This report examines the feasibility of China adopting new global standards for tracking the latest data and trends in its Environmental Goods and Services Sector (EGSS), as a means to inform its green development strategy and identify potential new green growth opportunities. This is the first study to explore how EGSS framework could be adopted by a country with an emerging economy.
Under EGSS, the environmental industry includes all areas related to environmental protection and resource efficiency – from the manufacturing of air filters and waste management to renewable energy technologies and recycling. Conducted in cooperation with the Chinese Academy of Environmental Planning, which is part of the Chinese Ministry of Environmental Protection, the report compares the internationally-adopted EGSS statistical framework with China’s current data systems, and assesses their linkages and gaps in relation to its environmental industry. It specifically examines China’s Environmental Industry Survey, which provides the most comprehensive measure of the country’s environmental industry to date, and explores how it could be used as a starting point for adopting an EGSS framework. In addition, the report includes findings from a pilot study in Wuhan city, as well as input from Hubei Academy of Environmental Sciences, and local environmental industrial associations and companies.