China Environmental Law

Xinhua reports that “15,000 enterprises were punished for pollution last year and nearly 100 people deemed responsible were disciplined.”  Without more information, these numbers are hard to put into context.  The original Chinese version doesn’t provide much additional information, however it (立案查处1.5万家环境违法企业) suggests that 15,000 enterprises in violation of environmental laws were investigated last year, but whether and how these enterprises were “punished” remains unclear.  3,500 enterprises enetered into settlements, according to the Chinese version of the story.  A total of 850,000 enterprises were inspected. 

It would have been nice to know how this number compared with previous years.  I have not been able to find (in either English or Chinese) a report of the 2007 “enforcement” numbers.  If anyone else can find it, I would be extremely grateful. 

For 2006 it was reported that “China closed down 3,176 companies” for violations of environmental regulations “and settl[ed] with another 13,000.”  ¹ 720,000 companies were inspected in 2006.

Thus, assuming the numbers report comparable activities, it may be possible to conclude that inspections in 2008 were up 18% over 2006 levels.  If we assume all 15,000 companies in 2008 were “punished,” and the 3,500 that were “settled with” were in addition to the 15,000, then the 2008 total  (18,500) was 13% above the 2006 total (16,176) of enterprises either shut down or “settled with.”  It would appear that progress is being made on the enforcement front in China, but more transparency and more detail (such as total fines, criminal enforcements, etc.) on enforcement efforts, would be very welcome.