CCTV9英语新闻：Policies regarding the construction of an ecological civilization introduced

It's hoped the new subsidy will promote the use of electrical cars and have a knock-on effect for a cleaner environment. Policies regarding the construction of an ecological civilization have, for the first time, been introduced into a five-year plan. In today's special series on China's latest five-year plan, we look at how these policies will affect our daily lives.

Air quality has been top of concerns for Chinese citizens in recent years. In order to get a more direct sense of the improvement of the air quality, the 13th Five-Year Plan, for the first time, will assess pollution control measures by evaluating the number of polluted days instead of using chemical terminologies. In the next five years, it is expected that high-pollution days will decrease by 25 percent in prefecture-level cities. Meanwhile, controls regarding fine particle pollution in key regions will be reinforced.

To reach the goal to decrease high-pollution days by 25 percent nationwide, the 13th Five-Year Plan uses a roadmap: within the next five years, the proportion of new energy technologies, such as wind electricity and solar energy, will be increased by 3 percent from 12 percent to 15 percent; the main industrial pollution resources of enterprises must meet emission standards; heavy-polluting vehicles, will be taken off the road gradually, and there will be an increase of 5 million new-energy automobiles on the road.

This means that by 2020, China's forest coverage will be increased to 23.04 percent, in other words, nearly a quarter of national land will be under a green coat.

In the next five years, comprehensive controls against water pollution will be introduced in the seven key drainage basins, including the Yangtze River and Yellow River, as well as key lakes including Taihu Lake and Dongting Lake. The water quality of more than 80 percent of key rivers and lakes will then be up to the required standard. Water that is severely polluted and is not able to be used in production and daily life will be eliminated. The 13th Five-Year Plan will also enhance wetland protection and restoration.

There is more good news for people living in cities, in that a number of new national parks will be built across China. It will become normal for people to see green scenery when going out of their house, and many will be within a mere ten minutes’ walk of the parks.

Everyone needs to take responsibility for a healthy environment. Even little things can help, like green travel and low-carbon consumption, and keeping a "green" mindset. Let’s work together to build a beautiful homeland in China.