To promote new infrastructure, ecological and environmental infrastructure must not be limited

In March 2020, the CPC Central Committee proposed to accelerate the construction of new infrastructure (referred to as "new infrastructure"), and various departments and localities launched a new round of infrastructure investment plans, while making up for the shortcomings of traditional infrastructure such as railways, roads, airports, etc. It has accelerated the construction of new infrastructure in 5G base stations, ultra-high voltage, intercity high-speed railways and urban rail transit, new energy vehicle charging piles, big data centers, artificial intelligence, industrial Internet and other fields.

Compared with traditional infrastructure construction, the new infrastructure is richer in connotation and covers a wider range, and can better promote the transformation and upgrading of China's economy. Here, the author suggests that the construction of ecological and environmental infrastructure should also be included in the new infrastructure system, taking advantage of the situation to promote the greening of the new infrastructure, further support the beautiful China and the construction of ecological civilization, so as to better balance the high-quality economic and social development and the high-level protection of the ecological environment.

1. Why include ecological infrastructure in the new infrastructure

Compared with the traditional infrastructure, the new infrastructure is the systematized, intelligent and green social public capital necessary to support the new development mode in the future period, so the ecological environment infrastructure should be included in it.

First of all, infrastructure, including transportation, electricity, communications, water supply and sewage, water conservancy, ecological environment and other basic industries and public utilities, not only used to support production, but also used to support life (such as water supply) and ecology (such as solid waste treatment and sewage treatment), has the characteristics of public goods and quasi-public goods, must be ahead of those private direct production investment with quick returns. It forms the basic support for economic and social development. Ecological and environmental infrastructure belongs to this category.

Secondly, the concept of green development provides a basis for incorporating ecological and environmental infrastructure into new infrastructure. With high-quality economic development, the new infrastructure should also have intelligent, digital and green characteristics. From the perspective of the requirements of the concept of green development, we should coordinate the development of traditional and new infrastructure, and build an intensive, efficient, economical, intelligent, green, safe and reliable modern infrastructure system. In the new infrastructure of ecological environment, including the green transformation of traditional infrastructure (such as new energy vehicle charging pile), intelligent and digital transformation (such as domestic waste transfer system based on Internet of Things technology).

Thirdly, ecological and environmental infrastructure is an important support for sustainable development. In the author's opinion, the ninth goal of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals adopted in 2015 highlights the value of ecological and environmental infrastructure, including the construction of high-quality, reliable environmental infrastructure that can withstand ecological and environmental disasters, so as to avoid serious constraints caused by disasters to economic and social development. To promote sustainable industrialization and improve the efficiency of resource and energy use, it is necessary to adopt more green, low-carbon, clean and circular production processes, build green industrial infrastructure and promote the greening of infrastructure.

2. Ecological and environmental infrastructure is the focus of shoring up weak spots in the near and medium term

Like transportation, information and other infrastructure, ecological and environmental infrastructure is also the basic support for sustainable economic and social development. Ecological and environmental infrastructure provides basic support and services for production and life, can improve the green competitiveness of social development and sustainable development capacity, and make private investment more willing and efficient. Especially in the current era of high-quality development, ecological and environmental infrastructure is the cornerstone of beautiful China and the construction of ecological civilization, and has direct and extensive social, environmental and economic benefits. According to estimates, without considering the indirect pull effect, in the past ten years, the direct pull coefficient of environmental protection investment on environmental protection industry is 0.9. According to the ecological environment target of 2035, China's ecological environment infrastructure investment is expected to take at least 15 years to make up for the shortcomings, in order to have the pulling effect of long-term fixed asset investment plus operation and maintenance.