Establishing a sound ecological protection compensation mechanism to stimulate the driving force for high-quality development of the ecological environment

The ecological protection compensation system is an important part of China's ecological civilization system, an important means to achieve the goal of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, and an important path to implement the rights and responsibilities of ecological protection. In recent years, China has continued to promote ecological protection compensation policies, gradually forming an ecological protection compensation system with Chinese characteristics. The mechanism for ecological protection compensation in key areas has been refined and implemented, and the cooperation network for ecological protection compensation between regions has been closely and firmly woven. Significant progress has been made in market-oriented ecological protection compensation. However, ecological protection compensation also faces issues such as the need to improve sustainability, difficulty in implementing market-oriented tools effectively, and the need to improve synergy with other policies.

In September 2021, the "Opinions on Deepening the Reform of the Ecological Protection Compensation System" issued by the General Office of the Communist Party of China and the State Council pointed out the need to accelerate the improvement of the effective market and the ecological protection compensation system that better integrates government, classifies compensation and comprehensive compensation, coordinates vertical compensation and horizontal compensation, and strengthens the collaborative efforts of incentives and hardening constraints. To continuously improve the ecological protection compensation mechanism, we need to be guided by the direction of reform, improve top-level design, strengthen legal protection, further leverage the role of market mechanisms, accelerate the promotion of diversified compensation, and stimulate the driving force for high-quality development of the ecological environment.