Low-carbon Economy, and the Confucian Ecological Ethics

The chief aim of low-carbon economy theory is to resolve the contradiction between the economic system and the ecosystem, thus economic, technological, and institutional problems have been taken care of particularly. However, in the real world, with low-carbon economy development involved in complex relationships, Pareto Optimum can't be reached. Actually, to develop low-carbon economy is not just to develop low-carbon industries and it is government and enterprise's duty, meanwhile it needs full participation of every citizen. Low -carbon economy should be expressed by a behavior, a philosophy or ethics. Confucian ethics of 'consummating oneself and consummating the nature' and the philosophy of 'unity of heaven and men' offer us a guiding principle which man can follow to harmonize his relations with nature and to solve ecological danger, and it can be used as reference for studying low-carbon economy.