China says environment still grim despite 5 years of progress

There was still a long way to go, said Zhao Yingmin, the vice-minister of ecology and environment, even though China had met a series of targets on smog, water quality and carbon emissions over the five years from 2016.”While seeing the improvements … it should be clearly recognized that the quality of the ecological environment remains far from people’s expectations for a better life,” he told reporters in Beijing.China remains dependent on heavy industry and coal, and the “grim environmental trends” have not fundamentally changed, he added.Last month, President Xi Jinping set a 2060 deadline to attain “carbon neutrality,” as part of China’s commitments to the Paris climate change accord. It also aims for emissions to peak by 2030.The announcement was seen as a challenge to the United States, set to withdraw from the Paris deal on Nov. 4. On Monday, the foreign ministry criticized Washington’s record on climate, calling it a consensus-breaker and a troublemaker.China is drawing up a new five-year plan for 2021-2025, which experts say would require stronger commitment to controlling coal consumption and promoting low-carbon energy to meet the 2060 target of carbon neutrality.Zhao did not give detail of the next five-year plan, but said China would step up efforts to control fossil fuel consumption and promote low-carbon technology, while promising greater contributions to tackling climate change.