China will collaboratively promote carbon reduction, pollution reduction, and green expansion, accelerating the green transformation of it economic and social development, according to this year's government work report. Northwest China's Gansu province is moving forward with its mission to accelerate the construction of a beautiful Gansu.

In recent years, Gansu has been carrying out precise, scientific and law-based pollution control, steadily improving the ecological environment throughout the province.

In 2024, the province's proportion of days with good air quality increased by 1.3 percentage points.

The natural environment in the Muxihe township section of the Yellow River, located in Maqu county, Gansu province, is greatly improved. [Photo/Gansu Daily]

Gansu, as one of the 13 key areas of China's Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program – large-scale artificial forestry ecological projects constructed in China's northwest, north, and northeast regions, implemented 53 comprehensive management projects targeting forests, grasslands, and deserts over the past year.

In addition, water conservation is a major focus for Gansu due to its scarce water resources. It aims to overcome development bottlenecks and achieve green transformation, said Shu Xiaojun, director of the province's water conservation office.

As of the end of last year, the total water consumption in the province stayed within the national limit of 12.09 billion cubic meters. The rate of decrease of water use per 10,000 yuan ($1,393) of GDP, the rate of decrease of water use per 10,000 yuan of industrial added value, and the effective utilization coefficient of farmland irrigation water all exceeded the national target tasks.

Efforts have also been made by the province to develop zero-waste cities, reducing the impact of solid waste on the environment and promoting sustainable urban development.

After three years of efforts, Lanzhou, Jinchang and Tianshui cities and Lanzhou New Area have finished 223 construction projects related to zero waste cities.

Gansu is boosting the implementation of the China Certified Emission Reduction (CCER) program, a voluntary program in which participants can trade carbon credits. At present, CCER projects for forestry carbon sinks and solar thermal power generation are steadily advancing in various areas of Gansu.