The ambitious environmental and energy targets set out in China's latest five-year plan (Nature 471, 149; 2011) should be considered in relation to the economic realities of environmental decline and of China's governance.

Lowering growth targets for gross domestic product (GDP) and focusing on environmental and energy issues should not be viewed as a complete shift away from the 'economy first' paradigm that has driven China's national agenda for the past 30 years. The new policies are aimed at a more socially inclusive view of economic development, in line with recent criticisms of GDP as a measure of social welfare (see, for example, http://go.nature.com/to4ppq).

Despite China's remarkable growth rate, a report released by its government in 2006 revealed that roughly 3% of the country's annual GDP had been offset by economic loss through environmental degradation — a figure that some think is too conservative (Nature 448, 518–519; 2007). China's present and future environmental policies should continue to acknowledge the high economic cost of environmental problems in sustainable development.