Second, the practice of circular economy
(I) International Practice of Circular Economy
Since the establishment of a sustainable development strategy in the 1990s, the developed countries are considering the development of a recycling economy and the establishment of a recycling-oriented society as an important approach and implementation method for implementing a sustainable development strategy. The circular economy has already achieved successful practice in some developed countries. At the enterprise level, the most typical example is the 3r (reduction, reuse, recycling) manufacturing method used by DuPont Chemical. Through recycling economy and the practice of 3r manufacturing methods, DuPont’s plastic waste and emissions from production in 1994 were reduced by 25% and 70%, respectively, compared with the end of the 1980s; at the regional level, industrial Symbiosis to form an eco-industrial park. The most typical is the Kalundborg Eco-Industrial Zone in Denmark; at the national level, the result of cleaner production in Germany has led to a doubling of gdp. Major pollutants have been reduced by nearly 75%, achieving both economic and environmental benefits. result. According to incomplete statistics, the total recycling value of renewable resources in major developed countries in the world has reached 250 billion U.S. dollars a year, and grows at an annual rate of 15% to 20%. 45% of steel production worldwide, 62% of copper production, 22% of aluminum production, 40% of lead production, 30% of zinc production, and 35% of paper products come from the recycling of renewable resources.
At present, the circular economy has become a trend and trend, and some countries have even pushed forward with legislation. For example, in Germany, the "Circular Economy and Waste Management Law" was promulgated and implemented in 1996. The law stipulates that the priority of wastes is: avoidance - recycling - final disposal. Japan has promulgated laws such as the "Promoting the Establishment of a Recycling Social Basic Law," "Effective Use of Resources Promotion Law," and "Household Appliance Recycling Law."
(II) The practice of developing circular economy in China
From the actual situation in our country, China has a large population, relatively poor resources, and a fragile ecological environment. In both the resource stock and the environmental carrying capacity, the high-intensity resource consumption and environmental pollution under the traditional economic form have already been absent. If we continue to take the path of traditional economic development, use the “three highs†(excessive consumption, high energy consumption, and high pollution) extensive model, and use terminal disposal as the main means of environmental protection, then we can only create economic unsustainability. Taking the road of circular economy has become an inevitable choice for China's socio-economic development model.
China has advanced consciousness in the implementation of circular economy and is one of the few countries in the world. Since 1999, the State Environmental Protection Administration has taken the development of circular economy and the construction of eco-industrial parks as an important measure to improve the regional environmental quality, promote regional sustainable development, and realize regional economic and “fillingâ€. It has been actively piloted and steadily promoted. Propaganda, technical research, theoretical exploration, policy guidance and piloting have done a lot of work. At present, China has also begun the construction of an eco-industrial park based on the concept of circular economy. At present, there are six state-level eco-industrial demonstration parks that have been built or planned to be built. The most representative one is the Guigang National Ecological Industry (Sugar) Demonstration Park in Guangxi. The park is based on the Guiyang Sugar Group Co., Ltd., a listed company, and it has a sugar system, a sugar system, an alcohol system, a papermaking system, a cogeneration system, and an environmental comprehensive treatment system. Each system has a product output. Each system has its own output. Through the mutual exchange of intermediate products and wastes, they form a relatively complete and closed ecological industrial network. The resources in the park are effectively used and the environmental pollution is reduced to the lowest level. In addition, Tianjin, Shandong Province, and Jiangsu Province are also developing ecological parks of different sizes and types.
Third, the specific measures for the development of circular economy
(I) Accelerating the Legislation of Circular Economy
The development of circular economy involves all aspects of society, economy, resources and environment. It is a major change in the traditional economic development model, environmental governance methods, and related strategies and policies. Therefore, it requires special laws and regulations to support it. Although China has formulated laws and policy measures related to circular economy that encourage cleaner production and resource utilization, such as the Cleaner Production Promotion Law and the Solid Waste Pollution Prevention and Control Law, at present, China does not have a law to clean production. The related contents of solid waste utilization, environmental protection industry development, and resource recycling are incorporated into the framework of circular economy. There is still a lack of legal rules governing the development of circular economy from national development strategies, planning, and decision-making levels. Therefore, we should draw lessons from Japan, Germany, and other countries’ experiences, formulate and promulgate laws and regulations for the promotion of circular economy as soon as possible, adopt laws and regulations to determine the status of circular economy in social and economic development, and make clear that governments, enterprises, and the public are developing circular economy. Rights and obligations.
(b) The government should vigorously promote the development of circular economy
First of all, we should formulate a regional circular economy development plan, improve the policy support system, improve the incentive mechanism, and give policy incentives in the areas of finance, price, taxation, and finance to promote cleaner production, eco-industrial parks, and eco-city construction; secondly, a cycle should be established. The institutional system required for economic development includes the paid use system for resources and environment, the fiscal credit encouragement system, the environmental labeling system, the emission rights trading system, and the commission system, so that the development of circular economy has a corresponding institutional guarantee; finally, a green national economy should be established. Accounting system. It is necessary to reform the current economic accounting system and establish a green economy accounting system from the enterprise to the state, including the green accounting system for enterprises, the green auditing system for government and enterprises, and the green national economic accounting system. The core of the reform of the accounting system is the method of changing the traditional gross national product (gdp) statistics. The concept of green GDP (edp) should be used, which is equal to the value of gdp minus the depreciation of product capital, depletion of natural resources, and loss of environmental resources.
(III) Enterprises should develop and establish a green technology system
For enterprises, we should vigorously develop and establish a green technology system, and integrate resource recycling and environmental protection into the overall development and business strategy of the company. The green technology system includes pollution-reducing environmental engineering technologies, resource-reutilization technologies for waste recycling, and cleaner production technologies that make the production process free from waste and waste, and produce green products. The key to establishing a green technology system is actively adopting clean production technologies, adopting harmless or low-impact new processes and new technologies, greatly reducing the consumption of raw materials and energy, realizing low input, high output, low pollution, and contaminating the environment as much as possible. Emissions are eliminated during the production process. The implementation of cleaner production technologies must be closely integrated with the adjustment of industrial structure to achieve "increased production and reduced pollution" through cleaner production. At the same time, we must extend the focus of clean production from the current single enterprise to industrial parks and establish a number of eco-industrial demonstration parks.
(IV) Promoting Circular Economy in the Adjustment of Industrial Structure and Constructing a Circular Economy Industrial System
The circular economy industrial system involves three major industries: ecological industry, ecological agriculture, and ecological service industry. In the adjustment of industrial structure, we will continue to eliminate and close outdated technologies, equipment and enterprises that waste resources and pollute the environment, use clean production technologies to transform traditional industries with high energy consumption and heavy pollution, and vigorously promote clean production processes and comprehensive utilization of resources in the ecological industry. Park construction; in the adjustment of agricultural structure, we must greatly reduce the use of pesticides and fertilizers, vigorously develop pollution-free agricultural products, green food, and develop ecological agriculture; in the service industry, we must develop ecotourism, green restaurants, and various green service industries. .
(5) Promoting Circular Economy Development with Green Consumption
Green consumption is the internal driving force for the development of circular economy. Through green consumer education, the public’s environmental awareness and green consumer awareness will be raised, and the public will be actively involved in the green consumer movement. In terms of consumption guidance, governments at all levels must play a leading role in protecting the environment. Through the government’s green procurement and consumer behavior, priority should be given to the use and procurement of recycled products, environmental labeling products, and green products to foster a stable market for these products.
IV. Conclusion
Circular economy is the constraint that human beings face in resource and environment, and it is proposed to achieve sustainable development. The establishment of a circular economy is a very arduous and long-term task. It involves many problems and requires the joint efforts of all walks of life, all social strata, and various government departments to complete it. In the current starting stage, special emphasis should be placed on investigative research and theoretical guidance, and on this basis, it should be actively practiced to promote the development of circular economy.
Author/Li Xinying