To take full advantage of this key period, the Chinese Government must solve three outstanding problems. First, the strategic transformation is taking a top-down approach and lacks the full involvement and support from all stakeholders and levels of government. Second, detailed and effective policies, capacities and action plans are still missing to carry out the strategies and principles set up by the central government. And third, it is essential to continue searching for better value from existing levels of investment, and at the same time, increasing the flow of funds in support of environmental protection.”Footnote 6

Environment and High-Quality Development

Despite ever-increasing expenditures on environmental matters, major economic and social changes overwhelmed many, even most, environmental policy efforts by China for the first two of the last three decades. Even today, the key document laying out China’s future is still labelled The Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development, without reference to the word Environment. What has been transformative is how the environment now shapes much of the content within the FYPs and government performance. In particular, during the 12 and 13th FYPs, transformative action about E&D was underlined by the urgency associated with environmental problems, their political dimensions, and the accountability of administrators to meet environmental goals. The emphasis in planning has now shifted to “high-quality development,” which includes environment quality as an important component.Footnote 7

But what is transformative change in this context? It is certainly not simple transitions and minor tinkering. Incrementalism can be useful in some settings, such as the cautious approach taken by China through its pilot testing of some complex new environmental initiatives. An example is the time taken to introduce carbon trading, starting with five large cities and two provinces participating and with limited objectives.Footnote 8 It took almost 8 years from the initial piloting in 2013–2014 until a full national system was underway. Debates regarding a carbon tax system vs. carbon trading preceded the whole business by several years. In all, it took at least 11 years for the nationwide implementation of the national carbon trading system, completed in July 2021.

Throughout the world, important mechanisms for transformative change involving E&D have involved underlying or indirect drivers, such as the following: (1) incentives and capacity-building efforts; (2) cross-sectoral cooperation; (3) pre-emptive action; (4) decision making in the context of resilience and uncertainty; and (5) environmental law and implementation.Footnote 9 These terms frequently appear in CCICED’s work. There has been an overarching concern for green investment, environmental economics and taxation, polluter pays, as well as other financial mechanisms, such as eco-compensation, plus trade measures, etc. CCICED has placed considerable focus on pricing mechanisms, including for ecological services, and on innovations such as carbon trading. These and other tools require overarching frameworks with clear objectives. Contributing to such frameworks has included some of the most interesting and satisfying efforts on the part of CCICED. Five examples of closely followed CCICED initiatives are described in Chap. 5.

China’s “New Era” Economy and Sustainable Development

From 2017 onward, there has been extensive effort put forward by both the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the national government to define the changes required to move China’s economy into a “New Era” dominated by innovation, dual economy (international trade and enhanced domestic consumption), and adherence to a “socialist market economy.”Footnote 10 This is to be a direction stimulated by high-tech, improved education, and greater investment in science. But it must be made compatible with the construction of an ecological civilization, rural rejuvenation, and the development of healthy and productive cities. Most recently, there has been additional emphasis placed on the concept of “common prosperity” to address gaps in wealth distribution within Chinese society. These are all subjects that will shape CCICED’s next stage of work on transformative E&D, especially with regard to China’s domestic steps between now and 2035.