Recently, with the approval of the State Council, seven departments including the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Rural Development, and the People's Bank of China jointly issued the "Action Plan for the Construction of a Beautiful China Pilot Zone in the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area" (hereinafter referred to as the "Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Action Plan"). The Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Action Plan clearly states that the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area will leverage the advantages of the "One Country, Two Systems" system, make breakthroughs in improving the quality of the ecological environment, promoting green finance reform and innovation, and deepening open cooperation. It will build a modern ecological environment governance system, fully leverage its radiating and driving role, and jointly build a beautiful bay area that integrates and innovates with Guangdong Hong Kong Macao. The Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Action Plan proposes 7 aspects and 22 main tasks, including green and low-carbon, blue clean, green and beautiful ecology, beautiful and common, health and safety, integrated innovation, and open sharing. The main text of the document is as follows.
Document body
Action Plan for the Construction of a Beautiful China Pilot Zone in the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area
In order to implement the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, promote the creation of a green development highland in the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area (hereinafter referred to as the Greater Bay Area), and jointly build a beautiful bay area that integrates innovation, this plan is formulated.
1、 Overall requirements
By 2027, the annual average concentration of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in the region will decrease to below 20 micrograms per cubic meter, the total amount of carbon dioxide emissions will basically peak, the proportion of excellent water bodies will continue to increase, the water quality of nearshore waters will remain stable, and the total amount of major pollutant emissions will continue to decrease, forming a number of landmark achievements in the construction of pilot zones. By 2030, the ecological environment quality will reach the international first-class level, green and low-carbon production and lifestyle will be widely formed, ecological security and health will be effectively guaranteed, the modernization of the ecological environment governance system and governance capacity will be basically achieved, the beautiful China pilot zone in the Greater Bay Area will be basically completed, and new significant progress will be made to support the construction of a beautiful China.
2、 Jointly build a green and low-carbon Greater Bay Area
（1） Build a regional collaborative development pattern. Deepen the implementation of the main functional area strategy, with Hong Kong, Macao, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen as the core engines of regional green development, and promote the coordinated and linked development of the Guangzhou Shenzhen metropolitan area and the Pearl River Delta. We will promote the infrastructure interconnection between the east and west sides of the the Pearl River Estuary, industrial collaborative innovation, environmental protection and joint governance, and create a "golden inner bay" around the Pearl River Estuary. Strengthen spatial guidance, deepen the application of ecological environment zoning control system, explore the establishment of land coast sea linkage and regional integration control mechanism, focus on typical ecological environment control units, refine and optimize control requirements, enrich application scenarios, and enhance control efficiency.
（2） Build a modern, green, and low-carbon industrial cluster. Accelerate the digital and green transformation of traditional industries, and ensure that new and expanded enterprises in key industries can achieve benchmark levels of effectiveness. Environmental performance should reach A-level or leading levels. Building several trillion yuan level green and low-carbon industrial clusters based on advanced manufacturing, electronic information, new energy and other industrial clusters. Vigorously develop the "green water economy", create new high value-added water and sea related industries, and build a national level fishing port economic zone. Promote collaborative innovation in reducing pollution and carbon emissions in industries such as automobiles, electronics manufacturing, building materials, and sewage treatment. Accelerate the development of environmental protection equipment manufacturing and environmental protection services. Continuously implement the Guangdong Hong Kong Clean Production Partnership Program.
（3） Building a clean and low-carbon energy system. Build world-class offshore wind power research and development and headquarters bases in Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhongshan and other places. Promote the integration of building photovoltaics according to local conditions. Layout a new energy storage core equipment manufacturing cluster area, and create a model of multi energy complementary and virtual power plants. Build a group of internationally leading regional centralized supply systems for electric, heating, cooling, and other related services. Deepen the construction of the green electricity and green certificate service system, and study the establishment of a Guangdong Hong Kong Macao green hydrogen certification framework.
（4） Building a green and sustainable transportation system. Deeply promote the green construction of zero carbon airports, railways, highways, waterways, and ports. Accelerate the application of standardized multimodal transport equipment, promote the research and development, production, and application of new energy vehicles and clean fuels, and establish a sustainable aviation fuel industry demonstration center, a waste power battery recycling center, and a green shipping center. By 2027, the proportion of clean transportation of bulk goods in key industries in Guangdong will reach over 80%, and new energy vehicles will account for over 50% of the newly added vehicles.
3、 Jointly build a blue and clean Greater Bay Area
（5） Jointly build a pilot demonstration zone for improving air quality. Strengthen the integrated prevention and control of air pollution, promote cross-border cooperation in air environment monitoring, pollution weather forecasting, and mobile source emission supervision. Deepen the comprehensive management of volatile organic compounds in key industries throughout the entire process and link. Promote the clean and low-carbon application of non road mobile machinery, promote new energy medium and heavy-duty trucks, and explore the construction of zero emission cross-border transportation corridors. Strengthen methane emission control and management of ozone depleting substances and hydrofluorocarbons. By 2027, moderate and above pollution weather with PM2.5 as the primary pollutant will be eliminated, and air quality will continue to lead in urban agglomerations across the country.
（6） Jointly build the beautiful the Pearl River Delta. We will improve the water environment governance system that integrates the upstream and downstream of the the Pearl River basin, strengthen the joint protection of major rivers, lakes, reservoirs, and headwaters such as the East River, the West River, the North River, and the Xinfeng River, and ensure the safety of water supply and drinking water. We will deepen the governance of transboundary rivers such as the Shenzhen River, Shenzhen Bay, and Qianshan River, and build a clear water corridor in the the Pearl River Xijiang Economic Belt. Implement river, lake, and reservoir water system interconnection projects according to local conditions, and promote the construction of ecologically clean small watersheds. Promote a batch of excellent cases of beautiful rivers and lakes. By 2027, the Pearl River Delta will promote the construction of beautiful rivers and lakes, with a completion rate of 45%.
（7） Jointly build a beautiful bay at the mouth of the Pearl River. We will improve the coordination and linkage mechanism for regional marine ecological environment protection, deepen the collaborative emission reduction of total nitrogen from the upstream and downstream of the the Pearl River basin into the river and the sea, and promote the collaborative governance of the coastal waters of the the Pearl River Estuary. Establish an information communication mechanism for cross-border floating garbage and illegal dumping of garbage at sea. Explore the comprehensive evaluation of ecological environment quality in estuarine areas. Innovate the joint governance model between Guangdong and Hong Kong in Shenzhen Bay, and create a beautiful bay and beautiful island at a high level. By 2027, the completion rate of Guangdong's beautiful bay will reach 45%.
4、 Building a Green and Beautiful Ecological Greater Bay Area Together
（8） Maintain the integrated ecosystem of the Bay Area. We will thoroughly implement the six major actions for the ecological construction of Green and Beautiful Guangdong, and systematically protect the the Nanling Mountain Mountains, the hills and shallow mountains around the Great Bay Area, and the blue marine ecological barrier. Establish a plant relocation protection system led by the South China National Botanical Garden and build an international mangrove center. Deepen the construction of 19 waterbird ecological corridors and create a 'migratory bird bay area'. Promote the connection between Shenzhen and Hong Kong cross-border ecological corridors, jointly build the wutong Mountain Honghualing ecological corridor, build the Bidao on the north bank of Shenzhen, and carry out cross-border collaborative protection of Hong Kong Maipu Wetland and Shenzhen Bay Mangrove Wetland. Strengthen the ecological integration protection of Qin'ao. By 2027, the Ecological Quality Index (EQI) of the Pearl River Delta will be basically stable.
（9） Strengthen biodiversity conservation. Continuously promote biodiversity conservation strategies and actions, strengthen the coordinated protection of globally threatened species such as black faced spoonbills and yellow breasted bunting, as well as unique rare and endangered species such as Chinese pangolins and Chinese white dolphins and their habitats, and enhance the protection and restoration of aquatic germplasm resources reserves. Conduct biodiversity surveys and evaluate conservation effectiveness. Strengthen the protection of urban biodiversity and wetland restoration, and create a 'habitat garden'.
5、 Building a Beautiful and Greater Bay Area Together
（10） High standard construction of international beautiful city clusters. Develop high star green buildings in cities and accelerate the energy-saving and carbon reduction renovation of existing buildings. Implement the integrated construction of ecological corridors, ventilation corridors, landscape corridors, and urban greenways, and promote the co construction and sharing of ecological environment infrastructure according to local conditions. Strengthen the control of noise, odor, and catering fumes. Jointly building beautiful cities, Guangzhou and Shenzhen are accelerating the exploration of typical paths for environmental governance in mega cities, supporting the construction of beautiful Hong Kong and beautiful Macau.
（11） Promote the construction of a beautiful Guangdong in a graded manner. Promote the close connection and mutual support between eastern and western Guangdong and the Greater Bay Area, and build a modern and beautiful city with a harmonious sea of people. Promote the deep integration of the northern Guangdong region and create a new model of ecological prosperity for mountainous cities. Deeply implement the "High Quality Development Project of Hundred Counties, Thousand Towns, and Ten Thousand Villages", promote the upgrading and expansion of county-level environmental infrastructure, and build beautiful county towns and villages. We will focus on building green and beautiful demonstration belts around Nankunshan Luofushan, Xijiang Beijiang, and Wanlvhu. By 2027, the proportion of beautiful rural areas in Guangdong province will reach 50%.
（12） Innovate the construction model of "beautiful cells". Construct a series of pocket parks, zero carbon communities, peaceful neighborhoods, and beautiful courtyards to create a tangible and visible project carrier for the people. Carry out the construction of green industrial parks, ecological industrial parks, and zero carbon parks, promote the construction of modern and beautiful pastures, the South Guangdong Red Green Trail, and the most beautiful tourist road. Establish a "Guangdong to Guangdong Beauty" promotion and exhibition platform, deepen the integration of agriculture, culture, and tourism, and continuously launch a number of ecological and cultural boutique tourism routes.
6、 Building a Healthy and Safe Greater Bay Area
（13） Strengthen ecological security and environmental health management. Strengthen the coordinated protection of ecological security between the Greater Bay Area and the Northern Ecological Development Zone, improve the ecological security monitoring and early warning system, and build a solid ecological barrier in northern Guangdong. Carry out the investigation and rectification of environmental safety hazards related to heavy metals. Strengthen the supervision and management of nuclear and radiation safety. Accelerate the establishment of a collaborative governance and environmental risk control system for new pollutants, carry out environmental health monitoring, risk assessment, and zoning and grading control. Guangzhou and Shenzhen innovate and carry out urban environmental health management.
（14） Implement collaborative treatment of soil and groundwater. Carry out actions to prevent and control soil pollution at the source, consolidate and improve the level of safe utilization of polluted farmland, promote the pilot program of "production and control at the same time" for enterprises in production, and explore the establishment of a soil environmental quality supervision system for the layered transfer of key construction land. Actively explore the "environmental remediation+development and construction" model for industrial polluted land parcels, promote risk control and remediation of large-scale vacated land parcels in stages, and ensure that the quality of groundwater environment remains stable or steadily improving.
（15） Build a 'waste free bay area' together. Carry out research on collaborative utilization and disposal of solid waste and difficult to treat hazardous waste in the Greater Bay Area, and build "waste free cells". Standardize the supervision of the entire process of handling and disposing of construction waste, and innovate a multi departmental intelligent supervision model for the entire process of hazardous waste. Comprehensive management of plastic pollution throughout the entire chain. By 2027, significant achievements will be made in the construction of the "waste free bay area", striving to build two "waste free cities".
7、 Co building, integrating and innovating the Greater Bay Area
（16） Promote the connection of rules and mechanisms in key areas. Jointly carry out standard linkage for motor vehicle emissions, cross-border river and sea area management, municipal sewage discharge, and landfill. Promote the establishment of a joint release mechanism for environmental quality monitoring data in the Greater Bay Area and develop a technical method for evaluating the Air Quality Health Index (AQHI). Establish a public service platform for carbon footprint management, carry out the construction and promotion of a carbon footprint factor database, promote the connection of carbon inclusive mechanisms and mutual recognition and trust in product carbon footprint evaluation in the Greater Bay Area cities.
（17） Vigorously promote innovation in green finance. Promote the implementation of green finance and transitional finance standards, strengthen the evaluation and application of green finance results by financial institutions, guide credit funds to invest in key areas of green and low-carbon, and continue to attract international capital to flow into green projects. Relying on existing trading venues or public resource trading platforms to carry out resource and environmental rights transactions, accelerate the registration of natural resource rights in key areas. We will develop carbon finance in a steady and orderly manner, and encourage the establishment of specialized departments and characteristic branches for green finance. Establish a Beautiful Guangdong Financial Project Library and explore financial support models for the construction of beautiful cities.
（18） Strengthen innovation in green, low-carbon, and environmentally friendly technologies. Strengthen task deployment through relevant technology plans, carry out core green environmental protection technology research and new technology demonstration projects. Construct a number of concept validation centers, pilot testing platforms, and technological innovation platforms to promote the construction of the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Ecological Environment Science Center. Continuously building a national digital economy innovation and development pilot zone, promoting digital empowerment throughout the entire process of ecological environment governance, creating a number of artificial intelligence and robot technology application scenarios, and constructing a new generation of ecological environment monitoring network.
（19） Implement major projects. Focusing on industrial chain security, ecological security, collaborative efficiency of pollution reduction and carbon reduction, ecological environment system governance and intelligent monitoring, construction of natural protected area system, national botanical garden system, and integrated protection and restoration of mountains, waters, forests, fields, lakes, grasses, and sands, we plan to reserve and construct a number of major projects, and provide support through relevant funding channels to support the application of "dual" projects in related fields in the Greater Bay Area.
8、 Jointly build, open and share the Greater Bay Area
（20） Building a high-level green and low-carbon cooperation platform. Hengqin and Macau jointly develop projects such as near zero carbon buildings and integrated smart energy, and innovatively promote environmental information disclosure. Qianhai is exploring an integrated cross-border environmental service model, promoting the collaborative sharing of environmental data between Shenzhen and Hong Kong, and creating a smart urban management model. Nansha deepens the construction of climate investment and financing center, explores a number of advanced technology application scenarios and collaborative paths for pollution reduction and carbon reduction. Hetao aims to build a Shenzhen Hong Kong green technology park and establish an internationally competitive industrial pilot transformation base.
（21） Build a green foreign trade development highland throughout the entire chain. Actively respond to changes in international green trade rules, revise and improve the directory of green product certification and accreditation, and promote international mutual recognition. Promote key export enterprises to carry out carbon footprint verification and participate in carbon labeling certification, and incorporate information such as enterprise carbon emissions and product carbon footprint into green procurement, green finance, credit supervision and other systems. Support the construction of a Hong Kong green, low-carbon, high value-added supply chain service center. Guide key export enterprises to establish a special governance framework for environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG).
（22） Deeply participate in global ecological civilization construction cooperation. Fully participate in international cooperation on green and low-carbon economy and climate protection, develop international conventions on ecological environment compliance and external exchange and cooperation projects. Give play to the role of the "the Belt and Road" Environmental Technology Exchange and Transfer Center (Shenzhen), and drive green low-carbon products and services to go global. The Hong Kong International Environmental Protection Exhibition, the "the Belt and Road" Environmental Protection Cooperation Summit Forum, and the Macao International Environmental Protection Cooperation Development Forum and Exhibition were held at a high level.
Based on the mechanism of building a beautiful China, relevant departments have increased their coordination and support for the construction of the Beautiful China pilot zone in the Greater Bay Area, implemented fiscal, industrial, financial, talent, and technology policies to promote the construction of the pilot zone, explored incentive and subsidy reforms for fiscal funds, and implemented the current preferential policies for personal income tax for overseas high-end and scarce talents in the Greater Bay Area. Guangdong plays a leading role, improves the implementation mechanism of list based and project-based promotion, takes the lead in formulating annual tasks and division of labor, and works together with Hong Kong and Macao to implement key tasks for the construction of pilot zones. Establish a sound mechanism for cooperation, exchange, and expert consultation on ecological environment protection in the Greater Bay Area. Strengthen overall coordination, promotion, tracking and evaluation, research and establish a beauty index, and increase publicity and promotion efforts for the achievements of beautiful bay area construction.