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Circular Economy Development Plan during the “14th Five-Year” launched: Striving to Develop the Circular Economy, Towards the Goals of Carbon Peak and Carbon Neutral

2021-10-20 | National Development and Reform Commission

Introduction: 

on the 1st July 2021, agreed by the State Council, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has issued the Circular Economy Development Plan during the “14th Five-Year” (No. FaGaiHuangZi (2021) 969, here and after referred as the 14FY-CEDP). Recently, related comrades responsible for the 14FY-CEDP took up the questions of the correspondents.


The 14FY -CEDP has pointed out that, striving to develop the circular economy, promoting the economical, intensified, and recycled utilization of resources, are of remarkable significance to ensure the national resources security, to realize the Carbon Peak and Carbon Neutral, and to push forward the building of Ecological Civilization. We have achieved positive results during the “13th Five-Year” regarding the Circular Economy. The efficiency of resources utilization has been elevated for a large scale. The ability of utilizing recycled resources has been enhanced obviously. Resources Recycling has become an important way of resources security protecting of China.


The 14FY-CEDP emphasizes that, the development of Circular Economy in the “14th Five-Year” must follow the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, fully implement the guiding principles of the 19th CPC National Congress and the second, third, fourth, and fifth plenary sessions of the 19th CPC Central Committee, fully carry out Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, standing on new development stage, implementing new development philosophy and constructing new development pattern. Adhere to the basic state policy of resources conserving and environment protecting, and stick to the principle of “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle”Efforts should be made to build a resource-recycling industrial system, to speed up the construction of a recycling system for waste materials, to deepen the development of agricultural circular economy, to comprehensively improve the efficiency of resource utilization, to improve the utilization level of renewable resources, to establish and improve a green, low-carbon and circular economic system, and to provide resource guarantee for sustainable economic and social development.


The 14FY-CEDP clarifies that, by 2025, the Resource Recyclable Industry System is to be fundamentally established, and the Resource Recycling System covering the whole society is to be basically built up. The resource utilization efficiency will see a large-scale elevation, and the original resources is going to be more substituted by the recycled than ever. It is becoming more prominent that the support and guarantee of the Circular Economy to the Resource Security. The production rate of main resources is to raise approximate 20% compared with 2020. Energy Consumption per GDP and Water Consumption are separately to be cut down 13.5% and 16% compared with 2020. Comprehensive utilization of crop straws shall be kept at no less than 86%. Comprehensive utilization of bulky solid waste and building waste will both reach 60%. The utilization quantity of wastepaper and waste steel is going to reach 60m tons and 320m tons respectively, with 20 million tons of recycled non-ferrous metal produced. Resource Recycling Industry is likely to create as much as 5 trillion-yuan output value.


The 14FY-CEDP, which focus on three fields including industry, social life, and agriculture, specifies the main tasks of Circular Economy development during the “14th Five-Year”:


First, build a Resources Recyclable Industry System and raise the Resources Utilization Efficiency, by promoting green design for major products, enhancing the clean production of main industries, promoting recyclable development of industry zones, accelerating comprehensive utilization of resources, and coordinated disposal of city waste. 


Second, build a Waste and Old Materials Recycling System and a Resource Recycling Society by improving waste and old materials recycling network, elevating the level of recycling material processing and utilization, regulating the secondhand commodities marketing, and promoting the high-quality development of reproduction industry.


Third, deepen the development of Agricultural Circular Economy and build a Circular Agricultural Production Mode, by strengthening the resource utilization of agricultural and forestry waste and old materials, enhancing the recycling of waste and old agricultural materials, and promoting recyclable agriculture development model.


The 14FY-CEDP has deployed Five Key-Projects and Six Key-Activities in the Circular Economy field during the “14th Five-Year”. Five Key-Projects includes Recycling Utilization System Construction for Urban Waste and Old Materials, Recyclable Development for Industrial Zones, Demonstrations for Bulky Solid Waste Comprehensive Utilization, Demonstrations for Building Waste Resource Utilization, and Key Technique and Equipment Innovations for Circular Economy etc. Six Key-Activities are composed of High-quality Development of Re-production Industry, Recycling Utilization of Waste Electronic Products, Lifecycle Management of Automobile, Whole Chain Treatment of Plastic Pollution, Green Transformation of Express Packages, Recycling Utilization of Waste and Old Power Batteries, etc.


The 14FY-CEDP has made clear the guarantying of policies and the organizing of implementation for Circular Economy development, as well as the completing of laws and regulations for Circular Economy, the improving of statistics and evaluation system for Circular Economy, the strengthening of support from tax and financial policies, the enhancing of supervision for the industries. The 14FY-CEDP has required related departments fulfill their key tasks as their duties, and every area shall make dedicated organizations and arrangements for their key tasks and responsibilities, working towards a well implementations of the14FY-CEDP according to their practical realities.



Source: National Development and Reform Commission

Translated by Zheng Shujian