In the vibrant spring of April, the land of Qiannan is lush with green mountains and clear blue skies. The clean air and blue skies, long taken for granted by the local residents, have now yielded a surprising "monetization report for air quality." "Qiannan Prefecture has received 13.9642 million yuan in compensation!" said Chen Qiang, Deputy Director of the Qiannan Prefecture Ecological Environment Bureau, on April 13, holding the newly released 2025 provincial urban ambient air quality ecological compensation calculation results. "Good air has been exchanged for real monetary value, making us feel the significant weight of the 'Two Mountains' concept."
The report indicates that in 2025, Qiannan Prefecture, Guiyang City, Liupanshui City, Qiandongnan Prefecture, and Qianxinan Prefecture fully completed all the targets and tasks for the "14th Five-Year Plan" and annual assessments of urban ambient air quality assigned by the province, sharing over 27 million yuan in compensation funds. Among them, Qiannan Prefecture ranked first in the provincial calculations, receiving 13.9642 million yuan in compensation. The compensation funds were horizontally transferred from Zunyi City, Bijie City, Tongren City, and Anshun City, which failed to meet the binding indicators, each contributing at different proportions.
In recent years, the state has issued the "Opinions on Deepening the Reform of the Ecological Protection Compensation System" and the "Ecological Protection Compensation Regulations," encouraging local governments to explore horizontal ecological protection compensation for environmental elements such as air quality. The outline for the "15th Five-Year Plan" proposes improving a diversified ecological compensation mechanism. In 2024, the "Guizhou Province Urban Ambient Air Quality Ecological Compensation Measures (Trial)" were introduced, establishing a horizontal ecological compensation mechanism for air pollution prevention and control between cities and prefectures. In 2025, the provincial party committee and government issued and implemented the "Opinions on Promoting the Transformation of Lucid Waters and Lush Mountains into Invaluable Assets," specifying 13 concrete pathways to broaden the transformation of the "Two Mountains" concept, with horizontal ecological compensation for urban ambient air quality being a key component.
"Guizhou is one of the pioneering provinces in China to systematically establish a horizontal ecological compensation system for urban air quality at the provincial level," said a relevant official from the Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment. The mechanism uses the annual "ratio of good air days" and "fine particulate matter concentration" of each city and prefecture as calculation indicators, with the annual target values assigned by the state to the province serving as the uniform compensation standard. Calculations are based on the difference between the actual indicator values and the compensation standard, forming a horizontal ecological compensation mechanism where better-performing areas receive funds and poorer-performing areas contribute.
Within the horizontal compensation framework, while some regions benefit, others naturally face pressure. Some areas, due to factors such as industrial structure, energy mix, and specific geographical and meteorological conditions, encounter challenges in improving air quality, becoming contributors to the ecological compensation fund. "The implementation of the compensation mechanism brings pressure, but it also serves as a powerful driving force for intensified efforts," said a relevant official from the Zunyi Ecological Environment Bureau. "We will fight the battle against pollution with higher standards and stricter requirements, accelerating industrial restructuring, energy mix optimization, and in-depth pollution control."
Through this system of compensation and contribution, a government-led, market-incentivized, and operational pathway for realizing the value of public ecological products has taken root and proven effective in Guizhou. It is reported that the province mandates that compensation funds must be used exclusively for designated purposes, entirely reinvested into efforts to improve air quality and enhance environmental supervision capabilities. This aims to transform "good air" into "sustained good air," laying a superior environmental foundation for developing green industries such as eco-tourism and eco-wellness.
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