State Council of the People’s Republic of China
Climate Impact & Sustainability Data (2023)
Reporting Period: 2023
Environmental Metrics
ESG Focus Areas
- Environmental Protection
- Social Wellbeing
- Economic Development (with implications for Governance)
Environmental Achievements
- Discharge of major pollutants continued to fall; quality of surface water and offshore water improved; China’s installed renewable energy capacity surpassed its thermal power capacity for the first time.
- China accounted for over half of newly installed renewable energy capacity worldwide.
Social Achievements
- Per capita disposable income of residents increased by 6.1 percent; income gap between urban and rural residents narrowed; poverty elimination gains consolidated and expanded; increased subsidies for education, old-age insurance, and medical insurance; over 66 million taxpayers benefited from increased individual income tax deductions; over 10 million households benefited from old urban residential compound renovation and government-subsidized housing.
- Over 33 million people lifted out of poverty found jobs last year; measures for dealing with Class B infectious diseases applied in Covid-19 response; outpatient expenditures covered by basic medical insurance.
Governance Achievements
- Latest round of institutional reform at the central government level generally completed; efforts to build a unified national market stepped up; SOE reform deepened; policies adopted to spur private sector growth; improved policies to attract foreign investment; improved mechanisms for conducting inspections; intensified efforts to fight corruption.
Climate Goals & Targets
Short-term Goals:
- GDP growth of around 5 percent; over 12 million new urban jobs; surveyed urban unemployment rate of around 5.5 percent; CPI increase of around 3 percent; growth in personal income in step with economic growth; a basic equilibrium in the balance of payments; grain output of over 650 million metric tons; a drop of around 2.5 percent in energy consumption per unit of GDP; continued improvements in the environment.
Environmental Challenges
- Sluggish global economic recovery; acute geopolitical conflicts; protectionism and unilateralism; adverse impact of external environment on China’s development; unresolved difficulties from the three-year Covid-19 pandemic; drop in external demand coinciding with lack of domestic demand; risks and potential dangers in real estate, local government debt, and small and medium financial institutions; natural disasters.
- Lack of effective demand; overcapacity in some industries; low public expectations; lingering risks and hidden dangers; blockages in domestic economic flows; difficulties for some SMEs; pressure on overall job creation and structural employment problems; weak links in public services; fiscal difficulties for some primary-level governments; insufficient capacity for scientific and technological innovation; challenging issues concerning reforms in key areas; weak links in workplace safety; pointless formalities and bureaucratism; some officials lacking readiness to work or evading responsibilities; corruption.
Mitigation Strategies
- Coordinated steps to ensure stable growth; targeted steps to consolidate the foundations of the economy; counter-cyclical adjustments; robust and effective policies to expand domestic demand, improve economic structure, bolster confidence, and prevent and defuse risks; enhanced fiscal policies; tax and fee relief; additional treasury bonds; targeted monetary policies; policies to boost consumer spending; government investment to boost overall investment; city-specific policies on real estate regulation; measures to address local government debt; measures to prevent systemic risks; policies to support enterprises in stabilizing and expanding employment; improved services to help college graduates and other key groups secure employment; intensified efforts to shore up weak links in compulsory education; measures to prevent and control infectious diseases; improved comprehensive public service facilities in communities; effective response to major floods and other disasters; improved government performance; initiatives to improve administrative law enforcement; strengthened oversight; improved mechanisms for handling public complaints; strengthened workplace safety and emergency management; improved national security system; crackdown on criminal activities; proactive fiscal policy and prudent monetary policy; strengthened coordination between policy instruments; structural tax and fee reduction policies; improved monetary policy transmission mechanism; enhanced consistency of macro policy orientation; strengthened follow-up evaluations of policy implementation; improved communication of policies to the public; systems thinking; targeted and effective macro regulation; policies to stabilize employment and increase incomes; improved medical and health services; enhanced social security and social services; improved cyberspace governance; strengthened workplace safety and disaster prevention; improved social governance system; improved incentive and protection mechanisms for officials.