China is drafting a law on the circular economy to provide legal
framework for sustainable development.
The draft law on the circular economy would be submitted to the
Standing Committee of National People's Congress (NPC) for review
in August 2007, according to a source from a national forum on the
circular economy held in Wuhan, capital of Hubei Province.
A preliminary draft of the law was discussed at the forum by
about 300 delegates from governments, legislatures, enterprises,
non-governmental organizations and academic circles.
The preliminary draft includes provisions on resources
exploitation and conservation, wastes recovering and recycling and
sustainable consumption.
More than 10 provinces and municipalities in China have already
promulgated local regulations on the circular economy, which serve
as reference in drafting the national circular economy law,
according to Mao Rubai, chairman of the NPC's Environment and
Resources Committee.
The forum was sponsored by the NPC Environmental and Resources
Protection Committee, State Environmental Protection
Administration, National Development and Reform commission, and
Ministry of Science and Technology.
The core of the circular economy is to maintain friendliness to
the environment in the process of economic development by making a
full and efficient use of resources and energies and minimize waste
discharge.
It features low consumption of energy, low emission of
pollutants and high efficiency, through its 3-R principle: reduce,
reuse, and recycle.
(Xinhua News Agency November 16, 2006)