Our article: Deep understanding of "improving the ecological and environmental governance system"| Study and implement the spirit of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee
Chinese-style modernization is a modernization in which man and nature coexist harmoniously. Without a sound ecological and environmental governance system, it is impossible to build a modernization in which man and nature coexist harmoniously. The "Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Further Comprehensively Deepening Reforms and Promoting Chinese-Style Modernization"(hereinafter referred to as the "Decision") adopted by the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China uses a special chapter to elaborate on "improving the ecological and environmental governance system." To this end, it is necessary to understand basic issues such as why the emphasis is placed on improving the ecological environment governance system, what ecological environment governance system should be improved, and how to improve the ecological environment governance system.
The importance of improving the ecological and environmental governance system
In social sciences such as political science and public management,"governance" refers to an activity in which different entities achieve common goals with systems as the core, such as national governance and social governance. The "improving the ecological and environmental governance system" mentioned in the "Decision" reflects the major transformation of my country's ecological and environmental protection from "management" to "governance". The change of the ecological environment from "governance" to "governance system" is a major progress, and the change of the ecological environment governance system from "initial construction" to "sound" is a major progress.
The first is the transformation from "rule of man" to "rule of law". The core of the ecological and environmental governance system is the system, especially the legal system. The Ecological Environment Code will become my country's second code, which will greatly promote the legalization, systematization and standardization of my country's ecological environment governance.
The second is the transformation from "passive" to "active". Ecological environmental management is often a command-and-obedience relationship between managers represented by the government and managed persons represented by enterprises and residents, and superiors to subordinates, while ecological environmental governance reflects the relationship between equal subjects.
The third is the transformation from "working alone" to "collaborative". Ecological and environmental management is often a "single center", which is the management and enforcement of the "center" on the "surroundings"; while ecological and environmental governance is a "multi-center", emphasizing the equal relationship between different entities and a multi-entity cooperation, coordination and checks and balances relationship, everyone is the master and everyone is the subject.
The fourth is the transition from "short-term effect" to "long-term". Institutionalized, systematic and collaborative institutional arrangements are often a long-term mechanism. Although this mechanism can also be continuously optimized, it does not require disruptive changes. Instead, it can be automatically repaired, automatically improved, and iteratively upgraded, thus saving system design costs.
The transformation from ecological environmental management to ecological environmental governance is the general trend. Therefore, since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, it has always emphasized the modernization of the ecological and environmental governance system and governance capabilities, and has become an important part of the modernization of the national governance system and governance capabilities.
The main contents of improving the ecological and environmental governance system
The first sentence of the "Decision" on "improving the ecological and environmental governance system" points out: "Promote the construction of the ecological and environmental governance responsibility system, supervision system, market system, and laws, regulations and policy system." Based on this, the ecological and environmental governance system can be subdivided into six major systems: responsibility system, supervision system, market system, legal system, planning system, and policy system. The ecological and environmental responsibility system, ecological and environmental market system, and ecological and environmental legal system have all been clearly stipulated in the past, but the "Decision" does not further emphasize it or only emphasizes it with a little pen and ink; the "Decision" focuses on the ecological and environmental supervision system and ecological environment planning system., ecological and environmental policy system.
The "Decision" does not duplicate the three major systems: the first is the ecological and environmental responsibility system. The Third Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China pointed out that the national natural resource asset management system should be improved and the responsibilities of owners of natural resource assets owned by the whole people should be uniformly exercised. Improve the natural resource supervision system and uniformly perform all land and space use control responsibilities. Explore the preparation of natural resource balance sheets and implement outgoing audits of natural resource assets for leading cadres. Establish a lifelong accountability system for ecological and environmental damage.
The second is the ecological environment market system. The Third Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China clarified: develop the environmental protection market, promote energy conservation, carbon emission rights, emission rights, and water rights trading systems, establish a market-oriented mechanism to attract social capital to invest in ecological and environmental protection, and promote third-party environmental pollution governance. The 2023 National Ecological and Environmental Protection Conference further emphasized that resource and environmental factors such as carbon emission rights, energy use rights, water rights, and emission rights should be integrated into the overall market-oriented allocation reform of factors, and market transactions such as transfer, transfer, mortgage, and shareholding should be supported., standardize the environmental governance market and promote the healthy development of the environmental protection industry and the environmental service industry.
The third is the ecological and environmental legal system. At the National Ecological and Environmental Protection Conference held in 2023XiJinpingThe general secretary emphasized: "It is necessary to strengthen the protection of the rule of law and coordinate the promotion of relevant legal revisions in the fields of ecological environment, resources and energy." The "Decision" clearly proposes to "compile an ecological environment code." Although this expression is small in number of words, it is very heavy in weight.
The "Decision" focuses on the three major systems: First, the ecological environment supervision system. That is, implement a fixed pollution source supervision system with the emission permit system as the core, establish a coordinated management of new pollutants and environmental risk management and control system, and promote coordinated emission reduction of multiple pollutants. Deepen the reform of the legal disclosure system of environmental information and build an environmental credit supervision system.
The second is the ecological environment planning system. Including improving the institutional mechanisms for precise pollution control, scientific pollution control, and legal pollution control; promoting the construction of an ecological and environmental management system integrating upstream and downstream in important river basins; comprehensively promoting the construction of a natural reserve system with national parks as the main body; implementing the ecological protection red line management system, Improve the integrated protection and system governance mechanism of mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes, grass and sand; implement the rigid constraint system for water resources.
The third is the ecological and environmental policy system. That is to fully implement the conversion of water resources fees to taxes. Improve the development and protection system of marine resources. Improve the value realization mechanism of ecological products. Deepen the reform of the paid use system of natural resources. Build a diversified investment mechanism for ecological protection and restoration. Promote comprehensive ecological compensation, improve horizontal ecological protection compensation mechanisms, and coordinate the promotion of compensation for ecological and environmental damage. Strengthen the coordination mechanism for biodiversity protection.
Among the above six systems, the ecological environment legal system and planning system are mandatory systems, including intra-party regulations, national laws, administrative regulations, local regulations, national and local plans, etc.; the ecological environment market system and policy system are incentive systems, including green finance system, ecological property rights system, green finance system, environmental price system, etc.; The ecological and environmental responsibility system and supervision system are implementation systems, or implementation mechanisms, which are mainly used to ensure the taking root of a series of ecological civilization systems and clarify relevant responsibilities.
Main incentives to improve the ecological and environmental governance system
China's ecological civilization construction has shifted from the era of "management" to the era of "governance". The key to improving the ecological and environmental governance system is to play a role through the "human" factor. The key issues that need to be solved are issues such as multi-agent participation, multi-agent collaboration, multi-agent checks and balances, and multi-agent coordination.
The first is to solve the problem of multi-subject participation.XiJinpingThe general secretary pointed out: "Everyone is a protector, builder, and beneficiary of the ecological environment. No one is a bystander, an outsider, or a critic. No one can just say but not do anything and stay out of it." Only when everyone protects, saves, and participates can the majestic power of ecological and environmental protection be formed.
The second is to solve the problem of multi-agent collaboration. Among ecological and environmental products, some are public goods and require the government to bear the main responsibility; some are private goods and require micro entities to bear the responsibility; some are mixed goods and require a mixed mechanism to share the responsibility. Those whose responsibilities are clear can be implemented in accordance with the principle of division of labor and responsibility, and those whose responsibilities are not clear must be resolved through an environmental consultation mechanism. Environmental consultation is an important part of full-process democracy and a distinctive feature of the "Maple Bridge Experience" in the new era. This mechanism must be used and improved well.
The third is to solve the problem of checks and balances by multiple entities. Ecological and environmental protection requires not only the self-discipline of each subject, but also external constraints for each subject. To this end, it is necessary to build a government mechanism with the government as the main body, a market mechanism with enterprises as the main body, and a social mechanism with the public and ecological and environmental associations as the main body. Three subjects, three mechanisms, three pillars, and mutual checks and balances will produce good ecological and environmental governance performance. At the same time, it is necessary to properly handle the relationship between "athletes" and "referees" in ecological and environmental governance. The two must not be integrated, but must be separated to form a mutually restrictive relationship. Everyone is a participant in ecological and environmental protection and a supervisor of ecological and environmental protection. With a complete set of supervision systems such as self-supervision, social supervision, and organizational supervision, the ecological and environmental governance system can be increasingly put on a healthy track.
The fourth is to solve the problem of multi-agent coordination. The soul of the ecological and environmental governance system is the system. Ecological civilization systems are all aimed at different types of subjects. Therefore, the division of functions of each entity and the functional zoning of each region are effective means to improve the performance of ecological and environmental governance. However, this will also bring problems such as "functional conflicts","functional conflicts" and "functional blank space". Therefore, coordination mechanisms are very important. The success of the "river chief system","lake chief system","bay chief system" and "forest chief system" mainly lies in coordination. The "Decision" also attaches special importance to improving the coordination mechanism for national ecological security work and biodiversity protection work.
The author is a special expert from Zhejiang Province and dean of the Institute of Ecological Civilization of Zhejiang A & F University
