Green development is central to China’s national development plan. Over the past decades, China has invested significant resources in its transition to an inclusive green economy, and UNEP has been working closely with China since its launch of the Green Economy Initiative in 2008. Several research activities have been implemented to help foster the transition towards a green economy.
In 2013, UNEP and the Chinese Ministry of Environmental Protection jointly published the study China’s Green Long March, which assessed China’s progress towards a green economy and found that China had seen very strong green development in solar PV, wind, bioenergy, cement, and environmental industries over the last decade.
The report Modelling China’s Green Economy 2010-2050, was also launched by UNEP in cooperation with the Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China, and showed that a shift to a green economy would be beneficial for economic growth, climate change mitigation, job creation, and improved standards of living for the poor, and provided policy recommendations for prioritizing China’s green economy.
UNEP’s contribution to a 2014 Task Force under the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development saw the creation of a research paper highlighting recent policies and measures for green transitions in 15 countries in areas of climate change, water, air , transport, waste management and urban development.
In addition, UNEP supported the study Measuring China’s Environmental Industry, which aimed to identify the feasibility of applying the international Environmental Goods and Services Sector (EGSS) accounting framework in China. Based on the results, UNEP is currently conducting a second phase study to address the challenges identified in the initial phase and to propose feasible action plans for integrating EGSS into China’s Environmental Accounting System.
In cooperation with Tongji University, UNEP produced a Green Economy Textbook in Chinese for policymakers, graduate students, and the wider Chinese audience. It was disseminated through the Global Universities Partnership on Environment and Sustainability (GUPES), which currently involves over 400 universities from across the globe. Currently, the Zayed International Foundation for the Environment joined this partnership in supporting the development of an English textbook for the global audience.
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