Harsher fines help clean up nation's air
Updated: 2015-06-16 07:43
By Zheng Jinran(China Daily)
|
|||||||||
Environmental protection authorities have reined in polluters by using the "teeth" of regulations and laws to levy record fines in the first four months of the year, prompting polluters to clean up their acts, a senior environmental official said.
As a result of that move and other efforts to curb pollution, air quality nationwide has witnessed continued improvement, a new report said.
In May, the air quality of China's 74 major cities improved, with the major airborne pollutants reduced greatly, based on the monthly air quality report released on Monday by the Ministry of Environmental Protection.
For example, Beijing has seen the concentration of PM2.5 - particulate matter with a diameter smaller than 2.5 microns that are harmful to health - reduced by 22.2 percent from that in April, the report said.
In the first four months of the year, the environmental protection bureaus nationwide have imposed daily fines on 160 polluting companies totaling 1.12 billion yuan ($180 million), and more than 1,180 polluters had been concealing their production facilities, the ministry said.
The new Environmental Protection Law, regarded as the toughest measure against pollution to date, which took effect in January, imposes stiff penalties on polluting companies, including its stipulation that polluters must pay daily fines for violation and without a ceiling on the total.
The cases in which companies were punished with daily fines in March and April are 515 percent higher than they were in the first two months after the new law was implemented, said Zou Shoumin, head of the monitoring bureau under the ministry.
Environmental authorities have transferred 429 cases to judicial organs in the first four months.
A thermal power plant in Wuhan, Hubei province, received daily fines running up 2.1 million yuan by the time the company quickly installed new facilities to control pollution.
The largest daily fine has been levied on a coal chemical company in Xianyang, Shaanxi province, with the total reaching 15.8 million yuan.
zhengjinran@chinadaily.com.cn
(China Daily 06/16/2015 page4)
- Hainan San Jose to Beijing: Ready for take-off
- Trending Across China: A Porsche gilded in gold
- Paris Air Show: From Bombardier's new C Series to China Airlines
- Warriors move within one win of NBA title
- Ten photos you don't wanna miss - weekend special
- Shanghai's leaning pagoda beats the Leaning Tower of Pisa
- Top 10 luxury houses in the world
- 18th Shanghai Int'l Film Festival kicks off
Most Viewed
Editor's Picks
Premier Li embarks on Latin America visit |
What do we know about AIIB |
Full coverage of Boao Forum for Asia |
Annual legislative and political advisory sessions |
Spring Festival trends reflect a changing China |
Patent applications lead the world |
Today's Top News
China, US to kick off key talks next week
China, US sign agreement to boost army cooperation
City honors slain NYPD
Detective Liu
Chinese students on trial in alleged torture of peer
Alibaba to launch Netflix-like video streaming service
Spacecraft that landed on comet finally wakes up
Former Chinese top legislator Qiao Shi dies in Beijing at age 91
China has adequate fiscal space to absorb local govt debt risks
US Weekly
Geared to go |
The place to be |