{"id":33497,"date":"2015-12-23T16:15:00","date_gmt":"2015-12-23T16:15:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2020-10-27T14:06:58","modified_gmt":"2020-10-27T14:06:58","slug":"8497-china-s-environment-in-2-15-a-year-in-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/pollution\/8497-china-s-environment-in-2-15-a-year-in-review\/","title":{"rendered":"China’s environment in 2015: a year in review"},"content":{"rendered":"

Just as 2015 entered its final weeks, Beijing\u2019s municipal government declared an air pollution \u201cred alert<\/a>\u201d for the first time since the policy was established in 2013. The move\u00a0typified a year when air pollution once again dominated environmental coverage, at home and abroad.<\/p>\n

The announcement was sent out very late in the day. The entire city, including its officials, scrambled to make sense of the measures that\u00a0had never been implemented before. People were asking: which kind of cars with what kind of plate numbers are allowed on the road tomorrow? (The government asked motorists to stay at home on certain days in an emergency bid to bring down car emissions).<\/p>\n

To some extent, Beijing\u2019s \u201cred alert\u201d experience epitomises China\u2019s environmental journey of 2015: lots of good signals, with largely mixed results.<\/p>\n

The sudden announcement that caught the entire city off guard (pollution levels were not nearly as bad as the ‘Airpocalypse’\u00a0episode days before) seemed to be the direct result of instructions from the top leadership, according to information released by the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP<\/a>).<\/p>\n

While this once again shows how responsive the current leadership is toward public sentiments, it also demonstrates the gap between intention and reality: it has taken\u00a0the top leadership and repeated appeals from the Environment Minister to get China\u2019s capital city to implement what is clearly written on paper.<\/p>\n

Distinguishing between intention and reality is the key to a fair assessment of China\u2019s 2015 environmental achievements. Too often, intentions are expressed loud and clear, whereas results are muddled and messy. A look at the country\u2019s environmental scorecard this year will show that while well-intentioned policy declarations are not always \u201cempty words\u201d, it takes calculated, strategic efforts to translate them into actual progress.<\/p>\n

The new environmental protection law<\/strong><\/p>\n

Laws often embody noble intentions. On 1 January\u00a02015, China\u2019s new Environmental Protection Law came into force<\/a> amid high expectations. From the text of the law, observers both within and outside China could clearly sense the urgency with which the country was taking environmental issues.<\/p>\n

Polluting companies will face fines without a ceiling; NGOs are welcome to initiate public interest lawsuits; and local governments will be held accountable for implementing environmental policies.<\/p>\n

But the law has to navigate a reality that is defined by fundamental features of how governance in China is structured, which leads to unbalanced results. On the one hand, the law seems to enhance enforcement on the local level, largely by removing arbitrary and out-of-date limitations that bind the hands of local environmental protection bureaus (EPBs).<\/p>\n

The new law authorises EPBs to fine violating companies on an accumulative basis, without a ceiling, which is a departure from the long-time practice of one-off fines capped to amounts that are trivial to most companies today. According to data<\/a> released by the Ministry of Environment Protection, during the first eight\u00a0months of new law\u2019s implementation in 2015, there were\u00a0405 cases of \u201caccumulative fines\u201d, worth a\u00a0total of 330 million yuan.<\/p>\n

It means on average each case involved more than 800,000 yuan in fines, already exceeding the highest 500,000 yuan fine limit in the previous version of the law.<\/p>\n

But like other measures in the new law that are meant to strengthen the teeth of local law enforcement, they are valuable when local authorities intend<\/em> to use them.<\/p>\n

When they don\u2019t, neither the central government nor the public has effective ways to compel them to enforce the rules. The new law aims to change that by including accountability clauses for government officials. But so far result in this area is unclear.<\/p>\n

A recent review<\/a> states that the \u201csleeping beauty\u201d phenomenon (when laws and regulations never get activated) is still a widespread problem on the local level.<\/p>\n

Moreover, law enforcement is often driven by the \u201cpersonal interest and temperament\u201d of the officials, which tends to further complicate the problem.<\/p>\n

Similarly, despite a strong push to encourage public interest environmental lawsuits by NGOs, so far only 36 such cases<\/a> have been brought to court, which is dwarfed by the number of pollution incidents and violations that are actually happening all over the country. Interference from local government is still considered a reason why courts hesitate to accept such cases.<\/p>\n

Peaking carbon emissions<\/strong><\/p>\n

This year was also marked by increasing detail and engagement from China on the country\u2019s efforts to stabilise the global climate. Following a ground-breaking announcement in November 2014, that China would peak carbon emissions by 2030, this year the Chinese government further elaborated<\/a> on this target, by proposing a fairly ambitious carbon intensity goal and a timeline for a nationwide carbon trading system<\/a>. These commitments from China made a big contribution to the successfully negotiated Paris Agreement<\/a> on 12 December.<\/p>\n

Climate change is an example of where the intention of China\u2019s top leadership matches well with reality on the ground. For one thing, the Chinese economy is already undergoing significant changes that put downward pressure on demand for coal, China\u2019s single biggest source for primary energy. These changes include a shift away from heavy industries, such as steel and cement, towards\u00a0higher energy efficiency.<\/p>\n

In January, China recorded a drop in coal production<\/a> for the first time in this century, a trend that many say will be irreversible. Latest data<\/a> released by the Chinese authority suggests that the decline of coal output is continuing. China\u2019s resolute battle against air pollution is also a major risk to China\u2019s production and use of coal, and such issues became increasingly seared on the public consciousness this year in light of the environmental documentary \u201cUnder the Dome<\/a>,\u201d made by former CCTV journalist Chai Jing.<\/p>\n

The instant popularity of the documentary released in February, 200 million clicks in a matter of days, underlined the depth of public concern on the air pollution issue. Notwithstanding the somewhat perplexing fate<\/a> of the documentary afterward, the strong signal sent by the public reaction did create more urgency and political momentum. More stringent measures<\/a> against coal were put in place later in the year. Such factors all indicate that China\u2019s carbon pledges have a solid foundation.<\/p>\n

See also: Will China’s environmental law help to win ‘war on pollution’?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The new minister and his reforms<\/strong><\/p>\n

When China appointed its new Environment Minister<\/a> at the beginning of this year, it was hailed internationally as a wise move. For the first time an established environmental scientist holds the country\u2019s green gavel. As soon as he stepped into his new role, Minister Chen Jining made it clear<\/a> to the nation that reforming the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) system would be at the top of his agenda.<\/p>\n

China\u2019s EIA system has long suffered from being a rubber stamp. Loopholes in the system have also encouraged rampant rent-seeking. Those EIA agencies affiliated with the Ministry of Environment Protection (MEP) or local EPBs enjoy popularity among those who seek to have their projects approved.<\/p>\n

Government officials sat on the boards of EIA firms, creating a clear conflict of interest, while companies that were overseen by the MEP also had shares in companies carrying out assessments. This served to guarantee \u201cgreen lights\u201d for projects that all too often were flawed in their design or were clearly detrimental to the environment.<\/p>\n

The huge blast<\/a>s in Tianjin on 12 August that killed 173 people and injured hundreds of others illustrated the deadly consequences of shoddy gate-keeping.<\/p>\n

In that instance however, the EIA only played a partial role in a string of fateful decisions that allowed the dangerous warehouse to operate in the vicinity of a densely populated neighbourhood.<\/p>\n

Minister Chen vowed to clean up the EIA system by first severing the link between his ministry and its affiliated EIA agencies. So far, results<\/a> look promising: six prominent EIA consultancies have transformed into privately owned companies and two have completely given up their certificates to provide EIA services.<\/p>\n

But for Mr Chen, this is an easy task to start with. After all, those EIA-related agencies all fall under the ministry\u2019s leadership, and\u00a0therefore have to follow the directives of their big boss. The true test would be pushing the reform into provinces, where local governments have more incentives to keep such affiliated agencies under their control.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s even more challenging is the MEP\u2019s initiative to further embed EIAs into the country\u2019s decision making process, especially in the early planning stages, where blueprints of entire regions are being drafted. A new\u00a0regulatory agenda<\/a>, unveiled in October,\u00a0included the revamping of China\u2019s EIA Law and its Planning Environmental Impact Assessment (PEIA) regulation.<\/p>\n

But such initiatives would have to overcome resistance from departments that are traditionally in charge of planning, and are accustomed to treating environmental impacts as an afterthought. They are often not bound by directives from their environmental colleagues.<\/p>\n

In this regard, the MEP has made a smart move by harnessing the political shockwaves of the Tianjin accident. In October, the ministry dispatched numerous teams<\/a> to check the integrity of PEIA processes of major chemical installations all over China, as a way to boost the status of PEIA in the political agenda.<\/p>\n

Conservation<\/strong><\/p>\n

The past 12 months was also a big year in efforts to protect endangered species. In May,\u00a0China implemented a crackdown<\/a> on ivory trade. In a matter of months, the country increased the intensity of its response from an import ban to a nationwide ban on trading products. A presidential commitment to eliminate the ivory trade was a further attempt to buttress government efforts.<\/p>\n

According to a\u00a0recent investigation<\/a> by conservation groups, those measures appear to have cut ivory prices in the Chinese market by half, indicating a weakening demand for products that are driving elephants towards extinction in many parts of Africa. It is an example of how\u00a0effective awareness campaigns combined with\u00a0measures to save endangered species, are able to curb consumption.<\/p>\n

The growing Chinese middle class and its demand for products, ranging from fireflies<\/a> to pangolins<\/a>, just to name a few, is a reality that every serious conservation campaign should address.<\/p>\n

The panda\u2019s fate in 2015 depicts a much more complex picture. Despite new data<\/a>\u00a0reported in March\u00a0showing the total number of wild pandas is growing, the trend of increasingly fragmented communities is more disconcerting to conservationists. Later in the year, we saw\u00a0reports<\/a> showing the habitats of pandas threatened by questionable \u201cforest regeneration\u201d projects. The challenge faced by panda, a national symbol and an element in Chinese diplomacy and \u2018soft power\u2019, exemplifies the difficulty in bridging intention with reality.<\/p>\n

The plight of China\u2019s most cherished animal highlights the importance of addressing the fundamentals underlying the country\u2019s ecological crisis, including: proper ownership regimes for natural resources;\u00a0science-based spatial planning that ensures the integrity of ecosystems; and a strong governance system that make sure policies are honoured on the ground.<\/p>\n

All these elements are included in the recently\u00a0announced, grand \u201cEco-civilisation<\/a>\u201d initiative from the top echelon of the Party. Putting those concepts into practice will be another huge task for the country\u2019s environmental policy makers and practitioners.<\/p>\n

Cleaning up water and soil<\/strong><\/p>\n

China also made headlines this year by releasing a \u201c10-point water plan<\/a>\u201d in April\u00a0that contains many far-sighted measures against widespread water pollution in the country. It is believed that a similar soil plan is also in the making. What is interesting about\u00a0the 10-point plan is that for each action point, a leading ministry and its supporting ministries are clearly assigned.<\/p>\n

This could be the policy-makers’ way to overcome bureaucratic buck-passing that is characteristic of the Chinese system. Given the current disciplinary pressure on the Chinese officialdom, this trick might actually work.<\/p>\n

For many years, people have been talking about a potential \u201cturning point\u201d in China\u2019s environmental trajectory.<\/p>\n

With air pollution in China showing signs<\/a> of mild improvement and a carbon peak almost in sight, there are reasons to believe that Chinese society might be at a tipping point of fundamental environmental transformation.<\/p>\n

The ironic thing is that the tipping point, where every problem seems to be at its worst, is also the most uncomfortable place to be at right now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This year\u00a0saw China introduce bold new regulation to tackle its environmental crisis. But can these\u00a0laws be enforced effectively?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1667,"featured_media":58403,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[760],"tags":[580],"hashtags":[],"country":[],"class_list":["post-33497","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pollution","tag-policy"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nChina's environment in 2015: a year in review | Dialogue Earth<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This year\u00a0saw China introduce bold new regulation to tackle its environmental crisis. 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