Remarks by Angel Gurría,

OECD Secretary-General

19 March 2016

Beijing, People's Republic of China

(As prepared for delivery)

 

 

Minister Li, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen:

 

Today, Minister Li and I are proud to launch a joint project that will secure a greener future for China’s industrial sector. This project illustrates the strong working relationship between the OECD and the Chinese Development Research Center of the State Council (DRC), which is reinforced by trust, mutual understanding and respect.

 

China’s 13th Five-Year Plan proposes to rebalance the economy by restructuring energy‑ and resource‑intensive industries. Ambitious targets have been set for pollution control and energy efficiency, along with reforms to improve the environmental governance system.

 

Our project therefore comes at the right moment! The OECD will draw on its multidisciplinary expertise, data, and tools – along with our ground-breaking work on climate finance, fossil fuel subsidy reform, measuring effective carbon prices, and policy alignment for a low-carbon economy – to deliver timely and evidence-based insights for this project, which has four main objectives.

 

• First, to compare the environmental impact of China’s current growth patterns, relative to other countries;
   
• Second, to examine how environmental policies can be strengthened in China without undermining productivity and competition;
   
• Third, to take stock of existing governance and enforcement mechanisms of China’s environmental policies; and
   
• Fourth, to consider how sectors suffering from overcapacity could be restructured to support greener and more efficient production.

 

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 

In a moment, Minister Li and I will sign a Joint Statement to demonstrate our commitment to this important project. When we meet again at the 2017 China Development Forum, we will deliver a report outlining our key findings and policy recommendations for China.

 

The OECD looks forward to many years of continued collaboration with DRC to design, develop and deliver better policies – cleaner and greener – for better lives!

 

Thank you.