The Committee on Population, Resources and Environment of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) held a consultation meeting in Beijing on Aug 24 on the handling of a key proposal concerning strengthening coordinated governance and environmental risk control of emerging contaminants.

Shen Yueyue, vice-chairwoman of the CPPCC National Committee, attended the meeting and delivered a speech.

Shen said that consultation on the handling of proposals is an important form of consultative democracy practiced by the CPPCC. She called for greater political awareness and a stronger sense of responsibility to ensure that proposals are handled effectively and to a high standard.

Shen noted that since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in 2012, the CPC Central Committee has made the governance of emerging contaminants an important part of the country’s battle to prevent and control pollution. At the beginning of its current term, the 14th CPPCC National Committee launched research and surveys on the management of emerging contaminants. The fourth plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee also made important arrangements for strengthening efforts in this field.

Shen called for aligning efforts with the tasks set out in the outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30), with a focus on key issues such as improving laws and policies, strengthening basic research and key technological breakthroughs, enhancing source control and targeted management by category, improving technical standards, and strengthening overall governance capacity. She urged CPPCC members to deepen research and offer practical recommendations to help implement the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee.

Shen also called for stronger public outreach on ecological conservation through CPPCC members' “serving the people” initiative, greater public awareness of China’s achievements in ecological conservation in the new era, and wider dissemination of knowledge about emerging contaminants governance, pooling broad public support for building a Beautiful China.

Wang Jinnan, vice-chairman of the Committee on Population, Resources and Environment of the CPPCC National Committee, and Liu Zhengkui, vice-chairman of the Central Committee of the Jiusan Society, briefed the meeting participants on the relevant proposals.

CPPCC National Committee members, representatives from the Jiusan Society Central Committee, experts, and officials from the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and the Ministry of Finance, which are responsible for handling the proposals, took part in the discussions.