China Environmental Law

Two interesting pieces of news have emerged from China’s just concluded ”national energy work session.”  cnYES reports (Chinese only) that:    

1. The public comments submitted with respect to China’s Energy Law have been carefully considered, and a draft of the Energy Law was submitted in January to the State Council Legislative Affairs Office (we will try to get a copy of this draft).  After the Legislative Affairs Office considers and (potentially) amends the legislation, it will be sent the full State Council for its consideration.  If the State Council passes it, it will be submitted to the National People’s Congress (NPC).  The NPC Standing Committee will review the draft legislation, but since, I assume, the Energy Law is considered a new “basic” law, it will need to be passed by the NPC as a whole, and not just the NPC’s Standing Committee.  cnYES quotes “well-known economist, Han Xiaoping” as saying that because the law has been so thoroughly reviewed and considered he expects the NPC Standing Committee to complete its review “within the year.”  That would push ultimate passage of the legislation into 2010. 

Other sources are quoted as saying that given the importance of this legislation and the fact that it has already received very high level attention, it may move more quickly through the State Council and NPC Standing Committee, but getting it before the March 5th session of the NPC seems very unlikely, if not impossible. 

2. Work has already commenced on the draft of the 12^th Five-Year Plan for Energy (2010-2015).  According to Han Xiaoping China’s priorities will be: first, to develop nuclear power, second, to develop wind power, and third, to develop hydro power.  Coal will, of course, remain the primary energy source for China for some time to come, but Han, at least, and I think he has the support of Zhang Guobao, is really pushing the nuclear option.  He states that the calculations reveal that “China requires at least 200 million kilowatts of nuclear generation capacity to meet the basic needs of China’s future economic development.”

A word of advice from CELB to US Climate and Energy negotiators with China: It is absolutely essential that you begin neogtiations by requesting that what ever is agreed to will become a part of and be supported by this new Five-Year Energy plan.