Yangzhou section of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal (CFP Photo)

In outlining Jiangsu’s economic and social development goals during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), the provincial government work report has set eyes on making a breakthrough in modernizing the environmental governance system, improving the ecological performance, and achieving significant progress in the Beautiful Jiangsu initiative.

These development priorities have resonated with deputies of the fourth session of the 13th Jiangsu People's Congress and members of the fourth session of the 12th CPPCC Jiangsu Provincial Committee.

Yan Zhonglin, member of the CPPCC Jiangsu Provincial Committee and deputy director of the Taizhou Ecological Environment Bureau, said Taizhou will promote the development of green industries such as energy conservation and clean energy, and the city is working on a greenhouse gas inventory and an action plan to control emissions in the next five years.

Among deputies of Jiangsu People's Congress, Zhou Qin has been a sanitation worker for 23 years with the Environmental Sanitation Management Office in Xuyi County, Huai’an City. Zhou said it’s important to promote the waste sorting and improve the public awareness of healthy and eco-friendly lifestyle, which will contribute to the Beautiful Jiangsu initiative.

The initiative also includes the green and low-carbon transformation of production operations to be more energy-saving. Zhao Keqiang, director of the Nanjing Institute of Environmental Science of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, added that the province and all its regions and industries need to develop action plans to reduce energy consumption and pollution, and vigorously promote the development of clean energy.

Protection of the Yangtze River has also become a common concern among deputies and members to make Jiangsu more beautiful in high-quality development.

Ruan Honghua, dean of the School of Biology and Environment at Nanjing Forestry University, suggested to improve students’ awareness of ecological civilization, such as by taking a class at the Yangtze River Ecological Reserve.

According to Zhang Ganlin, director of the Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, CAS, it’s necessary to speed up the formation of a market-orientated mechanism for ecological restoration of the river and encourage more private investment into the endeavor.