ABSTRACTS
Opportunities, Challenges, Transformation Paths and Policy Recommendations for Green Development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt⊙Zhou Hongchun
The Yangtze River Economic Belt possesses unique advantages as it spans from east to west China, links the north and south and reaches from the river to the sea. Bound together by the shared concept of “drinking water from the same river”, it becomes more and more powerful and holds a prominent position in the development of civilization worldwide. The development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt should be guided by the principle of jointly promoting comprehensive conservation and avoiding large-scale exploitation, with ecological priority and green development as its purpose. The green development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt has certain advantages in terms of natural resources, economic development foundation, urban agglomeration dynamics, ecological civilization construction, biodiversity and scientific and technological talent support, etc. At the same time, it also faces the challenges of unbalanced and uncoordinated development, insufficiently sound cross-regional coordination mechanisms, incomplete interest mechanisms, serious segmentation issues, and relatively weak basic research. The basic path for the green and low-carbon development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt is as follows: making greater efforts in the construction of ecological civilization and ecological environmental protection so as to consolidate the foundation of development; promoting the green and low-carbon transformation of the economic structure, bolstering the potential and momentum of development; promoting the extension of the chain of advantaged industries and the construction of the chain of emerging industries so as to guarantee the security of the supply chain; taking the lead in the layout of the plans and playing a pioneering role in achieving the carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals; innovating institutional mechanisms and building a coordinated development belt for regional cooperation. In the future, to promote the green and high-quality development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, it is necessary to improve the policy system, harness the proactive allocation of resources through strategic planning, develop new productive forces, explore market-oriented approaches to realize the value of government-led ecological products, strike a balance development and security concerns, adhere to high-level opening-up, and jointly build a green “Belt and Road”.
Marx and Engels on the Human Need for Air: Also on Environmental Injustice from the Perspective of Air Poverty⊙Feng Shoulin & Li Zhen
Air itself is a pervasive presence in nature, an indispensable foundation for human survival and development and also a direct indicator of the harmony between humanity and nature. Marx and Engels studied the air supply environment for workers in urban dwelling places, factories, workshops and mines, especially for female workers in factories and children in schools. They observed that in modern cities, epitome of capital production and consumption, the poor air filled with dust particles directly damaged the workers’ lungs and weakened their ability to work. The deprivation of workers’ fresh air was related to housing rent, labor control, capital conservation, and bourgeois ideology. Marx and Engels opposed the bourgeois position that fresh air was considered non-essential for workers and criticized the bourgeoisie’s denial of workers’ basic needs for fresh air. They exposed the inhumanity, alienation, and inherent conflicts and irreconcilable contradictions between humans and nature in the capitalist economic system, and demonstrated the profit motive of capitalist private ownership for production and the environmental injustice of capitalism that sacrificed workers’ lives. Only by transcending capitalism could we truly meet people’s needs for fresh air and work together to achieve a harmonious coexistence between humans and nature on Earth.
The Water Eco-civilization Construction from the Perspective of Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization⊙Zhang Yunfei
Water eco-civilization is a form of ecological civilization that realizes the harmony between human and water. The thought on the water eco-civilization construction is an important component of Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization. From the ideological perspective, Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization provides a scientific ontology, development outlook, values, methodology, governance outlook, and global outlook for the water eco-civilization construction, which is a scientific follow-up to the water eco-civilization construction. From the ecological perspective, Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization regards the water eco-civilization construction as a whole composed of sustainable water resources management, water environment, water ecology, water energy, water disaster prevention and control, etc., and requires ensuring national water safety and people’s water rights and interests. From the social perspective, Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization regards the water eco-civilization construction as a whole composed of water engineering, water economy, water system, water culture, and water society, and requires social support for the realization of harmony between human and water. Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization has pointed out the direction for the construction of water eco-civilization from the aspects of ideology, ecological composition, and social construction.
Preliminary Exploration of China’s Independent Knowledge System of Ecological Civilization: An Interview with Professor Zhang Yunfei⊙Zhang Yunfei amp; Wang Yuexin
Since the publication of An Initial Exploration of Ecological Ethics in 1986, Professor Zhang Yunfei from the School of Marxism at Renmin University of China has been dedicated to research on Marxism, ecological civilization, and related fields. His research covers areas such as ecological ethics, traditional Chinese ecological culture, sustainable technology, Marxist ecological civilization theory, Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, the history of the Communist Party of China’s ecological civilization thinking, Western environmentalism and ecologism, among others. He strives to break the hegemony of Western-centric, eco-centric, and neoliberal environmental policies in discourse, and persistently explores the construction of an independent knowledge system of ecological civilization in China.
Professor Zhang has published a total of 47 works, including academic monographs such as Unity of Man and Nature:Confucianism and the Ecological Environment(1995), Chinese Farmhouse (1996, 2019), Ecological Civilization from the Perspective of Historical Materialism(2014, 2018), Unity of Man and Nature: Confucianism and Daoism Philosophy and Ecological Civilization(2019),Research on Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization(Building An Ecological Civilization 2020), Resurrection of Nature: Marxist Ideas on Human-Nature Relationship and its Contemporary Significance(2022), Ethical Appeals of Ecological Civilization(2023), and Research on Systematic Approach to Ecological Civilization Construction(2023), among others. He has also published over 300 articles in prestigious domestic and international journals, with representative academic papers including “An Initial Exploration of Ecological Ethics”,“On the Position and Role of Ecological Civilization in the Civilization System”, and “On the Historical Position of Ecological Civilization.”
On December 8, 2023, at the request of the editorial department of Poyang Lake Journal, Wang Yuexin, a doctoral student from the School of Marxism at Renmin University of China, conducted an in-depth interview with Professor Zhang Yunfei. Drawing on his personal academic experience, Prof. Zhang shared his views on the construction of China’s independent knowledge system of ecological civilization. He strongly advocates for moving beyond eco-centrism and emphasizes the establishment of an ecological ethics that promotes harmonious coexistence between humans and nature. Regarding traditional Chinese ecological culture, he argues for resisting both cultural nihilism and cultural retrogression, and instead utilizing ecologized achievements of the new technological revolution to reshape Chinese traditional ecological culture.
Prof. Zhang believes that Marxist ecological civilization thought not only serves as the theoretical foundation for constructing China’s independent ecological civilization knowledge system but also forms the backbone of this system. Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization is considered both the fundamental guiding principle and the greatest innovative achievement in the construction of China’s independent ecological civilization knowledge system. Following the dialectical thinking principle of unity between logic and history, Zhang objectively and systematically traces the conceptual history and development of contemporary Chinese ecological civilization, aiming to establish an academic paradigm of “the history of the Communist Party of China’s ecological civilization thinking”. He has also studied and researched Western environmentalism and ecological thought, and believes that the Western green movement provides a scientific and open perspective for constructing China’s independent knowledge system of ecological civilization. This perspective should integrate critical and constructive elements. Finally, he firmly believes that the communism proposed by Marx, which unites humanism and naturalism, will become a reality. He points out that the unity of humanism and naturalism is the “guiding light” of ecological civilization, and is a scientific theory of ecological civilization that can never be surpassed.
Tackling Climate Change from Responsibility to Capacity: Also on the Moral Dilemma of the Principle of Capability⊙Shi Jun amp; Zhang Qianqian
Tackling climate change is a global responsibility that requires global co-operation and unprecedented efforts. Most mainstream approaches to tackling climate change today are predominantly founded on the principle of responsibility, including practices like making polluters or beneficiaries pay, implementing carbon taxes, and engaging in carbon trading. However, these measures can only play a minor role in “fixing” global warming, because they are intertwined with the traditional political and economic interests of all countries, and it is difficult to break away from the profit-seeking nature of capitalism. The goal of climate governance cannot be fundamentally achieved. We should therefore transform the ethic approach, shift from the accountability of the polluters to the ability of the administrators, and take the principle of capacity as one of the basic principles for addressing global issues, whereby every individual and every country should contribute to climate stability to the best of their ability. The principle of capacity ignores or evades the question of justice, i.e., how the ability is acquired. Its moral appeal is that great power comes with great responsibility, but this kind of ethic principle needs to address the controversy of “moral abduction”. The principle of capability provides a new way of thinking about global issues, including climate change, and provides an ethical weapon for the “tragedy of the commons” brought about by the use of “1 morality” as a weapon to drag global issues into the quagmire of moral abduction.
The Multiple Political Implications of Western Geoengineering Initiatives⊙Li Qing
Geoengineering, as a policy alternative for mitigating and adapting to climate change, is a collective term for a series of scientific and technological ideas on a global scale. The concept of “geoengineering” for artificially changing the natural climate has been circulating for decades, but this technological prospect of attempting to transform the natural climate environment on a global scale has also sparked a series of international discussions on legal, ethical, political, and other social issues. As a technological path to addressing climate change, geoengineering has enormous scientific uncertainty and ethical controversies, as well as multiple political risks. It means a grand social engineering that suppresses or ignores the concerns of the general public. It can easily lead to new forms of environmental authoritarianism or “climate Leviathan”. It forces the public to accept “a politics of experiment” and fails to provide feasible suggestions for public participation and legislation. Once deployed and implemented, geopolitical challenges may become unprecedented political challenges faced by human society. Therefore, it is only a lackluster policy proposal made by the Western academia in the face of the helplessness of liberal democracy in dealing with the contemporary global ecological crisis. Only multi-level, polycentric, and cross-scale policy coordination, integration, and convergence will be the norm and the right way for global and regional climate change governance in the future.
From Stock Civilization to Incremental Civilization: A New Exploration of Environmental History Based on Energy⊙Guo Geying
Based on the historical changes of energy, the writing of Environmental History as the overall history can be effectively organized. We attempt to understand the process of human civilization as twice self-consciousness of Stock Civilization to Incremental Civilization based on the changes in the utilization mode and total quantity characteristics of dominant energy. On this basis, unlike William McNeil and his son’s interpretation of historical development as the continuous weaving and expansion of the human network system, we further subdivide the process into stock interaction and incremental creation. This work can effectively integrate energy development narrative and human network narrative, and structurally outline the core process of environmental history that “society and environment are embedded in each other”. Finally, we will have a new historical positioning and outlook on the current crisis and future prospects of human civilization.
The Ecological Aesthetic Consciousness in Japanese Disaster Films: On Makoto Shinkai’s Animated Film Suzume⊙Lin Qi, Yang Xili amp; Cai Xiuxing
Makoto Shinkai challenges Japanese disaster films with the beauty of anime, achieving an aesthetic transformation from opposition to integration between humanity and disaster in his latest anime film Suzume. The journey of Suzume, starting from the “ruins”, is a story of growing up with ecological aesthetics. The running “three-legged chair” and the beauty of Mount Fuji showcase the harmony between humanity and the environment. The metaphors of original landscapes and traditional cats explore empathy between individuals. In the nourishment of a series of ecological aesthetics, Makoto Shinkai constructs the world-class paradigm of Japanese anime, marking the transformation of ecological aesthetics in Japanese disaster films. His effort holds global significance.
Aesthetic Redemption of Non-anthropocentrism in the Age of Ecological Crisis
⊙Pan Wuhao
Anthropocentrism represents the fundamental cause of the ecological crisis. It conceptualizes the relationship between humanity and nature within a binary hierarchical framework, where humans are regarded as the masters of nature, and nature is seen as a passive and lifeless entity. This perspective overlooks the intimate and interdependent coexistence of humans with nature, leading to humanity’s unrestrained exploitation of nature. The body plays a crucial role in challenging this anthropocentric hierarchy and the dichotomous separation between humans and nature. The material body serves as a nexus between humans and their environment, with the state of the body being inextricably linked to the condition of the environment. The environment, as an agent, influences human health and existence. Amidst the profound environmental changes characterizing the ecological crisis era, people can no longer be mere spectators of the crisis through artistic texts; rather, they are enveloped in it, experiencing ecological transformations directly in their daily lives. There is a need for aesthetic intervention, which necessitates an attentiveness to the ecological aspects inherent in everyday experiences, recognizing the profound connections between humans and nature. This recognition should inform the construction of an ecological aesthetic community that encompasses both humans and the environment.
Review of Research on Technological System of Ecological Civilization
⊙Li Jinze amp; Bao Qingde
Since human society entered the era of industrial civilization, the negative effect of technology has been intensified continuously due to improper use of technology. The era has called for a technological system corresponding to the spirit of ecological civilization era. The academic community has shifted from a technological perspective to a reflection on the negative effects of technology on the environment, which is to analyze and seek the plan of ecological transformation of technology from the peripheral angles of economy, society and politics. It has also conducted multi-dimensional research on the initial formation of an ecological technology perspective, the concretization of ecological technology research, and the diversification of ecological technology. The problem is that there is still a relative lack of systematic research, practical turning research, and future outlook research on the ecological civilization technological system in the academic community. Therefore, the technological system of ecological civilization deserves further in-depth and detailed research, and correspondingly, we should adhere to the improvement and development of the green technology system consistent with the era of ecological civilization.
Land, Environment and Agriculture: An Overview of the Second China-UK Workshop on Environmental History⊙Shi Xueqin
The second China-UK Workshop on Environmental History themed “Land, Environment and Agriculture” was held on-line from September 21 to 22, 2023. This workshop provided a wide range of topics such as the rise of agribusiness in Europe as an innovative organisational response to the threat of price volatility in the Western European broiler chicken industry, changing perceptions of environmental value on Exmoor, definitions of landscape amid Ottoman agrarian reform in northwestern Anatolia, the neglected history of fences in Britain, American toys on China’s farm showcasing the cooperation between the Chinese ministry of agriculture and forestry and the International Harvester Company, ecological explanation of Xinglin culture, the Multi-species entanglements behind the Bengal Delta’s cyclone disasters, the Romantic turn of Industrial rationality with a case study of landscape changes on Dartmoor in south western England, and the dispute between custom and improvement as reflected in the drainage conflict in English Fenland. After the reports, both sides exchanged comments and questions. This workshop has broadened the academic horizon of Chinese and British scholars in the fields of land, environment and agriculture, and promoted the renewal and developments on the study of environmental history for both sides.
責任編輯:王俊暐