Many laws and regulations on environmental protection have been enacted in China, but enforcement holds the key to a better environment. With necessary laws already in place, what really matters now is effective enforcement, which is considered to be difficult and far from satisfactory. The frequent haze that recently swept across many parts of the country indicates slack law enforcement and showed that more has to be done.

Under China’s government structure which emphasizes top-down management, the central government is powerful and local initiatives are also encouraged, I'd like to share my opinions on how to tackle the environmental issues.

First, we need to increase staff levels and resources for environmental protection to provide adequate personnel and funds to improve environmental supervision.

The United States is almost the same size as China, with a GDP twice that of China and a population that is no more than a quarter of China's. Despite these facts, the US has at least 70,000 people working in the environmental protection field at the federal and state level, much more than that of China.

The US Environmental Protection Agency staffs six times as many people as its Chinese counterpart, the Ministry of Environmental Protection.

Second, we need to increase the ministry's role in supervision so that the national office manages human resources, funds and materials for local green initiatives. At the same time, local governments should be able to criticize or give advice, but be free from interference in work.

Third, we need to deal with environmental problems in regions that share similar natural and economic conditions, without being limited by the boundaries like administrative divisions. We must endeavor to increase cooperation among provinces and enhance cooperation effectiveness, especially, for example, in river pollution control.

Fourth, we need to define explicitly in laws how the Ministry of Environmental Protection works with other ministries and the responsibilities of related ministries in environmental protection.

Lastly, we need to adopt and implement fiscal and tax policies that encourage enterprises to cut emissions and increase input in pollution controls. We also need to improve the monitoring system by involving more people.

Shi Guang

Department of Techno-Economic Research