China Environmental Law

Greetings from San Francisco’s Chinatown:

Since I’m traveling, just some brief notes today:

Mixed Signals

With coal and oil prices significantly off their highs of last year, there is little reason to raise electricity prices in China, but China’s efforts to improve energy efficiency and shift its economy from energy-intensive production are not served by reduced energy prices.  Consequently, Reuters is reporting that the

The NDRC had also ordered local governments to stop granting discounted power tariffs to energy-intensive industries, the paper said.

Those policies had sent confusing signals on power tariff policies and would not help upgrade industry, the paper quoted a government document as saying.

Provincial and regional governments should cancel such policies by March 15.

Ironically, however, the article also notes that

[T]he NDRC plans to launch a pilot programme with 15 aluminium smelters allowing them to buy electricity directly from power-generating firms at prices lower than from grids, the paper said.

Sometimes its just so hard to figure out what’s going on.

Chinese Environmental Group Speaks Out

In an encouraging sign that domestic environmental NGO’s are starting to become a little more assertive, Reuters is also reporting on a letter to the National People’s Congress issued by Friends of Nature.  Although not specifically aimed at the aluminum power pricing ploy, the letter cautions against encouraging high energy consumption industries for the sake of short-term economic stimulation.

“Use the 4 trillion yuan investment to pioneer a green, low-carbon economy,” said the letter, issued at a news conference.

“Don’t sacrifice the long-term objectives of conserving energy and reducing emissions for the sake of protecting high energy-consuming industries that have no future.”

Good work Friends of Nature.

China’s Preeminent Environmental Scholar Urges Change

Last, but by no means least, Wang Xi, Director of Environmental and Resource Law Institute at Shanghai Jiaotong University, and Chinese People’s Political Consultative Congress (CPPCCC) member, has been interviewed by Eastday while attending the CPCCC meeting in Beijing.  Professor Wang is, in the opinion of many, the father of Chinese environmental law (he has also been a friend and mentor to me since I arrived in China). 

It is not surprising that he goes right to the heart of what needs to be done:

Q. What are the things that need to be added to the [Environmental Protection] law to make it  stronger?

A: I think one way is to increase the supervision from the congress to the government. The congress men can go through some channel set by the law to say something to the government of all governmental officials. That’s one way. Another way is to let the central government have some legal channel to supervise local government. In the previous years, many times the central government found the problems. But they just have no control or no check, because in our law, there is no this kind of arrangements. Thirdly, we need channels set by law to help the society to say something about the local government. Many people at local level, they see the problem, but they have no way to express themselves through the legal arrangement. We need to amend our environmental law to add one system in the law, add one new system in the environmental protection law. That is system for information disclosure at one hand, and on the other hand is supervision and check from central government, from the congress and from the whole society from people.

Q: Is there any conflict or dissention that might arise as we try to get tougher laws passed?

A: I think so. This kind of change of law is really one of the key parts of reform, or political reform. So it will hit the interest of some existing interest holder. For example, some local officials, they may don’t want to change. If we change the law, we put all kinds of supervision and check, then this kind of issue, they have think about to change or not. It’s kind of in conflict with their personal interest. So it’s not an easy thing to do but it’s something we must do.

Excellent advice.  I hope this “consultation” is well-heeded.