Chinese regions to beef up anti-pollution efforts
Print Edition
EIGHT Chinese regions have promised to beef up anti-pollution curbs, vowing fresh cuts in smog, cleaner water and soil, and tighter scrutiny over government officials after probes uncovered thousands of violations.
The Ministry of Ecology and Environment said yesterday that the heavily populated industrial provinces of Shandong, Zhejiang and Sichuan were among the regions committing themselves to new measures, as well as the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and the Tibet Autonomous Region.
As part of efforts to crack down on persistent polluters and negligent local administrations, China launched a nationwide audit at the end of 2015 into the environmental records of 31 provinces and regions.
Teams led by retired ministers were granted powers to make unannounced spot checks at factories and summon local bureaucrats to explain their actions.
The inspections, completed last year, have already had a big impact.
In a statement published by the ministry, Shandong on China’s eastern coast vowed to “unswervingly” implement government policies and restructure its heavy industrial economy. It pledged to cut concentrations of airborne particles known as PM2.5 by half compared with 2013.
In its commitments, Xinjiang promised to set winter production caps on industries like thermal power, steel and chemicals in a bid to cut 2017 levels of PM2.5 by a quarter by 2020.
Zhejiang, near Shanghai, promised to cut PM2.5 to the national standard of 35 micrograms, and make 91 percent of polluted arable land fit for human use by 2020.
By end-March, more than 2,000 government and state enterprise officials in 15 regions had been held to account as a result of the inspections, according to calculations based on the ministry’s data. Most received an official reprimand and 22 face criminal charges.
State-owned China Minmetals Group was also accused by inspectors of being a “big corporate bully” after failing to rectify violations.
Chinese President Xi Jinping vowed this month to redress the damage done to the country’s skies, soil and water since its economy was first opened up in 1978. The government is also planning to launch a second round of regional inspections early next year.
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