The relevant person in charge of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment answered questions from reporters on the "Ten Norms for Citizen Ecological Environment Behavior" | Ecology | Ecological Environment
Recently, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, in conjunction with the Central Office for Spiritual Civilization Construction, the Ministry of Education, the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League, and the All China Women's Federation, issued the newly revised "Ten Norms for Citizen Ecological Environment Behavior". The relevant person in charge of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment answered questions from reporters regarding the relevant content.
Q: What is the background and significance of this revision?
Answer: The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China pointed out that respecting, conforming to, and protecting nature are inherent requirements for the comprehensive construction of a socialist modernized country. We must firmly establish and practice the concept that green mountains and clear waters are invaluable assets, accelerate the green transformation of development methods, implement comprehensive conservation strategies, advocate green consumption, and promote the formation of green and low-carbon production and lifestyle.
In June 2018, our Ministry, together with the Central Civilization Office, the Ministry of Education, the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League, and the All China Women's Federation, jointly issued the "Code of Conduct for Citizen Ecological Environment". Since its implementation, it has played a positive role in promoting public practice of green and low-carbon behavior and participating in ecological environment protection. With the continuous deepening of ecological civilization construction, after five years of trial implementation, some contents of the "Ten Principles of Citizenship" need to be adjusted in a timely manner.
In order to deeply implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, our department, together with the Central Office for Spiritual Civilization Construction, the Ministry of Education, the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League, and the All China Women's Federation, has carried out the revision of the "Ten Articles of Citizenship". We have further advanced the specific requirements for ecological civilization construction under the new situation, strengthened the comprehensive and in-depth guidance of the public in ecological and environmental behavior in work, life, and other aspects. This is of great significance for promoting the firm establishment of ecological values in the whole society, enhancing the awareness of practicing green and low-carbon lifestyles, promoting the construction of a national action system for ecological environment governance, and gathering the strength of the whole nation to build a modern harmonious coexistence between humans and nature.
Q: What are the principles and main ideas of this revision?
Answer: Firstly, in combination with the latest requirements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council's important deployments, policy documents, and national laws and regulations on citizen ecological and environmental behavior in recent years, including the Opinions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on Deepening the Battle of Pollution Prevention and Control, the Opinions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on Fully Implementing the New Development Concept and Doing a Good Job in Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality, and the Law of the People's Republic of China on Noise Pollution Prevention and Control, policy guidance is provided to promote the public to practice a green and low-carbon lifestyle.
The second is to focus on the specific requirements of ecological and environmental protection work under the new situation, increase the content of biodiversity protection, climate change response, and rejection of luxury and waste, further improve the advocacy and guidance of citizen ecological and environmental behavior in different fields, and provide more practical practice directions for public participation in ecological and environmental protection.
The third is to address the key characteristics of public ecological behavior, taking into full consideration factors such as geographical and cultural differences in different regions of the country, and adhering to the principles of science, practicality, and operability, highlighting the characteristics of norms, adding practical language to daily life, and enhancing the affinity, infectiousness, dissemination, and operability of the new "Ten Principles of Citizenship".
Q: What are the main changes in this revision?
Answer: The revised "Ten Articles of Citizenship" still include ten aspects, including caring for the ecological environment, saving energy and resources, practicing green consumption, choosing low-carbon travel, sorting and disposing of garbage, reducing pollution, caring for natural ecology, participating in environmental protection practices, participating in environmental supervision, and jointly building a beautiful China. However, there have been changes in specific behavior advocacy, mainly including the following aspects:
The new "Ten Articles of Citizenship" add the phrase "respect nature, conform to nature, protect nature, and protect the ecological environment like protecting the eyes" to "care for the natural ecology", and modify the phrase "consciously be an advocate, actor, and demonstrator of ecological environment protection" in "jointly building a beautiful China" to "consciously be a model practitioner of ecological civilization concept", promoting the public's "unity of knowledge and action" and improving ecological civilization literacy.
The second is to guide the public to practice ecological and environmental protection behaviors with clearer goals. For example, the provision of "caring for the ecological environment" extends the knowledge learned and mastered by the public to key areas such as environmental pollution control, biodiversity conservation, and addressing climate change, and emphasizes the importance of learning and mastering environmental protection related skills.
The third is to make corresponding modifications to the regulations based on the ecological and environmental issues of public concern. For example, the term "avoiding noise disturbance to residents" in "reducing pollution generation" should be more accurately modified to "avoiding noise disturbance to neighbors", emphasizing harmonious and civilized coexistence with neighbors, neighbors, and other neighboring groups in homes and public areas. At the same time, the regulation of "not dumping sewage indiscriminately" has been added to address common issues in daily life, respond to social concerns in a targeted manner, and enhance public practice shortcomings.
The fourth is to respond to the national call for comprehensive conservation and green consumption, and to differentiate and guide public behavior. Add content such as "rejecting luxury and waste" and "rational and reasonable consumption" to "conserving resources and energy" and "practicing green consumption" respectively. At the same time, in response to the differences in practical difficulty in different regions, "setting the air conditioning temperature reasonably, with no less than 26 degrees Celsius in summer and no more than 20 degrees Celsius in winter" is simplified as "setting the air conditioning temperature reasonably".
The fifth is to revise the normative content in accordance with the changes in the actual situation and keep up with the times. For example, due to changes in social supervision channels in various regions, "dissuading, stopping, or reporting behaviors that damage the ecological environment and affect public health through the '12369' platform" has been modified to "dissuading, stopping, exposing, and reporting behaviors that pollute the environment, damage the ecology, and waste food".
Q: What are your considerations for the next stage of promotion arrangements?
Answer: To promote the effective implementation of the newly revised "Ten Articles of Citizenship", we mainly have the following arrangements:
One is to promote the new "Ten Principles of Citizenship" through posters, videos, and other forms to facilitate the public's timely understanding of new content.
The second is to organize experts to interpret and help the public better understand the meaning behind behavioral norms, and more accurately understand and grasp practical requirements.
The third is to excavate and select advanced models of trees, and promote green and low-carbon lifestyles as social trends through role models and demonstrations.
