Guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, Jiangsu Province has accelerated efforts to build a Beautiful Jiangsu in 2024, synergizing high-quality development with high-standard environmental protection. 

Ecological and environmental quality improved steadily. The annual average PM2.5 concentration dropped to 32.3 μg/m³, with 82.5% of days meeting national air quality standards, the best record since the implementation of the 2013 standards. Around 93.8% of surface water sections under national monitoring attained Grade III (excellent) in water quality, reaching the excellent level for three years in a row. The water quality of Jiangsu section of the Yangtze River mainstream remained at Grade II for seven straight years. The average water quality of Taihu Lake reached Grade III, marking the first full year in which it has met the national “good” lake rating, and 84.4% of coastal waters attained excellent quality, ranking first in the Yangtze River Delta region. Soil conditions remained stable, and public satisfaction with the ecology and environment exceeded 90% for the sixth consecutive year.

We coordinated efforts to cut carbon emission and pollution while promoting green development. Five localities and industrial parks in Jiangsu were included in the first batch of national pilot program of coordinated innovation on pollution and carbon emission reduction. We improved the trial mechanism of realizing the market value of ecological goods and services. The installed capacity from renewable energy reached 91.18 GW in cumulative terms, surpassing that from coal for the first time. Up to 6.65 GW of new types of energy storage projects was completed and put into operation cumulatively. The trade volume of green electricity went up by 144%. Total water usage in Jiangsu was controlled at 57.87 billion m³, meeting national targets, and water conservation efforts reduced water consumption per RMB 10,000 GDP by 23.9% compared to the 2020 level.

We redoubled our efforts in pollution prevention and control. Regulatory frameworks were strengthened through the enactment of the Jiangsu Province Ecological Environmental Protection Regulation, revisions to the Jiangsu Province Solid Waste Pollution Prevention Regulation, and the formulation of the Jiangsu Province High-standard Ecological and Environmental System Development Plan. We will work hard to keep our skies blue, waters clear, and lands clean, and over 735 key environmental infrastructure projects were implemented in 2024. Industrial upgrades saw all steel plants complete full-process ultra-low emission retrofits, while cement and coking industries finalized organized reform. Efforts were made to improve waste water management systems for separated industrial and domestic sewage collection and treatment, complemented by specialized campaigns addressing water pollution in industrial parks. We have methodically advanced eco-friendly upgrading of aquaculture ponds and pilot initiatives for farmland drainage management. Wuxi’s Xiaoxi Port and Yangzhou’s Mangdao River were listed among the third batch of national “Beautiful Rivers and Lakes” exemplars, and seven national soil pollution control projects were completed. Jiangsu Province also spearheaded “zero-waste city”, “zero-waste industrial park”, and “zero-waste canal” initiatives, with two industrial parks approved for the first batch of national new pollutant control pilot projects. Jiangsu Province has earned “excellent” ratings in national pollution prevention and control assessments for five consecutive years.

Key water bodies received accelerated actions. The Yangtze River protection campaign intensified with water quality stabilization measures for the main stream and tributaries and the release of Guidelines on Water Ecological Protection and Restoration in the Jiangsu section of the Yangtze River Basin. We implemented a new round of comprehensive treatment of Taihu Lake with the opening of “Smart Taihu” digital monitoring platform. The Three-Year Action Plan (2025-2027) for Water Ecological Comprehensive Treatment of Canal Basin in Northern Jiangsu Province was rolled out, while 12 major lakes and reservoirs (including Hongze Lake) adopted customized “One-lake-one-policy” management and algal bloom emergency control plans. We doubled efforts to improve comprehensive ecological and environmental treatment in coastal waters, and launched a new round of three-year program to reduce pollutants and enhance marine water quality.

We scored good results in ecological preservation and restoration. Major progress was made in Jiangsu by joining China’s Shan-Shui Initiative on ecosystem restoration, as a total of 52,000 ha of land completed ecological restoration. A total of 93 ecological security buffer zones have been built, and the number of species discovered through biodiversity baseline survey grew to 8,842. Jiangsu was among the first in China to implement compensation for wetland damage. We have revised the Detailed Rules for Supervision, Management and Evaluation of Ecological Control Areas in Jiangsu Province, and conducted “Green Shield” key ecological space supervision program, investigation on the ecological damage of core monitoring areas along the Grand Canal and the ecological damage of important ecological spaces in Jiangsu Province.