Social Responsibility Towards More Balanced Urban–Rural Development in China

Whilst seeking to embrace a ‘green economy’, China has an opportunity to develop its own version, not merely adopt western concepts. In this regard, the notion of a ‘socialist ecological civilisation’ has been canvassed by leaders such as Pan Yue, placing increased emphasis on social justice and equity. Such a civilisation and economy may be supported by a community wide ecological value system, akin to corporate social responsibility, which integrates notions such as human well-being, fair sharing of wealth, social responsibility and inclusion, and respect for nature and its scarce resources. This may form the basis for ecological education programs, thereby inculcating hearts and minds, guiding socially responsible behaviour and decisions, and motivating ‘social-preneurs’. The value system may be used to highlight the inequity and social challenges associated with imbalanced development and urbanisation in China, including the 80 million ‘children left-behind’ and environmental degradation. The proposition is put forward that rural community enterprise and infrastructure development may not only slow the population flow to cities, but also enable communities to share prosperity in an environmentally friendly manner. The use of emissions trading and offsets may form a platform for such rural enterprise development and investment, and this forms the basis of the paper. China is piloting carbon trading schemes in seven locations, accompanied by Certified Emissions Reductions offsets. Similar to the Clean Development Mechanism, rural areas may benefit by sale of domestic carbon credits from plantations that sequester carbon, enabling urban areas to offset their emissions. Examples of such plantations and schemes are presented. Carbon offsets and enterprises are seen as a possible solution to the urban–rural imbalance. This will require social and environmental entrepreneurship, leadership and capability building within rural communities, supported by partnerships and training from urban based corporations and NGOs, so that carbon finance and investment opportunities may be realised.