FocusChina to boost environmental controls

11 March 2008 10:43  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS news)--China said on Tuesday it will set up an energy commission and has upgraded the country’s environment watchdog to a ministry to increase its management and control in these two areas.

 

The national energy commission would draft energy development strategies and consider energy security and development issues, Hua Jianmin, secretary-general of the State Council said.

 

A national energy bureau, under the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), would also be set up to undertake the new energy commission's day-to-day work, he added at the annual session of National People's Congress, China's parliament.

 

The State Council has also upgraded the environment watchdog to the Ministry of Environmental Protection, giving it more resources and power to enforce pollution control.

 

Other new ministries to be set up included the Ministry of Industry and Information, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Construction and the Ministry of Transport.

 

China’s State Food & Drug Administration (SFDA) would be absorbed by the Ministry of Health, Hua said.

 

Beijing would also cut down micro-management and approvals at the NDRC, its top economic planner, to ensure that it could concentrate on macro-economic issues, he said, adding it would also improve co-ordination among the NDRC, Ministry of Finance and People’s Bank of China.

 

Meanwhile, China still faced an uphill task in cutting energy consumption and pollution as its economy was still growing rapidly and its industrial structure had yet to change, said Xie Zhenhua, deputy director at the NDRC.

 

The country would have to ensure the energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product (GDP) was lowered by at least 5% for the next three years to meet its 11th five-year plan target, Xie said.

 

China's energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product fell 3.27% in 2007.

 

Its sulphur dioxide emissions fell 4.7%, while chemical oxygen demand, a measure of water pollution, fell 3.1%.

 

Xie, formerly head of China’s environmental watchdog, said the government would tackle inefficiency and pollution through measures such as implementing projects to curb energy use and boost recycling.

 

It would also step up surveillance by carrying out checks at governments and companies in March and June respectively, he said.

 

Beijing would gradually change the structure of its economy by controlling projects through credit, land and environmental approvals, Xie said, adding that the closure of inefficient power, cement and steel plants would be speeded up.

 

The new environment ministry would also tighten controls through legislation, he said.

 

Beijing said last year it would slap higher fines and taxes on polluters. 

By: Florence Tan
+65 6780 4359

< previous article(VIDEO – ICIS news Americas Lunchtime Bulletin 28 October 2009)

For the latest chemical news, data and analysis that directly impacts your business sign up for a free trial to ICIS news - the breaking online news service for the global chemical industry.

Get the facts and analysis behind the headlines from our market leading weekly magazine: sign up to a free trial to ICIS Chemical Business.

Printer Friendly