Beijing, Shanghai and Zhejiang rank among the top three in sustainable development in the country
The world today is in a period of great development, great change, and great adjustment. Humanity is facing many global problems and challenges. The China Center for International Economic Exchanges released the "2023 China Sustainable Development Evaluation Report" yesterday, pointing out that at times like this, it is more important for all countries to strengthen cooperation and adhere to the path of sustainable development.
The "Report" shows that China adheres to the new development concept of innovation, coordination, green, openness and sharing, and has made breakthrough achievements in sustainable development. From 2015 to 2021, China's overall sustainable development index increased from 58.1 to 84.9, an increase of 46.1%, and the overall development situation has achieved significant improvement. Positive progress and results have been achieved in economic development, social and people's livelihood, resources and environment, consumption and emissions, and governance and protection. Among them, the peak value of the economic development indicator in 2021 is 87.3, an increase of 50.7% compared with 2015; the peak value of the social people's livelihood indicator in 2021 is 87.7, an increase of 64.4% compared with 53.3 in 2015; the overall improvement of resource and environmental indicators has been significant.
In terms of provincial indicators, the "Report" comprehensively ranks the sustainable development levels of 30 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities across the country. The top 10 are: Beijing, Shanghai, Zhejiang Province, Guangdong Province, Tianjin City, Chongqing Municipality, Fujian Province, Hainan Province, Jiangsu Province and Hubei Province.
In terms of city-specific indicators, the "Report" comprehensively ranks the sustainable development of 110 cities across the country. The top 10 cities are: Hangzhou, Zhuhai, Wuxi, Qingdao, Nanjing, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Jinan. , Suzhou, among which Hangzhou has ranked first for three consecutive years.
Judging from the above rankings, the comprehensive level of urban sustainable development in China's most economically developed Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta, capital metropolitan area and eastern coastal areas is still relatively high.
The "Report" points out that in 2023, the overall level of sustainable development in Chinese cities will be improved compared to 2022, the fluctuations in city rankings among various indicators will become smaller, and all cities are steadily advancing the process of sustainable development.
From an international comparison, in terms of sustainable development indicators, Chinese cities have their own advantages and disadvantages compared with international cities in subdivided indicators. For example, in terms of environmental resources and consumption and emissions, the development direction of international cities mainly focuses on the transformation of green buildings, green infrastructure, new energy vehicles, and renewable resources. Chinese cities generally have great room for improvement in terms of air quality, energy consumption and water consumption.
The "Report" recommends that on the journey to further realize the sustainable development goals, China must firstly implement the "double carbon" goal and unswervingly follow the high-quality development path of ecological priority, green and low carbon; secondly, it must accelerate the optimization and adjustment of the industrial structure , build a green and low-carbon modern industrial system; third, we must accelerate high-level opening up to the outside world and expand the development space for Chinese-style modernization; fourth, we must promote ecological protection and green and low-carbon development in the "Three North" regions; fifth, we must continue to optimize ESG governance and guide enterprises Pay attention to green and low-carbon development and fulfill social responsibilities in investment and operations; sixth, we must advocate the public's active participation in the sustainable development of cities and establish the concept that sustainable development is the "golden key" to solve global problems.
