Only since the 1970s, there are approaches to environmental policy, with real effort has only been about five years, especially since Beijing won the 2008 Olympic Games got. Central State environmental regulatory authority is the State Environmental Protection Administration. Due to the enormous growth of the Chinese economy is growing pressure on natural resources being rapidly. The government has recognized the problem, so that the National People's Congress at its meeting in March 2006 in his new five-year plan has decided that he did not promote growth at any cost wants. The energy consumption measured in terms of economic performance for 2010 is to be reduced 20 percent, water consumption should be reduced by 30 percent and pollutant emissions by 10 per cent fall.

On 14 Announced in October 2007 head of state Hu Jintao at the start of the 17th Party Congress of the Communist Party is an "equitable distribution of wealth" to. Quote: Our economic growth is inordinately high cost of our raw materials and our environment. He continued as follows.

Quote: We will build a system that for saving energy and reducing exhaust committed.As the Friedrich-Ebert-Foundation stated, the environmental legislation of China on the paper for many years in many areas is exemplary. Because of the widespread corruption in all spheres of politics and economy, these policies, however, only poorly implemented completely. Moreover, some decisions of the government is not consistent. For example, China's coal production from 2006 to 2010 by 18 percent. (From 2000 to 2005 it increased by 70 percent already).

The alarming development of the environment of China and the increasing destruction of forests, with the threat of extinction of rare species observed (Example: Big Panda), have been in the eighties to the emergence of a national environmental movement. Decisive impulses, the UN environmental conference in Rio in 1992. Many environmental organizations were in the following years, first in Beijing, and later also in other parts of the country was launched.

Often, the foundation on the initiative back of individuals who are in contact with foreign organizations had. Examples of China's environmental and conservation organizations are "Friends of Nature (FON - Ziran Zhi You) with 5,000 members," Global Village of Beijing (GVB - Beijing Diqiu Cun). Student environmental organizations with several hundred members now exists at every major university. The organizations' Yunnan Green Watershed "and" Green Earth Volunteers are, inter alia through the coordination of protest against the proposed large dam projects in southwest China (see the Three Gorges dam) has become known as "hot spot" of environmental degradation in China are . Besides the native entertained numerous international non-governmental organizations, representative offices in China and support projects. Although the burgeoning Chinese environmental movement in its commitment against the powerful industrial and economic interests in profile, it has a few more years before they can act independently,yet proclaimed himself the party a new environmental consciousness,which on 11 March 2008 in the Chinese National Congress to the awarding of the Ministerialstatus to the State Environmental Protection Administration SEPA led. State Councilor Hua Jianmin said environmental protection is an integral part of politics in our country and is indispensable for the existence and further development of China. Zhou Shengxian was appointed Minister for the Environment and not beloved by all the authority of SEPA, the Ministry for Environmental Protection of the People's Republic of China (Ministry of Environmental Protection of the People's Republic of China) renamed. An extended maneuver was the result.

With the establishment of the Green Wall is China's largest afforestation project in the history of mankind made. A total of 350,000 square kilometers of land are planted with trees to create a green belt between the dry north and the fertile south to form. For almost 20% of the grassland was also a total ban on grazing. Since 2000 was such a decline in the level of a year versandfertig surface can be achieved. The goal is to begin by 2010 to halt desertification, and then by 2050 the silted areas to redevelop.