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CHINA> Latest News
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Local govt.put atop energy saving, pollution reduction
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-03-04 10:39 According to Liang's report, per unit of GDP energy consumption in the province fell 4.02 percent last year, with a 3.3-percent cut in major pollutants. The Jiangsu provincial government has set the goal of cutting energy consumption by 4.2 percent and major pollutants by 3.3 percent this year. For the country's capital, Beijing, the upcoming 2008 Olympics is an opportunity to make real environmental progress. "Beijing will close 80 mines, move several chemical plants out of the city, set new pollution discharge standards, and newly-designed residential buildings will consume 65 percent less energy," said Beijing Mayor Wang Qishan in his work report. Officials in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province are also keen to cut energy consumption and protect the environment. Heilongjiang boasts the Songhua River -- seriously polluted in 2005 after a chemical plant explosion that caused a four-day water cutoff in the provincial capital Harbin. According to a circular issued by the provincial government in January, a series of policies will be adopted to ensure the local economy develops in a harmonious way. Governments at all levels in the province have been instructed to make environmental impact reports a key investment evaluation criterion. "Projects that may have a big impact on the environment must be carefully evaluated before being approved," says the circular. "Major polluters" such as coal mines and oil companies will have to reach for their wallets to repair the damage they do to the environment. What's more, a new local official assessment system will make environmental protection achievements an important element of judging performances in Heilongjiang Province, said the circular. All officials in Heilongjiang will be "audited" about their environmental protection performance when they leave their posts. This will incite local officials, who used to be judged on their economic performance alone, to pay more attention to energy saving and environmental protection. In the run-up to the annual parliament session set to open next Monday, Pan Yue, deputy director of the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA), urged China's legislature to amend its 17-year-old environmental law to hold government officials accountable for pollution. The law should specify and emphasize the government's responsibility in environmental protection and impose harsher punishments, he said. Analysts are waiting for Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's address to the forthcoming fifth session of the 10th National People's Congress (NPC) to get a clearer indication of government thinking on the issue.
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