Full text: Report on China's economic, social development plan (17)

8. We will make solid progress in developing a resource-conserving and environmentally friendly society.

1) We will improve policies and mechanisms. We will develop demonstration zones for promoting ecological progress. We will implement the work plan for limiting total energy consumption, make full use of market forces, and break down the responsibility for its implementation. We will implement the policy that encourages the generation of electricity from distributed energy sources, the recovery of by-product heat and pressure to generate on-gird electricity, and the supply of coal-bed methane into the natural gas grid. We will carry out studies and launch trials for trading energy savings.

2) We will focus on key areas and projects. We will continue to carry out trials to develop an online system for monitoring energy consumption among major energy consumers. We will work to develop energy conservation, resource recycling, and environmental protection industries. We will accelerate development of desulphurization and denitrification facilities, household waste and urban sewage treatment facilities, and sewer lines. We will effectively conserve energy and reduce emissions in public institutions, transportation services, construction, commerce, and household consumption. We will continue to implement the campaign to get everyone to save energy and reduce emissions. In 2013, the percentages of urban sewage treated and urban household waste safely handled will reach 86% and 82%, respectively, water consumption per 10,000 yuan of value-added of industry will drop by 5%, and our capacity for comprehensively utilizing massive solid waste will increase by 100 million tons.

3) We will accelerate development of a circular economy. We will encourage and support key enterprises and industrial parks in becoming more circular, establish national demonstration centers for recovering mineral resources from city waste, develop green mining, and recover resources from urban kitchen waste. We will launch a second group of projects to forge 100 demonstration centers and 100 key enterprises to comprehensively use resources. We will accelerate development of the demonstration project for seawater desalination.

4) We will better protect the ecological environment. We will work harder to comprehensively prevent and control heavy-metal pollution and improve the water environment in key watersheds, intensify prevention and control of air pollution in urban areas, and work to comprehensively improve the rural environment. We will continue to implement major ecological restoration projects to protect virgin forests, build forest shelterbelts, and return grazing land to grasslands. We will take integrated steps to control desertification, stony deserts, and soil erosion; and work harder to restore and improve the water ecosystems of key watersheds and areas. We will establish a sound mechanism of compensation for ecological damage. We will carry out the pilot project of a cap-and-trade system for emissions and the trials for trading water rights. We will implement demonstration projects to promote clean production. We will step up efforts to monitor and release information about PM2.5, seek to control multiple pollutants in a cooperative manner, and have different regions work together in preventing and controlling pollution.

5) We will effectively respond to climate change. We will organize the formulation of a national master strategy for adapting to climate change, and promulgate and implement the national plan for responding to climate change. We will comprehensively promote trials and demonstrations for low-carbon development, steadily implement the pilot project to trade carbon emissions, and research and establish a national emissions trading scheme. We will extensively carry out policy dialogue and international cooperation, and work with the international community to actively respond to climate change.