China strengthens environmental protection, pursues green and low-carbon development over 5 years

BEIJING -- China strengthened environmental protection and pursued green and low-carbon development over the past five years, according to a government work report submitted Sunday to the national legislature for deliberation.

China worked harder to prevent and control pollution. In cities at and above the prefectural level, air quality was good or excellent on 86.5 percent of the days over the past five years, a 4-percentage-point increase, it said.

Black malodorous water bodies in cities at and above the prefectural level were generally cleaned up, it added.

China also strengthened efforts to prevent and control soil pollution risks and restore polluted soil, and stepped up the treatment of solid waste and new pollutants, the report said.

China launched major ecological projects and instituted systems of river, lake, and forest chiefs nationwide. The 10-year ban on fishing in key water bodies of the Yangtze River basin was fully enforced, according to the report.

China made steady progress in energy conservation and carbon reduction, said the report. The country worked toward the targets of peak carbon emissions and carbon neutrality with well-conceived and systematic steps.

The energy mix was further improved. The share of clean energy in total energy consumption increased from 20.8 percent to over 25 percent, it added.