The Ministry of Ecology and Environment held a regular press conference in May, releasing the “2022 China Ecological Environment Status Bulletin” and “2022 China Marine Ecological Environment Status Bulletin”. Jiang Huohua, Deputy Director of the Ecological Environment Monitoring Department of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, and Wang Juying, Secretary and Director of the Party Committee of the National Marine Environment Monitoring Center, attended the press conference. Liu Youbin, spokesperson for the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, presided over the press conference, reporting on the recent progress of key ecological and environmental protection work, and jointly answering questions from reporters.

In 2022, a total of 123,000 construction projects were approved for environmental impact assessment nationwide, with a total investment of approximately 23.3 trillion yuan. Since the beginning of this year, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment has approved 14 environmental impact assessments, including major infrastructure and resource development, coal supply guarantee, and major industrial projects, involving a total investment of over 60 billion yuan; From January to April, a total of 33,800 environmental impact assessments were approved nationwide, involving a total investment of over 6 trillion yuan. Based on the comprehensive environmental impact assessment approval situation, some new characteristics have been presented:

One is the rapid development of the non fossil energy power generation industry. Involving 952 photovoltaic power generation projects, a year-on-year increase of 132.2%; 586 projects in the wind power industry, a year-on-year increase of 36%; The pumped storage industry has entered a period of rapid development, involving 22 such projects, accounting for 88.8% of the hydropower industry.

The second is that the environmental governance industry continues to maintain a high level of development. The garbage incineration power generation industry has developed steadily, and related projects can add a processing capacity of 35,000 tons/day; 2088 general solid waste disposal and utilization projects, a year-on-year increase of 24.7%; 1596 hazardous waste treatment projects, a year-on-year increase of 27%; There were 1,794 sewage treatment and recycling projects, which were basically unchanged year-on-year, with an investment of 263.12 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 6%; A total of 30300 environmental impact registration forms for atmospheric pollution control projects such as desulfurization, denitrification, dust removal, and VOCs treatment have been filed nationwide, with over 30000 registered for three consecutive years.

The third is the significant investment driving effect of major projects such as infrastructure and emerging industries. The intensity of water conservancy construction has significantly increased, with projects and investments involved in the environmental impact assessment increasing by 53.9% and 98.6% year-on-year, respectively. A number of major water conservancy projects, including the South to North Water Diversion Project, the Huaihe River Seaway Phase II, and the Guangdong Water Supply Project around the Beibu Gulf, have completed environmental impact assessment approval. Railway construction is rapidly advancing, while highway construction remains on a large scale. The investment in lithium-ion battery manufacturing projects and computer, communication, and other electronic equipment manufacturing projects has also increased significantly.

The Ministry of Ecology and Environment will continue to provide environmental impact assessment services, striving to support the smooth operation of the economy while also maintaining the bottom line of the ecological environment and promoting high-quality economic development through high-level protection.

Source： Environmental Protection Association