BEIJING - Greening China's heavily polluting and energy-consuming industries will cause short-term losses but bring huge economic and social benefits in the long run, says a leading environmental think tank.
The China Council of International Cooperation on Environment and Development suggested that between now and 2015 the country should spend an estimated 5.77 trillion Yuan ($909 billion) to improve energy efficiency and protect the environment.
Nudging out high polluting and energy-intensive industries could cost the country 952,100 jobs and more than 100 billion Yuan in economic output by 2015, according to the council's calculations based on its methodology, but in return the country could save 1.43 trillion Yuan in its energy expense, said a report by the council.
In addition, the growth of the green sector could boost GDP growth by 8.08 trillion Yuan while creating 10.58 million jobs.
The council, comprising 200 world experts who regularly offer environment-related policy suggestions to authorities, is currently holding its annual conference in Beijing.
But even with such large-scale investment, the country is still set to face ever-greater challenges of environmental pollution and resource depletion in the coming decade considering the current level of industrialization and urbanization, Li warned.
By 2020, the country may still be troubled by serious environmental woes such as worsening air pollution, a deepening water crisis, continuous degradation of ecological systems, and mounting hazardous wastes, says the report.
Moreover, China will be under increasing international pressure to control its greenhouse gas emissions.
The report also urged that government at all levels get rid of the obsession with GDP growth, reduce interference in the market, and deepen tax and price reforms to encourage green development.
More precisely, local authorities should quit their current role of making full decisions for project investment - a reason that polluting enterprises backed by the governments sometimes ignore environmental regulations.
Instead, the government should strengthen its supervision in mining activities, pollution emissions, food security and safety management. Introducing environmental protection taxes, including a carbon tax, and reforming the pricing mechanism of key resources should also be prioritized