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 the Yangtze River Delta Beautiful China Pilot Zone" (hereinafter referred to as the "Yangtze River Delta Action Plan"). The "Yangtze River Delta Action Plan" clearly states that the Yangtze River Delta region is closely linked to the two key aspects of integration and high-quality development, and has made breakthroughs in developing green productivity and ecological environment protection and governance. It highlights the unity of regional legal standards, ecological environment zoning control, and smart governance, and aims to build a model area for high-level protection and high-quality development in the Yangtze River Delta region. The Yangtze River Delta Action Plan proposes 5 aspects and 22 main tasks, including green development, collaborative governance, ecological protection, reform and innovation, and characteristic models. The main text of the document is as follows.
Document body
Action Plan for the Construction of the Yangtze River Delta Beautiful China Pilot Zone
In order to implement the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, build a high-level beautiful China pilot zone in the Yangtze River Delta, and promote the development of integrated development in the Yangtze River Delta to a deeper level and wider field, this plan is formulated.
1、 Overall requirements
By 2027, regional green and low-carbon development will be further promoted, ecological environment quality will continue to improve, new breakthroughs will be made in the construction of modern ecological environment governance system, significant achievements will be made in the construction of pilot zones, and a number of practical and institutional innovation achievements will be formed. Among them, the total emissions of major pollutants and carbon emission intensity continue to decline, the annual average concentration of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) has dropped to 30 micrograms per cubic meter, the proportion of excellent water bodies has increased by 2.1 percentage points compared to 2024, and the quality of groundwater and nearshore waters remains stable. By 2030, a green production and lifestyle will be widely formed, the quality of the ecological environment will be comprehensively improved, the modernization of the ecological environment governance system and governance capacity will be basically achieved, the Yangtze River Delta Beautiful China Pilot Zone will be basically completed, and new significant progress will be made to support the construction of a beautiful China.
2、 Building a Green and Low Carbon Development Highland Together
（1） Build a collaborative and win-win green industry system. To build strategic emerging industry clusters with international influence, such as integrated circuits, biomedicine, and low altitude equipment, and to proactively layout future industries such as brain computer interfaces, quantum technology, and aerospace and deep sea. We will develop and strengthen green and low-carbon environmental protection industries such as energy conservation and environmental protection, new energy, and new materials, and cultivate environmentally friendly and healthy industries. Resolutely curb the blind implementation of "two highs" projects and promote the deep integration of digitalization, intelligence, and greening in traditional industries such as petrochemicals, steel, and textiles. The system promotes various collaborative innovation pilot projects for pollution reduction and carbon reduction.
（2） Building a mutually beneficial and shared new energy system. Orderly promote key projects such as regional contiguous wind power, far-reaching offshore wind power, and coastal nuclear power. Construct a batch of pumped storage power stations and build a green energy storage base with a capacity of tens of millions of kilowatts. Continuously implementing total coal consumption control and reduction substitution, accelerating the "three transformations linkage" of active coal-fired power units, and implementing the special action for upgrading the new generation of coal-fired power. Promote the implementation of a batch of ultra-high voltage projects, such as the introduction of Mongolian power into Shanghai, the introduction of Mongolian power into Jiangsu, the introduction of Gansu power into Zhejiang, and the introduction of Shaanxi power and Mongolian power into Anhui. Carry out cross provincial green power market trading.
（3） Establish a multi connected green transportation system. Accelerate the construction of multimodal transport bases and channel networks, and vigorously promote the development of "circular water" and "circular rail" transportation. Accelerate the upgrading and transformation of railway freight yards, logistics parks, ports, airports, and internal operation vehicles and machinery for industrial and mining enterprises with new energy. Build a regional new energy vehicle charging and swapping infrastructure "one network". Accelerate the development of new and clean energy ships, and jointly build electric ship charging and swapping facilities in inland and coastal areas. Promote the normalization of green methanol injection in Shanghai Port. By 2027, strive to achieve full coverage of standardized shore power facilities for various types of docks and berths in the region.
3、 Co create ecological environment collaborative governance model
（4） Strengthen precise control of air pollution. Deepen the ultra-low emission transformation of key industries. Implement the performance improvement project for air pollution prevention and control in key industries. Promote comprehensive management of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in key industries such as petrochemicals, chemicals, industrial coatings, packaging and printing, oil storage and transportation, and complete no less than 1000 VOCs source substitution projects annually. Complete the overall elimination of diesel trucks operating in the National III region, accelerate the elimination and renewal of National IV diesel trucks and National II non road mobile machinery. Deepen the coordinated response to heavy pollution weather in the border areas of Jiangsu Anhui and Shandong Henan. Continuously implement noise pollution prevention and control actions. Strengthen comprehensive management of atmospheric non-point sources.
（5） Promote the systematic treatment of water pollution. We will promote a new round of comprehensive treatment of the water environment in the the Taihu Lake Lake basin and Chaohu Lake, and implement actions to improve the water quality of the Huaihe River, Hongze Lake, Dianshan Lake and other key water bodies. Carry out the renovation and improvement project of sewage outlets into rivers in the trans provincial water environment sensitive areas such as the Taihu Lake Lake, the Grand Canal and important water conservation areas, and promote the quality and efficiency of sewage treatment in the industrial park. Deepen the coordinated protection and integrated supervision of cross-border water bodies such as Taipu River, Xin'an River Qiandao Lake, etc. Copy and promote the cross-border water conservation and governance system of the Yangtze River Delta Ecological Green Integrated Development Demonstration Zone (hereinafter referred to as the Integrated Demonstration Zone). Promote the integrated operation and maintenance management mode of "plant station network" for rainwater and sewage, and explore the establishment of a performance-based payment mechanism for sewage system operation and maintenance. Promote the construction of ecologically clean small watersheds. Establish a full chain prevention and control system for agricultural non-point source pollution, including monitoring, tracing, accounting, governance, and management. Collaborate to promote the protection and construction of beautiful rivers and lakes in cross-border areas such as Dianshan Lake, and encourage relevant cities to comprehensively promote the construction of beautiful rivers and lakes. By 2027, the water quality of the main reaches of the Yangtze River and Xin'an River in the region will remain stable at Class II, the water quality of the Huaihe River will remain Class III, the water ecological environment of the Taihu Lake Lake and Chaohu Lake will continue to improve, and the completion rate of beautiful rivers and lakes will reach 44%.
（6） Build a collaborative governance model for nearshore waters. Deepen the joint protection and treatment of water quality in nearshore waters, and establish a regional collaborative control mechanism for total nitrogen in rivers flowing into the sea. Study the ecological environment quality assessment system for the Yangtze River estuary and Hangzhou Bay estuary. Summarize and promote the "blue cycle" model for the treatment of marine plastic pollutants. Yancheng in Jiangsu and Wenzhou in Zhejiang are exploring integrated development to promote the construction of a beautiful bay across the entire region. By 2027, the construction rate of Beautiful Bay will reach over 40%.
（7） Strengthen the prevention and control of soil pollution at the source. Promote the full coverage of tracing and remediation of heavy metal pollution in agricultural land soil in stages. Establish a complete process control mechanism for soil pollution risks in construction land and explore new models for green and low-carbon remediation of soil pollution. We will orderly promote the investigation and evaluation of groundwater pollution, and continue to advance the special rectification of soil and groundwater pollution in chemical industry relocation sites and chemical industry parks.
（8） Join hands to build a comprehensive 'waste free city'. Introduce a regional co construction plan for "zero waste cities". To build a regional solid waste characteristic resource utilization industry chain, promote the application of difficult to treat hazardous waste utilization and disposal technologies, Shanghai has taken the lead in achieving near zero landfill of solid waste, and Zhejiang has achieved zero landfill of hazardous waste. Strengthen the supervision of inter provincial transfer of solid waste and the sharing of information on utilization and disposal. Establish a risk prevention and control regulatory system for the entire process of hazardous waste, and optimize the "point-to-point" targeted utilization exemption management. By 2027, the proportion of "zero waste cities" construction will exceed 60%, striving to build four "zero waste cities".
（9） Build a bottom line for regional environmental safety. Jointly carry out the investigation and rectification of environmental risks and hidden dangers in the Yangtze River, Huai River, Grand Canal and other river basins, strengthen the prevention and control of environmental risks such as hazardous waste, heavy metals, tailings ponds, nuclear and radiation, and implement a number of environmental emergency basic capacity building projects. Carry out pilot projects for the treatment of new pollutants in key enterprises and industrial parks, and implement capacity building projects for risk management and control of new pollutants. Accelerate the assessment of ecological environment health risks and promote the pilot work of national environmental health management. Deepen the construction of climate adaptive cities.
4、 Pattern of Co operated Ecological Protection System
（10） Strengthen the coordinated protection of regional ecological space. Implement the national spatial planning of the Yangtze River Delta. Accelerate the construction of ecological barriers in land areas such as the Dabie Mountains in western Anhui and the mountainous areas between southern Anhui and western Zhejiang, build marine ecological barriers in the waters and coastal zones near the Yellow Sea and East China Sea, and basically achieve provincial-level connectivity of the Yangtze River Delta and Yangtze River main stream ecological corridor. Strengthen the coordinated protection of ecological corridors in the Yangtze River, Huai River Hongze Lake and other regions. Jointly formulate standards for greenway connectivity in the Yangtze River Delta region, and promote the connection of intercity interface greenways. Promote the creation of Qianjiangyuan Baishanzu National Park, Nanbei Jiliedao National Park, and Mount Huangshan (Guniujiang) National Park. By 2027, the regional ecological security barrier will become more stable.
（11） Collaborate to carry out ecological protection and restoration. Coordinate and promote the integrated protection and restoration of mountains, waters, forests, fields, lakes, grasses, and sands. Develop plans for the protection and utilization of river and lake shorelines, and promote the construction of Shanghai's V-shaped ecological shoreline, Zhejiang Qianwan ecological shoreline, and Jiangsu coastline. We will strengthen the coordinated protection and restoration of important wetlands such as the Yangtze Estuary Hangzhou Bay and the the Taihu Lake Lake basin. Rolling implementation of the three-year action plan for the construction of Chongming world-class ecological island.
（12） Improve the biodiversity conservation system. Jointly carry out biodiversity survey and monitoring, and establish a "one-stop multi-point" national ecological quality comprehensive monitoring station. Collaborate to carry out conservation and management of migratory bird habitats, rare and endangered species, and extremely small populations. Establish a collaborative prevention and control system for invasive alien species in the region. Build a batch of biodiversity experience sites in the Yangtze River Delta. By 2027, the protection rate of nationally protected wild animal and plant species will reach 88%.
5、 Co cultivating pilot fields for ecological civilization
（13） Improve the regional legal standard system. Explore collaborative legislation in the field of regional ecological environment and unify administrative penalty standards for ecological environment. Introduce guidelines for regional and local standard management, study regional integration standards for air pollution prevention and control in the pharmaceutical and automotive repair industries, and promote mutual recognition of industry standards and group standards. Establish a sound regional ecological environment damage compensation system, build a number of damage compensation and restoration bases, and explore remote recovery and restoration mechanisms.
（14） Strengthen the zoning and control of ecological environment. Focusing on typical ecological environment control units, refine and optimize control requirements, enrich application scenarios, and improve implementation mechanisms. Explore incorporating management requirements for oceans, groundwater, heavy metals, sound, etc. into the ecological environment zoning and control system. Explore the establishment of a cross regional ecological environment zoning control and coordination mechanism, and pilot it in the integrated demonstration zone. Promote the linkage between planning environmental impact assessment and project environmental impact assessment, and deepen the reform of integrating environmental impact assessment and pollutant discharge permit approval.
（15） Establish a sound mechanism for realizing the value of ecological products. Accelerate the registration of natural resource rights in key areas. We will deepen the construction of the Xin'an River Qiandao Lake Ecological Environment Joint Protection Cooperation Zone, implement the horizontal ecological protection compensation mechanism in the Yangtze River basin, and promote the construction of ecological protection compensation mechanisms in the the Taihu Lake Lake basin and other areas. Lishui, Zhejiang, Huzhou, and Mount Huangshan, Anhui, carried out the first batch of national ecological product value realization mechanism pilots. Research and formulate management measures for the paid use and trading of regional emission rights, and promote the expansion of pilot projects for emission rights trading.
（16） Deepen regional green finance cooperation. Promote the upgrading of mature local green finance standards to national standards, and encourage the development of green loans, green bonds, green funds, and mixed financing. Give full play to the role of the National Green Development Fund and guide social capital to participate in green and low-carbon project investment. Shanghai Pudong New Area, Lishui in Zhejiang Province, and Chuzhou in Anhui Province are deeply promoting climate investment and financing pilot projects. Explore financial support models for the construction of beautiful cities.
（17） Build an ecological environment technology highland. Strengthen task deployment through relevant technology plans and jointly carry out scientific and technological research and development around major environmental common problems in the region. Promote the construction of a number of innovative platforms such as national and provincial key laboratories. Actively leverage the role of the National Technology Transfer Eastern Center and the National Green Technology Trading Center, jointly build a number of platforms for the transformation of ecological and environmental scientific and technological achievements, and support the application of new technologies in the field of ecological and environmental engineering.
（18） Enhance the digital governance capability of ecological environment. Accelerate the construction of a modern ecological environment monitoring system and establish a sound integrated monitoring network for the sky, earth, and sea. Explore the establishment of an integrated regulatory mechanism for regional socialized monitoring institutions. Strengthen the application of artificial intelligence in the field of ecological environment, and create a batch of "artificial intelligence+ecological environment" demonstration application scenarios.
（19） Establish a regional carbon footprint management system. Promote the standardization of carbon footprint management rules for industries such as new energy vehicles, batteries, and textiles, and take the lead in conducting carbon labeling certification in key industries such as photovoltaics and steel. Give full play to the demonstration and driving role of chain leading enterprises in the fields of steel, electronics, fast-moving consumer goods, etc., and build a batch of green and low-carbon supply chains.
6、 Jointly shaping beautiful Yangtze River Delta characteristic models
（20） Carry out the construction of beautiful urban and rural areas with high standards. Promote landmark achievements in the construction of around 10 beautiful cities, and encourage county-level cities with high levels of urbanization and strong economic development to carry out the construction of beautiful cities. Coordinate the revitalization of rural ecology and the improvement of living environment, and promote the construction of beautiful countryside throughout the county. Create "beautiful cells" such as pocket parks, street green spaces, and small and micro water bodies, and encourage the construction of "beautiful cells" based on local conditions in parks, towns, communities, and enterprises. By 2027, the proportion of beautiful rural areas built in the entire county will reach 50%.
（21） High level construction of integrated demonstration zones. Promote the implementation of a new batch of reform authorization items in the ecological environment field of integrated demonstration zones. Consolidate and improve the effectiveness of the "three unifications" of standards, monitoring, and law enforcement, promote the normalized sharing of monitoring data, deepen administrative law enforcement cooperation in the field of ecological environment, and accelerate the establishment of a diversified ecological protection compensation mechanism for the Taipu River. Carry out cross regional ecological product value accounting and cultivate shared brands of ecological products in integrated demonstration zones. Promote the construction of near zero carbon areas such as water town living rooms. Jointly apply for the "Green Mountains and Rivers are Gold and Silver Mountains" practical innovation base. Promote the construction of a national key laboratory for water pollution control and green resource recycling.
（22） Promote the implementation of a batch of major projects with high quality. We will focus on the construction of regional new energy systems, green transportation systems, pollution control and transformation upgrading of key industries, comprehensive management of important rivers and lakes, joint construction and sharing of regional solid waste facilities, ecological barriers and corridors, and promote the implementation of a number of major projects and major engineering projects. Engineering promotes the construction of beautiful cities, beautiful villages, beautiful rivers and lakes, beautiful bays, and other projects.
Based on the mechanism of building a beautiful China, relevant departments have increased their coordination, promotion, and support for the construction of the Yangtze River Delta Beautiful China Pilot Zone. The provincial people's governments in the region are responsible for the construction of the Yangtze River Delta Beautiful China Pilot Zone, fully leveraging the role of the three-level cooperation mechanism in the Yangtze River Delta region, strengthening overall coordination, promotion, tracking and evaluation, and increasing publicity and promotion of experience achievements and typical cases.
Source: Comprehensive Department of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment