Xizang makes great progress in ensuring people's right to beautiful environment: official

China's Xizang Autonomous Region has fully and effectively protected people's rights to a beautiful ecological environment, an official said on Friday.

Gama Cedain, chairman of the people's government of Xizang Autonomous Region in southwest China, made the remarks at a press conference in Lhasa, capital city of Xizang, on the release of a white paper on the progress of human rights in the region, issued by the State Council Information Office (SCIO).

The white paper was released to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Xizang Autonomous Region, as well as the 66th anniversary of the liberation of millions of serfs, which fell on Friday.

Xizang prioritizes eco-environmental conservation and green development, and strives to continuously improve eco-environmental governance and protect biodiversity on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Xizang has become one of the regions with the healthiest eco-environment in the world, where the protection of the people's environmental rights has been steadily upgraded, according to the white paper.

"First, the air in Xizang is now fresher. We have made progress in keeping Xizang's skies clear. Since 2016, the number of days with excellent or good air quality in Xizang has reached over 99 percent. Main towns and cities in the region generally have excellent or good air quality, while the air quality in the Mount Qomolangma area continues remains excellent or good, reaching the Grade-I standards," Gama Cedain said.

"Second, the glaciers are more solid than ever as we strive to keep Xizang's glaciers glittering. Xizang Autonomous Region promulgated the Regulations of the Xizang Autonomous Region for Glacier Protection, providing institutional guarantee for glacier protection, ensuring ecological security, promoting economic sustainable development and achieving the harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature. At the same time, Xizang has carried out coordinated protection of glaciers and their surrounding ecosystem, establishing a holistic framework for ecological conservation on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau," he continued.

"Third, the water is clearer, and Xizang has become more inviting because of its lucid waters. Beautiful lakes and rivers are the unique scenery of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Fourthly, Xizang is more habitable now, as we have made the region pleasant to live in. All the seven prefecture-level cities are now recognized as national eco-civilization demonstration zones, becoming the only provincial-level region to meet the national standards in this regard," he said.

In March 2022, according to white paper, the first phase of the project to manage the river ecosystem in the downtown area of Lhasa was completed with an investment of 943 million yuan (about 129.94 million U.S. dollars), and the second phase is in progress with an investment of 2.4 billion yuan (about 330 million U.S. dollars). This project has upgraded the living environment of the city by connecting river systems, redirecting wastewater, and improving the landscape.

"Green development is the underlying feature of high-quality development, and new quality productive forces are inherently green productive forces. Xizang has transformed its lush mountains and lucid waters and ice and snow into invaluable assets, which have benefited the people here," said the chairman.

Xizang makes great progress in ensuring people's right to beautiful environment: official

Los Angeles is grappling with rising costs and delays in its wildfire recovery process, as tariffs on construction materials imposed during the Trump administration compound the challenges.

The devastating wildfires recently destroyed over 17,000 homes and businesses, leaving communities urgently pushing forward with reconstruction.

The Trump administration has recently rolled out new tariffs on a wide range of construction materials, including steel and aluminum, from the main trading partners of the United States, such as Canada, Mexico, and China. This has significantly driven up costs, further complicating the recovery efforts

"As the city and county of Los Angeles move aggressively to rebuild the wildfire areas in Malibu, Pacific Palisades, and up in Altadena, to build those houses, we need softwood lumber, aluminum, and steel from Canada," said Gene Soroka, executive director of Port of Los Angeles.

While the tariffs aim to boost domestic production, the transition will take time. In the interim, the shortage of materials is creating ripple effects across the construction sector.

"We are still handling a lot of imported steel, despite the tariffs because there's not enough American manufacturing of steel right now. So, one of the unintended consequences that this has done the wrong way is you don't have enough steel. That impacts construction, that impacts economic growth across the board," said Weston Labar, chief strategy office of Waterfront Logistics.

According to the Associated General Contractors of America, housing costs could skyrocket by almost 50 percent, widening the gap between insurance payouts and actual rebuilding expenses. It may force many homeowners to delay or even abandon their reconstruction plans, prolonging the housing shortage in Los Angeles.

Tariffs are also driving up prices for other products, impacting recovery efforts.

"We need appliances from Mexico, furniture from China, and all of those prices are going up, whether anticipatory, or real as these imports are coming across our port complex. So, we've got to have some pretty detailed discussions about this because families who want to rebuild, businesses who want to get back into the office are going to be impacted by these tariffs one way or another," said Soroka.

As Los Angeles strives to recover, the economic uncertainty caused by tariffs presents a formidable obstacle.

Tariffs add strain to Los Angeles wildfire recovery efforts