Local environmentalists have appealed to China's top economic policymaking body to resume environmentally adjusted gross domestic product accounting.
Li Hengyuan, vice secretary-general of the All-China Environment Federation, has called on the National Development and Reform Commission to lead a group of environment-related ministries and departments in rolling out the accounting system across the country.
Simply called Green GDP accounting, environmentally adjusted GDP accounting is intended to demonstrate to the public and officials the waste created and environmental damage done by the process of economic growth. Green GDP is calculated by deducting the cost of natural resources' depletion and environmental degradation from the traditional GDP figure.
According to the ACEF, the bodies to be included are: the State Environmental Protection Administration, the National Bureau of Statistics, the National Forestry Administration, the State Oceanic Administration and the Agriculture and Water Resources ministries.
ACEF is one of the nation's most influential environmental NGOs, operating with a strong government background. Most of its members are retired senior officials from environment-related positions and therefore have the connections and fortitude to make sustainable change.
