Ecological Civilization Leads a New Global Green Development Paradigm

The construction of ecological civilization is the fundamental way to resolve the global unsustainable crisis and represents the direction of human development. At present, the global green transition is at a critical crossroads. Certain major powers are reversing history in handling the relationship between environment and development, while factors such as trade protectionism and geopolitical conflicts hinder global environmental governance and the process of green development.

生态文明建设是解决全球不可持续危机的根本出路，代表人类发展方向。目前，全球绿色转型处于关键十字路口，个别大国在处理环境与发展关系上开历史倒车，贸易保护主义和地缘政治冲突等因素阻碍全球环境治理和绿色发展进程。

To correctly identify the right historical direction amid the complex and chaotic global development situation, to address various challenges in ecological civilization construction, and to accelerate the advancement of China’s ecological civilization, it is necessary to fully, accurately, and comprehensively understand and grasp the essence of ecological civilization. This requires seeking answers from the original texts and works of Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization. At this historical juncture, the publication and release of *Selected Works of Xi Jinping on Ecological Civilization*, Volume I (hereinafter referred to as the *Selected Works*), is timely. It is not only crucial for understanding and accelerating China’s ecological civilization construction but also serves as an important ideological and action guide for China to lead a new global green development paradigm.

在纷繁复杂的全球发展形势下认清正确的历史方向，应对生态文明建设中的各种挑战，加快推动中国生态文明建设，必须完整准确全面地理解和把握生态文明的实质。这就需要从习近平生态文明思想的文献原著中寻找答案。在此历史关口，《习近平生态文明文选》第一卷（以下简称《文选》）的出版发行正当其时，不仅对于理解和加快推动中国生态文明建设至关重要，也成为中国引领全球绿色发展新范式的重要思想与行动指南。

Ecological Civilization Represents the Direction of Human Development

生态文明代表人类发展方向

The *Selected Works* first answers why ecological civilization is necessary. Since the founding of New China, especially since reform and opening up, China has achieved a development miracle unprecedented in human history. Why does China not continue its past development model, but instead take the lead globally in proposing ecological civilization and a new development philosophy, and unswervingly promote the green transition? The reason is that the traditional development model established by humanity since the Industrial Revolution is unsustainable, and ecological civilization faces new historical opportunities. The *Selected Works* points out that ecological civilization is necessary for achieving sustainable development. “Building an ecological civilization concerns the well-being of the people and the future of the nation.” [1]1 Referring to the *Selected Works of Xi Jinping on Ecological Civilization*, a compilation of Xi Jinping's key writings and speeches on ecological civilization.

《文选》首先回答了为什么需要生态文明。新中国成立以来特别是改革开放以来，中国取得了人类历史上未曾有过的发展奇迹。中国为什么不继续过去的发展模式，而是在世界上率先提出生态文明和新发展理念，并坚定不移地推动绿色转型？原因在于，工业革命以来人类建立的传统发展模式不可持续，生态文明面临新的历史机遇。《文选》指出，生态文明是实现永续发展的需要。“建设生态文明，关系人民福祉，关乎民族未来。”

This global unsustainable crisis is, behind the scenes, a crisis of the traditional development paradigm and traditional industrial civilization established after the Industrial Revolution. It must be resolved through a transformation of the development paradigm and a new form of civilization. General Secretary Xi Jinping points out: “Humanity has experienced primitive civilization, agricultural civilization, and industrial civilization. Ecological civilization is a product of industrial civilization reaching a certain stage of development and is a new requirement for achieving harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature.” This means that, from a historical stage perspective, ecological civilization is a higher form of civilization than industrial civilization.

这种全球范围的不可持续危机，背后是工业革命后建立的传统发展范式和传统工业文明的危机，要靠发展范式转变和新的文明形态来解决。习近平总书记指出：“人类经历了原始文明、农业文明、工业文明，生态文明是工业文明发展到一定阶段的产物，是实现人与自然和谐发展的新要求。”这意味着，从历史阶段来看，生态文明是较工业文明更高级的文明形态。

The unsustainable development problems of China’s traditional development model are universal problems faced by the world. Just as we cannot use the thinking of traditional agricultural civilization to understand and promote industrial civilization, we also cannot use the thinking of traditional industrial civilization to understand and promote the construction of ecological civilization. Only by stepping outside the thinking of traditional industrial civilization and rising to the height of a transformation in the form of civilization can we understand the great significance, historic achievements, implementation mechanisms, and domestic and international challenges of ecological civilization construction since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, [2]2 The 18th National Congress of the CPC was held in 2012, marking the beginning of the New Era under Xi Jinping’s leadership. and thereby advance Chinese-path modernization featuring harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature.

中国传统发展模式的不可持续发展问题，是世界面临的普遍问题。正如我们不能用传统农业文明的思维去理解和推动工业文明一样，我们也无法用传统工业文明的思维去理解和推动生态文明建设。只有跳出传统工业文明的思维，从文明形态转变的高度，才能理解党的十八大以来生态文明建设的伟大意义、历史性成就、实现机制、国内外挑战，进而推动人与自然和谐共生的中国式现代化。

The essence of Chinese-path modernization is a redefinition of the concept of modernization established after the Industrial Revolution and an important representative of a new form of human civilization. From the very beginning, China’s ecological civilization construction was aimed at solving the global problem of the unsustainability of the development model after the Industrial Revolution, shouldering the historical mission of promoting global sustainable development. The success of China’s ecological civilization construction and green development also brings new development opportunities to the world.

中国式现代化的实质，是对工业革命后建立的现代化概念的重新定义，是人类文明新形态的重要代表。中国的生态文明建设，从一开始就是为了解决工业革命后全球发展模式不可持续这一世界性难题，肩负着推动全球可持续发展的历史使命。中国生态文明建设和绿色发展的成功，也给全球带来新的发展机遇。

An Ideological Guide for Promoting the Transformation of the Development Paradigm

推动发展范式转变的思想指南

Ecological civilization construction is a new thing for all countries, with no ready-made experience to draw upon. If, in the past, during the process of learning from Western modernization, late-developing countries more often took achieving modernization like that of developed countries as their goal, then now, building modernization with harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature means that both the goal of modernization and the means of achieving it have undergone profound changes. Guidance from thought is the key to success. Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization is the crystallization of the wisdom of the CPC’s exploration over more than a century and is the ideological guide for “modernization with harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature.”

生态文明建设对所有国家来说都是一个新事物，没有现成的经验可以借鉴。如果说在过去学习西方现代化的过程中，后发国家更多的是将实现发达国家那样的现代化作为目标的话，那么现在建设人与自然和谐共生的现代化，则意味着现代化目标及其实现方式均发生了深刻变化。思想的引领是成功的关键。习近平生态文明思想是中国共产党百余年探索的智慧结晶，是“人与自然和谐共生的现代化”的思想指引。

At present, China’s ecological civilization construction has achieved historic accomplishments, but it also faces various difficulties. Among them, the primary difficulty is how to deepen the understanding of ecological civilization construction. For example, some people treat environmental protection and emission reduction as a burden on economic development, failing to recognize the economic development opportunities behind them; some people, seeing a major power change its course on addressing climate change, believe that the international pressure on China to reduce emissions has eased and that action can be slowed down; some people, seeing the great pressure for energy conservation and emission reduction during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, [3]3 The *Selected Works* refers to the *Selected Works of Xi Jinping on Ecological Civilization*, a compilation of his speeches and writings on the topic. take it for granted that the energy conservation and emission reduction targets for the 15th Five-Year Plan period [4] should be lowered. Some localities treat the goal of peaking carbon emissions before 2030 as the last time window to accelerate high-carbon investment to promote short-term economic growth; some departments, during economic downturns, often lose their strategic focus on the green transition, stimulating the economy through non-green investments while ignoring the costs of future transition.

目前，中国生态文明建设取得了历史性成就，但同时也面临各种困难。其中，首要的困难是如何深化对生态文明建设的认识问题。比如，一些人将环境保护和减排当作经济发展的负担，未能认识到其背后的经济发展机遇；一些人看到个别大国在应对气候变化问题上改弦易辙，就认为中国减排的国际压力减轻，可以在行动上放缓；一些人看到“十四五”期间节能减排压力大，就想当然地认为“十五五”的节能减排目标应该降低。一些地方将2030年前碳达峰目标当作加快高碳投资以促进短期经济增长的最后时间窗口；一些部门在经济低迷时往往失去绿色转型的战略定力，通过非绿色投资刺激经济，忽视其对今后转型的代价。

The various phenomena mentioned above are all the result of not truly understanding Xi

上述种种现象，都是没有真正理解习近平生态文明思想的结果。实际上，目前，人们关于生态文明建设存在的一些模糊不清的认识，都可以在《文选》中找到正确答案。对《文选》原著的研读，不仅是完整准确全面地理解习近平生态文明思想的内在要求，也是保障生态文明建设的正确方向以及建立新型生产关系的内在要求。习近平总书记指出：“保护生态环境就是保护生产力，改善生态环境就是发展生产力。”“应对气候变化不是别人要我们做，而是我们自己要做。”“要保持加强生态文明建设的战略定力。”“无论国际形势如何变化，中国积极应对气候变化的行动不会放缓。”

Major breakthroughs in thought bring about major breakthroughs in practice. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, China has undergone profound changes in its outlook on development, adopting environmental protection measures of unprecedented intensity. The relationship between environmental protection and development has experienced a turning-point transformation, with ecological and environmental protection achieving historic, transformative, and overall accomplishments, while the economy has ascended to a significantly higher level. In particular, emerging green economies represented by new energy sources have not only become an important source of growth but also a decisive force in resolving the global environmental crisis and leading global green development.

思想上的重大突破，带来实践上的重大突破。党的十八大以来，在习近平生态文明思想指导下，中国在发展观上发生深刻变革，采取了力度空前的环境保护措施，环境保护和发展之间的关系发生转折性变化，生态环境保护取得历史性、转折性、全局性成就，同时经济迈上一个大台阶。尤其是以新能源等为代表的新兴绿色经济，不仅成为重要的增长来源，而且成为解决全球环境危机和引领全球绿色发展的决定性力量。

Thus, a simple criterion for testing whether an action conforms to the inherent requirements of ecological civilization is how it treats the relationship between environmental protection and development. Treating this relationship as one of mutual coordination and mutual promotion constitutes ecological civilization; conversely, it represents a traditional mode of development. If one does not break out of the traditional framework of thinking, understanding and implementing ecological civilization will go astray. At present, some actions carried out under the banner of ecological civilization are in fact variants of the traditional "pollute first, treat later" model, and some practices even run counter to the inherent requirements of ecological civilization. The compilation and publication of the *Selected Works*[1]1 Referring to the *Selected Works of Xi Jinping on Ecological Civilization*, a compilation of Xi Jinping's key writings and speeches on ecological civilization. bringing together General Secretary Xi Jinping's important expositions on ecological civilization construction serves as the fundamental guide for directing the practice of ecological civilization construction.

由此可见，检验一项行动是否符合生态文明内在要求的一个简单标准，就是如何对待环境保护与发展之间的关系。将二者关系看作相互协调、相互促进关系的就是生态文明，反之就是传统发展方式。如果不跳出传统思维框架，对生态文明的理解和贯彻就会发生偏差。目前，一些打着生态文明之名的行为，实则是传统“先污染、后治理”模式的变种，一些做法甚至与生态文明的内在要求相悖。《文选》将习近平总书记关于生态文明建设的重要论述汇编出版，是指导生态文明建设实践的根本遵循。

A Breakthrough in Constructing China's Independent Knowledge System

构建中国自主知识体系的突破口

Ecological civilization construction requires a new knowledge system. The *Selected Works*' reflection on and answers to the fundamental questions of development reconstruct the underlying logic of development and its philosophical foundation, thereby also reconstructing the relationship between humanity and nature as well as between environment and development, serving as the ideological guide for constructing China's independent knowledge system of ecological civilization under a new scientific paradigm. The modern knowledge system is largely a product of the traditional industrial era and serves it; much modern knowledge cannot meet the inherent needs of ecological civilization construction. For example, the foundation of green development lies in renewable energy, electric vehicles, ecological agriculture, and the like, and the knowledge system required for these differs from that for fossil fuels, fuel-powered vehicles, and chemical agriculture.

生态文明建设需要新的知识体系。《文选》对于发展的基本问题的反思与回答，重构了发展的底层逻辑及其背后的哲学基础，从而也重构了人与自然以及环境与发展的关系，成为以新的科学范式构建中国生态文明自主知识体系的思想指导。现代知识体系很大程度上是传统工业时代的产物并为其服务，很多现代知识无法满足生态文明建设的内在需要。比如，绿色发展的基础是可再生能源、电动汽车、生态农业等，其需要的知识体系就不同于化石能源、燃油车和化学农业。

More importantly, the theoretical foundations and philosophical bases behind these systems of applied knowledge are also different. Constructing an independent knowledge system for China’s ecological civilization is not simply a matter of applying the theories of the traditional industrial era to resolve the environmental crisis; rather, it proceeds from the environmental crisis to re-examine the fundamental questions of development and their philosophical basis. Once the fundamental questions of development—why develop, what to develop, and how to develop—and the philosophical basis behind them are rethought, a new original knowledge system will take shape. Therefore, ecological civilization is an important breakthrough point for constructing China’s independent knowledge system.

更重要的是，这些应用知识体系背后的理论基础及其哲学基础亦不相同。构建中国生态文明自主知识体系，不是简单地将传统工业时代的理论应用于解决环境危机，而是从环境危机出发，对发展的基本问题及其哲学基础进行重新反思。一旦对为什么发展、发展什么和如何发展这些发展的基本问题及其背后的哲学基础进行重新思考，就会形成新的原创性知识体系。因此，生态文明是构建中国自主知识体系的一个重要突破口。

Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC [2]2 The 18th National Congress of the CPC was held in 2012, marking the beginning of the New Era under Xi Jinping’s leadership., General Secretary Xi Jinping’s series of important discourses on philosophy and the social sciences have provided the twenty-first-century Marxist worldview and methodology for constructing an independent knowledge system for ecological civilization. On May 17, 2016, at the Symposium on Philosophy and Social Sciences, General Secretary Xi Jinping proposed constructing a disciplinary system, academic system, and discourse system with its own distinctive characteristics. On April 25, 2022, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized, “Accelerating the construction of philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics is, in the final analysis, constructing China’s independent knowledge system.”

党的十八大以来，习近平总书记关于哲学社会科学的一系列重要论述，为构建生态文明自主知识体系提供了二十一世纪马克思主义的世界观和方法论。2016年5月17日，习近平总书记在哲学社会科学工作座谈会上提出，构建具有自身特质的学科体系、学术体系、话语体系。2022年4月25日，习近平总书记强调，“加快构建中国特色哲学社会科学，归根结底是建构中国自主的知识体系”。

In summary, ecological civilization is the foundation for building a modernization in which humanity and nature coexist harmoniously, and it must rely on new thinking to guide it. Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization is the crystallization of the wisdom of the CPC over more than a century of exploration and a theoretical guide that has been tested in practice. By studying the original texts of the *Selected Works* [3]3 The *Selected Works* refers to the *Selected Works of Xi Jinping on Ecological Civilization*, a compilation of his speeches and writings on the topic., one can fully, accurately, and comprehensively understand Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, better promote the transformation of the green development paradigm, and make China’s development an opportunity for the world. The publication of the *Selected Works* is of great significance for deeply understanding and accelerating the construction of China’s ecological civilization, and for achieving green and prosperous development for both China and the world.

总之，生态文明是建设人与自然和谐共生的现代化的根本，必须依靠新的思想引领。习近平生态文明思想是中国共产党百余年探索的智慧结晶，是经过实践检验的理论指南。通过学习《文选》原著，可以完整准确全面地理解习近平生态文明思想，更好地推动绿色发展范式转变，让中国的发展成为世界的机遇。《文选》的出版，对深入理解与加快推动中国生态文明建设，实现中国与世界的绿色繁荣发展均具有重大意义。

(The author is Director of the Institute for Ecological Civilization, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and Research Fellow at the Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.)

（作者系中国社会科学院生态文明研究所所长、中国社会科学院习近平生态文明思想研究中心研究员）

Online editor: Tongxin

网络编辑：同心