At the same time as China's economy has skyrocketed, so has its pollution problem. Premier Wen Jiabao, admitting that the previous five year plan in place to protect the environment was pretty much ineffective, "called for renewed efforts to protect the environment as rapid economic growth continues."
Isn't it funny how we learn to take a politician's words with a grain of salt regardless of the language they're speaking?
Wen described the issue as 'critical' and admitted that previous efforts at environmental protection had failed.
'We must fully recognize the critical and complicated situation as regards environmental protection in our country,' Wen told a national environmental conference.
'Lack of awareness, insufficient planning and a weak legal framework can be blamed for the severe environmental pollution in the country,' he added.
There's a new five year plan, which admittedly takes an agressive stance (on paper, anyway).
The premier referred to a new five year plan which aimed to cut energy consumption in terms of GDP growth by 20 pct and achieve a 10 pct drop in major pollutants by 2010.
I would love to see China succeed in that. I would be really curious to know what has changed since 2005 that makes the likelihood for success of this one any higher.
--
Have a sustainability question? Google it here!
--
Comments