China's laws and regulations and policy documents related to soil pollution prevention and control have principled requirements for green and low-carbon restoration. The Law of the People's Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Soil Pollution proposes that the implementation of risk management and control and restoration activities shall not cause new pollution to the soil and the surrounding environment. The Technical Guidelines for Soil Remediation of Construction Land proposes to encourage the use of green, sustainable and resource-based remediation. The Implementation Plan for Synergies in Pollution Reduction and Carbon Reduction and the 14th Five-Year Plan for Soil, Groundwater and Rural Ecological and Environmental Protection both propose to encourage green and low-carbon restoration. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, there have been historic, turning and overall changes in ecological and environmental protection, but the task of ecological environmental protection is still arduous. At the same time, China is facing the two strategic tasks of achieving a fundamental improvement of the ecological environment and carbon peak and carbon neutrality, and the requirements of multi-objective governance of the ecological environment have been further highlighted, and the coordinated promotion of pollution reduction and carbon reduction has become an inevitable choice for the comprehensive green transformation of China's economic and social development in the new development stage. In 2023,practiceNear-flatAt the National Conference on Ecological and Environmental Protection, the general secretary emphasized that the comprehensive use of natural restoration and artificial restoration methods, according to local conditions, zoning and classification policies, and strive to find the best solution for ecological protection and restoration. In this context, the "Guiding Opinions on Promoting Soil Pollution Risk Control and Green and Low-Carbon Remediation" (Huanban Soil [2023] No. 19, hereinafter referred to as the "Opinions") was officially issued in December 2023, which is of milestone significance for implementing the green and low-carbon concept of soil pollution control and restoration, promoting the green and low-carbon development of the industry, and strengthening the awareness of social responsibility.
1. International progress
Internationally, green and low-carbon restoration is divided into three stages: embryonic and early development (before 2006), rapid development (2007-2012) and mature development (2013-present). In the first stage, from around 2000, we gradually entered the period of green and sustainable remediation of soil pollution, and changed from the traditional remediation and control strategies based on quality standards and risk assessment to the sustainable strategies that comprehensively consider the environmental, social and economic impacts of the whole process of remediation and control. Research institutions and non-profit organizations should consider the impact of environmental footprint and carbon footprint in decision-making, and explore assessment tools and methods for researching green and sustainable restoration. In the second stage, the concept of green and sustainable restoration has been widely recognized, and relevant assessment tools, methods, standards and specifications have been fully developed. In the third stage, it entered the stage of flexible practice and innovation, gradually integrating the concept into specific restoration technology, professional equipment, risk management and control, restoration materials, organization and management, etc., and also expanded from restoration projects to land use planning, land development planning, ecological landscape design and other fields. After 2020, the assessment system and practical application of green and sustainable restoration have basically matured, and with the increasingly urgent global response to climate change, soil pollution control has gradually entered the period of sustainable resilient remediation, and carbon emissions and climate change adaptation ability have been incorporated into the evaluation system. At present, environmental restoration in developed countries has entered a new era of ecological, low-carbon, resilient green and sustainable development.The mainstream international frameworks related to green and sustainable restoration mainly include three categories: sustainable restoration framework, green restoration framework and green sustainable restoration framework. The Sustainable Remediation Forum (SuRF) is a representative of the Sustainable Remediation Framework, which is defined as a remediation strategy that maximizes the net benefits of human health and the environment through the rational and equitable use of limited resources, mainly considering environmental, social, and economic factors. Green remediation takes into account all environmental impacts in the implementation of restoration, and adopts measures to minimize the environmental footprint in remediation actions, mainly considering the five core elements of land/ecosystem, materials and waste, energy, air/atmosphere, and water. Green sustainable remediation generally refers to the adoption of specific products, processes, technologies, and processes in the remediation of contaminated sites to reduce the risk of pollutants to receptors, while comprehensively considering the balance of community goals, economic impacts, and net environmental benefits, mainly covering objective indicators such as greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption, recycling/waste reduction, and resource consumption, and subjective indicators such as the benefits of asset reuse, job creation and retention, and community asset creation.Developed countries have gradually integrated the concept of green and sustainable restoration into the policy-making process of soil pollution control, which has gone through three main stages:The first stage is led by the national authorities. In the early days, soil pollution control was mainly in response to the public opinion caused by serious pollution incidents, and basically took measures to completely remove pollutants or seal pollutants. During this period, the priority of polluted land treatment was simply determined based on the concentration of pollutants, and the risk assessment was rarely applied, and the necessity of remediation was not considered in combination with the nature of the land. With the significant increase in remediation costs, it has been found that many sites are better suited for risk assessment and remediation prioritization based on future land use planning. As the most urgent land parcels are brought under control, and polluted sites that do not need immediate treatment are identified, the public perception has gradually changed from treating all polluted plots as extreme events that require government action.The second stage is to create conditions for flexible national regulations to carry out soil pollution control decision-making according to local conditions. At this stage, more sites are assessed based on planning scenarios and management or remediation strategies are developed according to local conditions. There is a closer connection between soil pollution control and land planning, and brownfield redevelopment has become one of the driving forces of land management. In this context, a wider range of stakeholders can be included in the decision-making process and make a positive contribution to green and sustainable restoration. Brownfield redevelopment projects co-financed by the government and the private sector have become a priority option, and a variety of co-funding models have emerged. However, the main obstacle lies in the debts of the landowners and potential future obligations after the completion of the repair.The third stage is the creation and protection of laws and regulations for private participation in soil remediation. Private investment in soil remediation mainly considers the socio-economic value of land redevelopment, and cultivates fertile soil for the application of green and sustainable restoration. However, soil remediation is complex and uncertain, which has become an obstacle to the redevelopment of land plots to a certain extent. Key issues include how the government and the private sector share the cost of remediation, the risk of remediation failure, and the potential responsibilities and obligations for residual contamination after remediation. For example, for groundwater contamination, which often extends beyond the boundaries of land parcels and is difficult to delineate, the EU allows the government to take over some of the future responsibilities, obligations or risks of groundwater remediation or control, thereby reducing the uncertainty of land-use rights holders and increasing the willingness of stakeholders to cooperate on brownfield redevelopment projects.The green and low-carbon restoration systems in developed countries have their own priorities, and the management decision-making process of promoting green and low-carbon restoration is long and complex, which has different backgrounds, different stages, and different tasks from China's soil remediation industry. China's soil remediation industry is emerging and facing the task of all-round coordinated promotion of pollution reduction and carbon reduction, and there is great potential to promote green and low-carbon restoration.2. The urgent need and significance of the promulgation of the "Opinions".
The lessons learned from developed countries should be fully absorbed. Developed countries have taken many detours in the field of soil pollution remediation, for example, the results of the cost-benefit analysis carried out by the Netherlands show that in the early stage of remediation, the Netherlands invested a huge amount of money to remediate the soil to the background value, but its comprehensive benefits did not meet expectations. After nearly 50 years of restoration, the comprehensive benefits are basically the same as the costs. China's soil pollution control should deeply learn from the experience of developed countries and take the path of green and low-carbon development as soon as possible.Green and low-carbon restoration is the only way to go.practiceNear-flatThe general secretary proposed to adhere to the development path of ecological priority and green and low-carbon. Under the current overall situation of in-depth pollution prevention and control and carbon peak and carbon neutrality decision-making and deployment, collaborative innovation in pollution reduction and carbon reduction is an important starting point to promote the accelerated development of green productivity, and green and low-carbon are the only way for soil pollution prevention and control in China.Technology and big data technology are the key supports. In order to fully and accurately implement the policies of precise pollution control, scientific pollution control, and pollution control according to law, in the context of the high-speed information age, soil environmental management and pollution prevention and control will continue to develop in the direction of informatization and intelligence in the future. Tools such as dynamic online monitoring and early warning systems and pollution maps have been developed and applied internationally, and the technological innovation of green and low-carbon soil remediation is integrated with big data and artificial intelligence, which is the direction leading the future.The issuance of the "Opinions" is an important measure to implement the spirit of the central government. The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China proposed to "coordinate the adjustment of industrial structure, pollution control, ecological protection, and response to climate change, and coordinate the promotion of carbon reduction, pollution reduction, green expansion, and growth, and promote ecological priority, conservation and intensive, green and low-carbon development", "Outline of the 14th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development of the People's Republic of China and the Long-Range Objectives Through the Year 2035" One of the long-term goals for 2035 includes a steady decline in carbon emissions after peaking, a fundamental improvement in the ecological environment, and the basic realization of the goal of building a beautiful China, reflecting the country's requirements for synergy in pollution reduction and carbon reduction. In recent years, China's relevant regulations, policies, standards, and guidelines for soil pollution control have advocated and encouraged green and sustainable restoration in principle, but there is a lack of special documents for top-level design on key issues such as how and what to promote soil pollution risk control and green and low-carbon restoration. In the context of pollution reduction and carbon reduction in the field of ecology and environment, China urgently needs to issue green and low-carbon guidance documents for soil pollution control, clarify the implementable roadmap, provide supporting support and guarantees, and promote the realization of synergies in pollution reduction and carbon reduction in the field of soil pollution prevention and control.The implementation of the "Opinions" is an important part of improving the governance system. The "Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Deepening the Battle of Pollution Prevention and Control" put forward the higher requirements of "fighting the battle of defending the pure land in depth", and clearly put forward the major task of improving the modernization level of ecological and environmental governance. After more than 20 years of development, the international scale of green and sustainable restoration has expanded from land plots to regional and macro, and from primary and secondary environmental impacts to multi-index and whole-process green sustainable assessment and practice systems. China's green and low-carbon restoration as a whole is still in its infancy, and if the potential over-remediation and secondary pollution supervision are not in place, it will lead to a threat to the safety of the human settlements and a decline in the comprehensive benefits of restoration, which is contrary to the requirements of the modernization and improvement of ecological environment governance capabilities. Promoting green and low-carbon remediation of polluted soil and improving the level of refined management will help promote the improvement of soil pollution control and support high-quality development with a higher level of protection.Promoting the "Opinions" is a specific path to achieve overtaking in corners. Throughout the development process of developed countries, it is the consensus of the international community that soil pollution control should follow the path of green and sustainable risk control and restoration. China's soil remediation industry is in the development period, and a large number of polluted plots left over from history are or are still to be treated. At present, there are still some problems in the risk control and restoration of soil pollution in construction land, such as large investment, high environmental risk, inaccurate investigation and assessment, inadequate prevention and control of secondary pollution, and unfavorable to the sustainable use of soil resources. According to preliminary estimates by the World Bank, the promotion of green and sustainable restoration and risk management in China can significantly reduce the cost of restoration and improve the efficiency of restoration compared with traditional restoration methods. Therefore, it is very important to guide and cultivate the concept of green and low-carbon from the early stage of the development of soil pollution control, so as to achieve its green and low-carbon transformation, take the path of high-quality development, and achieve corner overtaking.3. Strategic positioning and implementation principles of the Opinions
(1) Strategic positioningThe first is to put forward the future orientation. In the context of green and low-carbon development, continuous and in-depth defense of pure land, and actively promoting the synergy of pollution reduction and carbon reduction, it is necessary to adhere to the principles of problem-oriented, adapting measures to local conditions, and systematic governance, and comprehensively use natural restoration and artificial restoration to promote soil pollution risk control and green and low-carbon restoration. The "Opinions" are positioned to put forward medium- and long-term guiding opinions, guide soil pollution risk control and restoration from a single goal of risk control to a comprehensive consideration of pollution reduction and carbon reduction goals, and clarify the direction for future soil pollution prevention and control.The second is the overall planning of the whole process. The "Opinions" give the implementation path of soil pollution risk control and green and low-carbon restoration in China, that is, vigorously cultivate and form a green and low-carbon concept, comprehensively and systematically promote green and low-carbon transformation, actively explore typical green and low-carbon cases, and gradually form an evaluation and evaluation system. The "Opinions" also put forward targeted suggestions on how to improve the green and low-carbon level of key links in the whole process of risk control and restoration, including rational planning of contaminated land use in the early stage, accurate investigation and assessment of soil pollution status, highlighting the green and low-carbon design of remediation and control plans, actively exploring and applying the best management measures in the implementation process, and follow-up and sustainable management in the later stage, so as to systematically plan the whole chain of green and low-carbon restoration.The third is to strengthen scientific and technological support. The special chapter of the "Opinions" describes the all-round strengthening of scientific and technological support, from the penetration of green and low-carbon related basic research in the scientific research layout, to the key research of key technologies, materials and equipment, to the technology integration and engineering application demonstration, and strive to achieve the integrated development of industry, university, research and management.Fourth, actively integrate with the international community. The "Opinions" clearly and actively learn from advanced experience at home and abroad, make good use of international loan and grant fund support channels, and carry out publicity and guidance in combination with themes such as World Soil Day, reflecting the positioning of soil pollution risk control and green and low-carbon restoration work in line with international standards.(2) Implementation principlesThe first is to combine overall consideration with highlighting key points. The "Opinions" take into account the overall framework of soil pollution risk management and control and the promotion of green and low-carbon restoration, vigorously cultivate the concept of green and low-carbon, systematically promote the synergy of pollution reduction and carbon reduction, continue to explore and promote innovative practices, and gradually establish an evaluation and evaluation system, focusing on the whole process of planning, investigation, restoration control design and implementation, post-management and other whole-process work recommendations. Emphasizing all-round scientific and technological support, including coordinating the layout of scientific research systems, strengthening basic research, accelerating scientific and technological research on key materials and equipment, clean energy substitution and upgrading, selecting relevant content to be included in the national list of relevant technologies, and promoting the formation of a number of system solutions and comprehensive demonstration projects.The second is the combination of problem-oriented and first-in-command. The "Opinions" aim to solve the outstanding problems in the soil remediation industry, improve the ability of coordinated governance of pollution reduction and carbon reduction, and put forward opinions on practical problems such as the urgent demand for redevelopment of urban construction land, the high proportion of engineering measures, potential secondary pollution, and high resource and energy consumption. Guided by outstanding problems and weak links, we encourage the first to try, and form experience cases that can be replicated and promoted.The third is the combination of policy guidance and strengthened assistance. The "Opinions" pointed out that the Ministry of Ecology and Environment will gradually establish a qualitative and quantitative evaluation index system, compile relevant work guidelines and technical specifications, strengthen the scientific research layout in the field of water and soil compound pollution control, risk control and green and low-carbon restoration, and require ecological and environmental departments at all levels to actively promote the whole process of risk control and green and low-carbon restoration, promote the implementation of green and low-carbon requirements in financial funds and government procurement activities, and give policy guidance in terms of technology and capital. In addition, it will also expand and improve the technical ability level of management departments, practitioners and personnel, and strengthen publicity and education to popularize relevant knowledge and policy requirements to the industry and the public.Fourth, the combination of evaluation and innovation incentives. Encourage the formation of experience cases in the first trial, explore and innovate to open up the planning and design management process, and practice and application to improve the comprehensive benefits of the environment. At the same time, with the goal of reflecting the green and low-carbon level of the whole process of soil pollution risk control and restoration, a qualitative and quantitative index system should be established, and applicable environmental footprint assessment tools and carbon accounting methods should be actively explored, so as to scientifically support the development of assessment work and effectively stimulate innovation.4. Suggestions for risk management and control and green and low-carbon restoration in China
Based on the different stages of the development and policy implementation of the concept of soil pollution risk control and green and sustainable restoration in the world, this paper puts forward suggestions for the development of risk management and control and green and low-carbon restoration in China.In the first stage, it is recommended to focus on secondary pollution control and prevention of over-remediation during the remediation process. It mainly carries out publicity and guidance for practitioners, improves the institutional system and standards for risk management and control, promotes the quantification of restoration projects and the specialization of equipment, and gradually breaks through the current top-down control under the premise of ensuring that the risk is acceptable (that is, to achieve a reasonable restoration or control target value), and actively explores flexible land use planning and restoration management.In the second stage, it is recommended to improve the quantitative assessment and assessment system for green and sustainable restoration. Construct a refined site pollution and assessment conceptual model, quantitatively describe the acceptable risk level, quantify the unit energy consumption, water consumption and other resource consumption of the remediation project through scientific monitoring and accounting methods, calculate the energy conservation and emission reduction benefits and indirect environmental benefits of the project implementation, and give corresponding incentives through the quantitative assessment results to promote the effective participation of stakeholders.In the third stage, it is proposed to transition from risk management and remediation to an integrated process of smart regeneration. Make full use of the intelligent technology of the information age, introduce soil pollution risk control and restoration maps in the early stage of land use, and closely combine land development planning with land pollution remediation. When designing solutions, land use planning, pollution status, restoration and control technologies, etc., should be considered as a whole, and ecological landscape design should be introduced to enhance the value of ecological landscape while promoting pollution control, and strengthen the combination with later redevelopment. Increase the share of the consulting industry in the restoration industry, and actively introduce the whole process of overall solution services.(The authors are Deng Jingfei, Dong Jingqi, Zhang Hongzhen, He Jun, Academy of Environmental Planning, Ministry of Ecology and Environment)