China Environmental Law

Perhaps in light of the poor results so far this year on the energy conservation front (see our last post), the State Council on Saturday (they work as hard as we do here at CELB) issued a Circular that

ordered local governments and other authorities to cut down on the use of cars and other energy-consuming equipment at the start of a national energy-saving campaign.

The list of actions ordered to be taken includes, according to a Xinhua article:

• activities to simulate energy shortages to enhance awareness of energy conservation;
• one day off the roads each week for official vehicles;
• air conditioner temperature limits in public buildings — a minimum of 26 degrees Celsius in summer and no higher than 20 degrees in winter;
• reduced use of elevators and escalators;
• controls on street and landscape lamps;
• promoting the use of reusable shopping bags and discouraging the use of disposable products;
• relaxations of work dress codes to allow cooler clothing in summer.

These actions seem a little underwhelming, but I suppose that cumulatively they may have some beneficial effect.  I know though that I’d probably feel a little grumpy if I were a public official who had just walked a mile back from a meeting in 37° heat, walked up five flights of stairs to my office all set to enjoy some 26° relief, just when the city decides to pop a little surprise 30 minute blackout to “simulate energy shortages to enhance awareness of energy conservation.”

According Reuters, officials were also “told to enforce energy efficiency standards for automobiles and factories, expand public transport systems, promote the use of energy-efficient technologies” and “scrap locally conceived schemes offering preferential electricity prices to energy-intensive industrial companies such as steel and concrete producers.”  Can there really be preferential tariffs for energy-intensive consumers out there? 

I guess so, which explains why the Circular spent considerable time lecturing local officials on their past failings in achieving energy efficiency improvement goals.  The Circular, according to Reuters, “noted that energy efficiency remained well below the standards of developed countries, and scolded unnamed government bodies and projects for using energy wastefully.”

Clearly the pressure is being ratcheted up on local officials.  The Xinhua article includes the following warning

Xie Zhenhua, deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), [said] only a quarter of the [energy efficiency improvement] goals were met in the past two years. To achieve the 2010 goals, the energy intensity index should be cut more than 5 percent on each of the next three years — an arduous task.

In the second half, the government will continue the accountability system for energy conservation, step up efforts to phase out inefficient production, and push forward the major energy conservation and emissions reduction projects.

Last month, the NDRC revealed that seven of the China’s 30 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions failed to meet annual energy conservation targets.

Xie said the leadership of the local governments would be called to account for their failures.

If I were a local official, I think I would sit up in my hot, humid, and dark office and take notice.

P.S. Sorry for the out-of-date picture accompanying this post.  I haven’t had time to update my stock photo’s of Chinese bureaucrats!