Resource-Conserving Society

It refers to the society that improves the efficiency of resource utilization, maximizes economic and social benefits with the minimum resource consumption, and ensures sustainable economic and social development in the fields of production, circulation, consumption, etc., by adopting comprehensive legal, economic, and administrative measures. In view of the wasteful phenomenon existing in the process of China's economic development, the Third Plenary Session of the Fourteenth CPC Central Committee in 1995 put forward the strategic requirements for achieving two fundamental transformations of “economic growth mode” and “economic system”. In 2005, the “Notice of the State Council on Doing a Good Job in Work Priorities for Building a Conservation-oriented Society” was promulgated, deploying the construction of a resource-saving society. A resource-saving society is a complex system, which includes resource-saving concepts, resource-saving subjects, resource-saving systems, resource-saving mechanisms, etc. To build a resource-saving society, we must proceed from the national conditions, strive to deepen economic system reform, improve the property rights system, maximize the benefits of resources by clarifying the property rights of resources, make the best use of resources, and minimize the loss and waste of resources; implement the strategy of rejuvenating the country through science and education, accelerate the construction of the national innovation system, vigorously develop applied technologies, promote the efficient allocation and comprehensive integration of scientific and technological resources of the whole society, and improve the utilization rate of resources; implement the strategy of sustainable development, promote the coordination of economy, society, population, resources and eco-environment, promote green production modes and civilized consumption in the whole society, advocate low-input, high-output, less-pollution, and recyclable production modes, vigorously carry out recycling of renewable resources and develop circular economy; formulate development and utilization plans, focus on preparation of special mid- and long-term plans for, e.g., power saving, water saving, oil saving, and comprehensive utilization of resources, and provide guidance for industrial water saving, energy conservation, comprehensive utilization of resources, industrialization of new energy and renewable energy; strengthen legal construction, formulate and improve the laws on protecting the environmental resources, food resources, water resources and various key mineral resources, introduce laws and regulations to prevent waste, and provide a legal basis for punishing those causing serious damage to and wastes of the environmental resources. Accelerating the construction of a resource-saving society, and taking the path with high technological content, good economic benefits, low resource consumption, less environmental pollution, and full utilization of human resources advantages, are important measures to ensure economic and national security, and are related to the fundamental interests of the people, as well as to the survival and long-term development of the Chinese nation.