Home Business China International Culture��Edu Sci��Tech Sports Life Travel P hotos ��Search China Observer �� Environmental protection at a crucial moment �� Why are Chinese disinclined to show wealth? �� Rapid growth in China's foreign reserves is rational Photos �� Taiwanese going on board �� Stewardess going on board �� Lion dance team celebrating Air China charter flight ��Home>>China Observer Environmental protection at a crucial moment www.chinanews.cn 2005-01-31 15:05:22 (Abridged and translated from China NewsWeek article) On Jan.18, the State Environmental Protection Administration of China (SEPA) convened a press conference to announce suspension of 30 illegal projects under construction in 13 provinces and cities. This is the first time SEPA publicly stopped projects under construction according to the "Environment Impact Assessment Law of the People's Republic of China (EIAL)". The severity of the punishment�Cstopping the illegal projects on their tracks�Cwas unprecedented. Pan Yue, deputy director general of SEPA, said these projects began construction without obtaining approval for their environment assessment reports. "By stages SEPA will resolutely rectify and investigate illegal projects according to the law. Whether we find one or one batch of such projects, we will deal with them. We would put an end to illegal construction projects." Pan Yue's firm tone showed his determination. This was not the first time that 44-year-old Pan Yue aroused the media's attention. Back in the 1990's, when he was still deputy chief director of China Youth Daily, he organized a series of discussion on "reconstruction of spiritual home for China's university students". In the mid 1990's when he was deputy director general of the State-owned Assets Administration Bureau, he was in charge of cleaning up and investigating losses in state-owned assets. In the late 1990's, he organized a series of operations to "crack down on counterfeit goods" when he worked as deputy director general of the State Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision. Last October, his theme speech titled "Environmental Protection and Social Justice", given on the fifth Green China forum, was widely reported. This time Pan Yue once again became a focal point of public opinion. China Newsweek Reporter : This time SEPA announced a list of 30 power projects that violated environmental laws. It appeared extremely noticeable when the whole country was facing such a great shortage of power. Some people worried that your action would aggravate the already tense situation of power shortage. Did SEPA weigh the pros and cons of its enforcement actions? Pan Yue : We have thought hard on this problem. China presently has power shortages, but as for future energy demand, the power projects in construction exceed this demand. The power stations being finished this year will add 150 million kilowatt (kw), one and a half times greater than the approved capacity. What's worse, of the 280 kw of power projects currently in construction, 120 million kw started construction before passing SEPA and other reviews and approvals. If we let these illegal projects continue, from the point of view of the environment, it will generate a vicious circle of high-energy-consuming industries and more power station construction reinforcing each other. From the point of view of the economy, it will inevitably result in a great surplus of power and a drastic rise of bad loans for lenders to these ill-conceived power projects, consequently damaging steady and constant economic development. China Newsweek Reporter : At the press conference, you indicated that events such as "Tieben" would never be allowed to happen again. After the "Tieben Event" occurred, some people were of the opinion that as the project was more than complete, if the construction continued, both the region and the country would benefit. Once the project stopped, the loss would be total. Will the electric power project which SEPA stopped face the same predicament? Pan Yue : To stop a construction project may cost several billion RMB. But if the construction continues and the greenhouse gases discharged by coal combustion in illegal thermal power plants exceed a certain per capita threshold, China's expenditure to fulfill its international commitments to clean things up will reach 50 billion US dollars, a bigger boss. According to calculation by the World Bank, diseases caused by coal combustion cost China 390 billion US dollars, accounting for 13% of our GDP. That is also a huge loss. If there is excessive electricity that results in more non-performing loans, causing turbulence to the Chinese banking and financial system, the loss in national economy will reach one trillion US dollars or even more. We mete out punishment according to relevant laws. If the law-breaker can bargain down his punishment, how can the law build respect and prestige and how can the central government's principle of scientific development be implemented? If the laws and regulations are not executed effectively, they will lose their authority and result in invalid decrees and social confusion. From another point of view, for the long-term interest of the country, sometimes one needs to exceed the certain limits in "righting the wrong". China Newsweek Reporter : Private enterprises are generally smaller and usually have fewer resources to implement environmental protection measures, but private enterprises are often singled out for enforcement in SEPA inspection while bigger state-owned enterprises are left untouched. Will SEPA consider the background of the enterprises when it is conducting an inspection? Pan Yue : The only criterion for punishment is that it is unfriendly to the environment. I pledge that we will never make a difference between a state-owned enterprise and a private one, and will not discriminate against any private enterprise when we punish those who pollute the environment. We will not just beat the "rat" but spare the "tiger". Anyone who breaks the laws of environmental protection will be punished. China Newsweek Reporter : Many people mention that China is a developing country and face various development tasks, while environmental protection is not necessarily the most important issue. Why have you still pushed for environmental protection in the last two years? Pan Yue : It is not because I work for the SEPA that I emphasize environmental protection. I have said many times that simple economic development cannot solve all the problems that confront us. For instance, if an equitable allocation system has not been built, even in a developed economy you will see enormous gap between rich and poor and this would eventually result in social instability. If we do not accelerate in implementing reforms on many fronts, the faster our economy grows, the faster the eventual crisis will come. I insist that we should reconsider the "only economic growth counts" theory and oppose the "only political determinism" theory, especially for China, an ancient civilized country. Nowadays, over-emphasizing economic development has already caused many environmental and social problems, such as SARS, the Tuojiang River pollution and others. Our population structure is greatly different from that of other countries. We have no turning-back if we make mistakes on environmental protection. Environmental problems do not merely concern our offspring, but determine whether people of our generation can live safely. Our environmental capacity has already reached the limit of sustaining economic growth. Environmental problems have become bottlenecks that restrain China's economic and social development. China Newsweek Reporter : Can China maintain economic development and environmental protection at the same time? Pan Yue : Actually, we are able to change the present pattern to a sustainable development model and we should do it immediately. The United States solved its environmental problems when per capita gross product reached ,000 to 10,000, South Korea solved its problems when per capita gross product reached ,000 to 6,000. Nowadays, some provinces in East China have realized ,000 per capita gross product. With proven techniques, we are able to solve environmental problems ahead of time and pay equal attention to economic development and environmental protection. I mean, we can make environment our top priority in the east and even make some changes to how we evaluate the performance of local officials. China Newsweek Reporter : Why should we change the way we evaluate the performance of local officials? Why should we think this is very important? Pan Yue : We should work out our development strategies in line with local situations. Industrial development might not be suitable in some places and the main tasks there would be to preserve the ecological environment and water resource. Therefore, we should not measure the achievement of an official in such places by annual chemical fertilizer output or tax revenues. The standard is very simple: how well have they done in soil and water conservation? For other places, treatment of pollution should accompany industrial development. Different areas should work out their own objectives, standards and policies in accordance with their population and overall economy. If this cannot be assured, it will undoubtedly result in redundant construction projects in different places and insoluble environmental problems. China Newsweek Reporter : However, in some poor areas, the most urgent problem is shortage of food and clothing. Some local residents think environmental protection is a luxury when people do not have enough food to eat. Pan Yue : How to balance environmental protection and social justice is a current key issue in China's environmental protection undertakings. With a wide gap between rich and poor, it is very difficult to protect the environment. The rich are unwilling to give up the material wealth they are enjoying, while the poor are also unwilling to suffer any more. The poor will push for economic development by every possible means, hoping eventually to attain a high-consumption lifestyle. If we emphasize environmental protection at this moment, the poor will misunderstand that we want to deprive them of their economic rights. However, if we allow the poor to pursue economic and social equality by destroying the environment, the whole nation may be in peril, as China has 1.3 billion people and so few resources. Therefore, we are now studying an ecological compensation mechanism, with a goal of requiring environment-beneficial districts to pay districts that make sacrifices to protect the environment, requiring the rich that consume huge environmental resources to pay the poor, and requiring heavy polluters to pay pollution victims. In this case, those disadvantaged areas and communities need not make an either-or choice between environmental protection and economic development. E-mail: zhangqinghua@chinanews.com.cn Tel: 8610-88387443 Fax: 8610-68327649 Copyright� 2004 Chinanews.com. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. 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