The economy is the foundation, but economic growth is not simply the same as social progress, it has an inextricable relationship with the environment; the environment is like water - can carry the boat can also overturn the boat, without a good ecological environment, there is no sustainable economic and social development, there is no improvement in the quality of life of the people, there is no overall well-off people and modernization. Environmental protection has become a decisive basis for the sustainable development of our economy today, and with China's economic development, environmental protection is becoming more and more important.
Environmental issues have always been the focus of national attention, in the face of frequent natural disasters, repeated pollution accidents, "fear of a catastrophe" is not an alarmist statement.
Since entering the new century, China's economic development has made great achievements, but our environment has also suffered unprecedented damage. China's environmental pollution is already alarming: in more than 500 cities across the country, there are still many atmospheric quality does not reach the first standard; nearly 300 million Chinese farmers can not drink clean water; noise pollution generally exceeds the standard, and a considerable number of urban residents live in an environment with excessive noise.
In a 2006 speech by Vice Minister of Environmental Protection Pan Yue, cancer experts were quoted as saying that more than two million people die of cancer in China each year, 70 percent of which are related to pollution. In July, the World Bank released a report, "The Cost of Pollution in China". According to the report, pollution in China causes more than 700,000 unnatural deaths each year, including air pollution that kills about 394,000 people each year and water pollution in rural areas of China that kills about 66,000 people each year from severe diarrhea, stomach, liver and bladder cancers. In addition, indoor air pollution from coal burning and cooking oil kills about 300,000 Chinese people each year.
Near-term worries are not yet resolved, and far-away concerns are looming. Due to climate warming, the rate of sea level rise in China has been higher than the global average over the past 50 years. The continuous rise in sea level has caused serious harm to Chinese society and economy. The Bohai Sea region, the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta are the most severely affected areas in China. Sea level rise has led to frequent storm surge disasters.
