The Chinese government
announced to have the first review of its first environmental inspections and
measurements. This will add pressure on companies, as local authorities are
urged to keep their environmental quota. The second round of environmental inspections
is also on the rise.
China
had first started to get real on environmental regulations back in January
2015. The first steps included overhauling its environmental protection law,
which hadn't seen any updates for about 25 years. The new effort against
pollutions was backed up by dangerously high pollution levels in China's big
cities, such as the capital Beijing.
The
new environmental protection law was designed to give the government a larger
role in protecting the environment. For example, the government is now required
to draft mandatory emission standards. The new law has also removed a cap on
how much non-compliant enterprises can be fined.
China's
laws have been strengthened in a number of specific areas, such as air
pollution, water and soil contamination, and the disposal of solid waste. In
January, the government furthermore began with the collection of an
environmental tax, based on the amount of pollution discharged by each company.
According
to market intelligence firm CCM, on May 25, 2018, the Ministry of Ecology and
Environment of the People's Republic of China (MEE) disclosed that the review
of the results of the first round of nationwide environmental inspections will
be initiated soon. Six inspection teams have been assigned to different regions
in China and will stay at the target places for a month, delivering the first
results of the new strict measurements.
The
key taken into account for the review contain a variety of different angles on
the topic. Some examples of measured results are the implementation of the plan
for rectification of major environmental problems, the establishment of
effective, long-term ecological preservation mechanisms, and the perfunctory
and ostensible rectification of enterprises and the dereliction of duty of
local regulators.
This
review will impose a stronger pressure on local governments to force them to
fulfil their environmental protection responsibility and make the environmental
inspection regular. Through this measure, the Chinese government demonstrates
its determination to improve environmental protection. Hence, the pressure on
companies is not going to lose in the near future, as local governments are
urged to keep their quota. Companies have to expect continuously strict environmental
policies and production slow-downs.
The second round of
environmental inspections
On
the same day, the MEE also unveiled the plan for the second round of the
national environmental inspections, which will be performed in some central
departments and state-owned enterprises. Both unannounced visits without
advanced notice and targeted inspections will be employed to check for severe
problems in key sections.
The
second round of environmental inspections would start in 2018 and is scheduled
to be completed in three years. 31 provinces have been covered in 2017, and
almost 30,000 enterprises were punished during the inspections for violations
of environmental protection. According to market intelligence firm CCM, the
fine totalled USD224.60 million. Over 18,000 individuals were involved in the
punishment.
The
first round of inspections targeted long-existing problems studied the
environmental impact on the economy and tried to balance environmental
protection and economic growth. On the other hand, the second round will focus
on the neglected, ineffective rectification and provinces where the regulations
and law have been poorly implemented, and their ecology has been significantly
damaged.
The
environmental protection measurements of China's government have led to a
supply shortage of several products, especially in heavy polluting industries
like chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and energy. Many Chinese enterprises are
running on low production rate, due to the enforced environmental protection
measurements by the government.
According
to CCM, large enterprises have complete pollutant discharge disposal facility
and environmental equipment, compared to their small and medium-sized
competitors, so they won't face such great pressure in 2018 and the years
ahead.