Deepening the System of Defending the Blue Sky (People's Current Review) | Blue Sky | Current Review

Gradually dispelling haze and reclaiming the blue sky, behind it is the continuous improvement of the ecological civilization system and the increasing ability of environmental governance, demonstrating China's unique institutional advantages

Beijing Olympic Park, with clear water and blue sky reflecting in a painting; Gongchuan Wind Farm in Yong'an, Fujian, with twinkling stars in the night sky; Chengdu, Sichuan, faces the snow capped mountains from afar... At the World Environment Day "Building a Modern and Harmonious Coexistence between Man and Nature" theme exhibition, the photography work "Sunbathing My 'Hometown Blue'" attracted many visitors to stop and watch. From the memory of "smog besieging the city" to the current competition of photography enthusiasts from all over the world to "bask in the blue sky", each photo vividly showcases the tremendous achievements of the new era's blue sky defense war.

General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "A good ecological environment is the fairest public product and the most inclusive people's livelihood." Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core has placed the construction of ecological civilization in a prominent position in the overall work, taking resolutely winning the battle to defend the blue sky as the top priority, and taking the obvious improvement of air quality as a rigid requirement to promote my country has become the country with the fastest speed in controlling air pollution in the world.

The extraordinary achievements of the past decade are reflected in tangible changes. In Beijing, the "star orbit" that used to be filmed only in the suburbs can now be captured in the city center; The steel plant in Anyang, Henan Province, where employees dared not wear white shirts, has become a national 3A level tourist attraction; In the computer of photography enthusiast Wang Ruchun in Shijiazhuang, Hebei, the album that was once called "Tracking Haze" has been renamed "Tracking Blue Sky". The ecological sense of achievement of the common people continues to improve, and the ecological background of a happy life continues to shine. From building the world's largest clean coal-fired power system, to continuously expanding the installed capacity of renewable energy, from promoting the full process ultra-low emission transformation of steel, to phasing out old and high emission motor vehicles, in order to win the battle of blue sky defense, China continues to improve the low-carbon and green level of its energy structure, industrial structure, and transportation system, and accelerate the pace of green transformation in economic and social development.

Once upon a time, some people believed that air pollution control could only be achieved through strong winds and strong winds. Since the new era, China has turned the impossible into a certain ability, thanks to a well-designed institutional system. Since 2013, the "Action Plan for Air Pollution Prevention and Control" and the "Three Year Action Plan for Winning the Blue Sky Defense War" have been successively implemented. The "Air Pollution Prevention and Control Law of the People's Republic of China" has been revised and improved twice, and a series of top-level designs and institutional arrangements have provided strong support for winning the Blue Sky Defense War. At the same time, the systems of ecological environment protection inspection, pollution information disclosure, and daily penalties have strengthened the responsibility for pollution reduction and emission reduction. We have transformed the advantages of the system into governance efficiency through strong implementation. Based on the characteristics of air pollution spanning different regions, a joint prevention and control mechanism for air pollution should be established to form a joint effort for joint management. From 2013 to 2022, during the ten-year Blue Sky Defense War, the average concentration of PM2.5 in key cities across the country decreased by 57%, the number of days with heavy pollution decreased by 92%, and the number of coal-fired boilers decreased from 520000 to less than 100000. It can be said that gradually dispelling haze and reclaiming the blue sky is due to the continuous improvement of the ecological civilization system and the increasing ability of environmental governance, demonstrating China's unique institutional advantages.

Despite achieving impressive results, we should also be aware that ecological environment protection is a long-term task and cannot be accomplished in one fell swoop. On the one hand, China's industrial structure is biased towards coal, and diesel truck pollution has not been effectively solved; On the other hand, in the past two years, ozone has become the second largest factor affecting the proportion of days with good air quality nationwide, second only to PM2.5, and the situation of air pollution prevention and control remains severe. Faced with the dual pressure of relatively unfavorable meteorological conditions and a significant increase in pollutant emissions, it is necessary to offset the uncertainty of meteorological adverse conditions with more deterministic pollutant emission reductions. Responding to the call of the people, studying new situations and solving new problems in a timely manner, is necessary to continue to fight the battle of blue sky defense and promote continuous improvement of air quality.

At the National Ecological Environment Protection Conference, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "We must continue to fight pollution prevention and control in depth, adhere to precise pollution control, scientific pollution control, and pollution control in accordance with the law, maintain strength, extend depth, expand breadth, and further promote blue sky and clear water. The three major defense battles of the Pure Land will continue to improve the quality of the ecological environment." We will unswervingly follow the path of ecological priority and green development, and make concerted efforts to consolidate the achievements of the battle to defend the blue sky. We will certainly make the blue sky permanent and the air fresh.