China steps it up on environmental protection.

In this statement, highlighted by the Worldwatch Institute (and translated by Google)  it looks like that the Chinese State Environmental Protection Agency sees the challenge ahead.

===


Pan Yue, deputy director of State Administration of Environmental Protection

"The introduction of economic policy environment can not wait! We should release several policies within one year, set up major pilot projects within two years, and create a fundamental framework for an environmental economic system in China within four years.."

The State Environmental Protection Administration Pan Yue, deputy director in the 9th Twelfth "Green China Forum" that outlined China's economic policy environment timetable. Forum on Pan proposed for the first time a new environment of economic policy framework and the road map, and called on the macroeconomic sector and professional sectors together environmental and economic policy research pilot.

Pan said that the economic policy environment system is the most effective solutions to environmental problems, the best way of a long-term mechanism is an important component of macroeconomic measures part is implementing the scientific concept of development and system support.

Economic policy environment is in accordance with the laws of market economy, adopt a price, taxation, financial, credit, fees, insurance and other economic means to influence the market behavior of the main policy instruments.

Pan's economic policy environment will be divided into seven areas:

• First, the green tax. To the development, conservation, the use of environmental resources of taxpayers units and individuals, according to the environmental resource development and use, pollution, destruction and the extent of protection levy or relief, the implementation of environment-friendly behavior tax preferential policies on the environment unfriendly act , and establish a basis for the amount of pollution emitted by the direct pollution taxes, indirect pollution based on the products of environmental taxes.
  
• 
  
• Second, environmental charges. Raising the level of charges, in the resource price reform to take full account of environmental factors, pricing and fees to promote energy-saving reduction.
  
• 
  
• Third, it is green capital markets. In the indirect financing channels, the implementation of "green loan" of the environment-friendly enterprises or institutions providing loans to support and implement preferential interest rates on the new projects of the enterprises in investment and liquidity lending limits and the implementation of punitive high interest rates in the direct financing channels on a set of "two high" enterprises, including the initial capital market access restrictions, limitations and the follow-up funds from the stock market and other punitive content of audit monitoring system. (a good idea which i haven't heard much about here in the UK or in the US)
  
• 
  
• Fourth, it is ecological compensation. This policy is not just an environmental and economic needs, but also political and strategic needs. It is necessary to improve the developed areas of less developed regions, urban to rural, affluent crowd on the poor, on the lower reaches of the upper reaches, beneficiaries of the injured party, the "two high" industries of environmental protection industries to the financial transfer payment methods ecological compensation policy . (translation not good enough for me...perhaps reperation in rural areas for resources required in cities? An attempt at stabilising social tensions using the logic  of environmental rights?)
  
• 
  
• Fifth, it is trading. The use of market forces to achieve environmental protection objectives and optimize the environmental capacity of the allocation of resources, reduce the total cost of pollution control, and mobilize the enthusiasm of polluters to prevent water pollution. (water qaility credits in a market system, i believe the US currently uses this kind
• of mechanism for water qaulity)
  
• 
  
• Sixth, green trade. For the developed countries more and more green trade barriers, China must change the simple pursuit of volume growth to the neglect of environmental capacity and resource constraints of the development model, the import and export trade and balance the interests of environmental protection at home and abroad.
  
• 
  
• Seventh, Green insurance. Environmental liability insurance which most representative, on the one hand, by insurance companies and unforeseen pollution compensation to the victims of the government and enterprises to reduce the pressure on the one hand and enhance the market mechanism to force the supervision of enterprises sewage. (I believe that this is a requirement for environmental insurance, insurance on a large scale is often only obtanable on the conditions of an insurance company such as monitoring and independent assesment of pollution risks, this gives central govornment a way to introduce monitoring of business on business)
• 
  

Pan said that any one sector and macroeconomic environment with the professional competence to lead the departments are willing to implement economic policy environment, Environmental Protection Agency will meet to be willing to do supporting roles.

Home del.icio.us Digg This!