Page 7 - THE SOUTH CHINA BUSINESS JOURNAL
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inesses face mounting pressure to meet rights holders should familiarize themselves with the
environmental compliances as China’s war on legislation as they may now be subject to additional
pollution wages on. obligations and liabilities.
While the rhetoric surrounding China’s clean-up The Law on the Prevention and Control of Soil
efforts are certainly not new – the country’s recent Pollution (the Soil Pollution Law)stipulates that for
green agenda has taken a more pragmatic and any identified construction land (non-agricultural
balanced turn. land for residential, industrial, mining, or other
purpose) with contamination risk, the polluter will
Amidst an ongoing economic slowdown and tariff be required to investigate the status of their soil,
brinkmanship with the US, the Chinese government complete risk assessment reports, and form their own
has found itself continually playing tug-of-war restoration plan where the pollution level exceeds
between the pursuit of aggressive economic growth that of national standards.
plans and an ambition to transform the nation into a
‘Beautiful China’. While the ‘polluter’ in each scenario is not made
clear, read in light of the other articles, any individual,
These two seemingly conflicting ideas form the organization or public institution who use or engage
backdrop to the latest policy initiative by the Ministry with the land is at risk of being liable.
of Ecology and Environment – the 2018-2020 Three-year
Action Plan for Wining the Blue-Sky War (the 2020 In addition, under the Soil Pollution Action Law,
Action Plan) – which was released in June, this year. more soil monitoring stations will be established to
collect information which will then be disseminated
Here we discuss five major environmental efforts led on a new shared database that can be accessed by all
by the government that businesses should prepare for relevant environmental agencies.
as China’s crackdown on pollution gains momentum.
3. Environmental inspections to
1. Increased incentives for companies increase threefold
to cut down pollution
China’s air pollution inspections are expected to hit
As China grapples with a stagnating economy, more more regions this coming winter. According to the
provincial governments are choosing to incentivize rather Ministry of Ecology and Environment – businesses
than penalize businesses to cut down on their pollution. in the industrial, energy, transportation, and land-
use sectors will be hit the hardest, with continued
One such example is the province of Hebei, which enforcement of coal-to-gas conversions in the next
recently introduced a new ‘pace setter’ scheme to couple of months.
give leading enterprises preferential treatment and
exclusion from output restrictions lists. Unlike the previous 2017 Action Plan, the new 2020
Action Plan stipulates air pollution inspections that
‘Pace setters’ will typically be companies in industrial are not limited to the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region,
sectors, such as steel, cement, glass-making, and coking but will also include Shanghai and cities in Jiangsu,
and waste-to-energy. Zhejiang, Anhui, Shanxi, and Shaanxi provinces.
Independent third-party assessors will award ‘pace setter’ To enforce this expanded coverage, the central
status to those companies which, for example, impose government will be sending out two hundred teams
stricter than necessary emission standard, implement a comprised of some 18,000 inspectors and support staff
green supply chain system or consume low levels of coal who will take part in air pollution inspections from
and water. June 11, 2018 to April 28, 2019 – triple the workforce
from last year.
2. New soil pollution law targets
manufacturers, operators and land-use 4. Forced relocation or closures in
rights holders heavy polluting factories continue
From January 1, 2019, China will have a new soil Heavy polluting factories in urban areas, particularly
pollution law, which will crackdown on all ‘soil polluters’. those that produce steel or use coal in its process,
continue to be at risk of forced relocation or closure.
Manufacturers, business operators, and land-use
South China Business Journal 3
environmental compliances as China’s war on legislation as they may now be subject to additional
pollution wages on. obligations and liabilities.
While the rhetoric surrounding China’s clean-up The Law on the Prevention and Control of Soil
efforts are certainly not new – the country’s recent Pollution (the Soil Pollution Law)stipulates that for
green agenda has taken a more pragmatic and any identified construction land (non-agricultural
balanced turn. land for residential, industrial, mining, or other
purpose) with contamination risk, the polluter will
Amidst an ongoing economic slowdown and tariff be required to investigate the status of their soil,
brinkmanship with the US, the Chinese government complete risk assessment reports, and form their own
has found itself continually playing tug-of-war restoration plan where the pollution level exceeds
between the pursuit of aggressive economic growth that of national standards.
plans and an ambition to transform the nation into a
‘Beautiful China’. While the ‘polluter’ in each scenario is not made
clear, read in light of the other articles, any individual,
These two seemingly conflicting ideas form the organization or public institution who use or engage
backdrop to the latest policy initiative by the Ministry with the land is at risk of being liable.
of Ecology and Environment – the 2018-2020 Three-year
Action Plan for Wining the Blue-Sky War (the 2020 In addition, under the Soil Pollution Action Law,
Action Plan) – which was released in June, this year. more soil monitoring stations will be established to
collect information which will then be disseminated
Here we discuss five major environmental efforts led on a new shared database that can be accessed by all
by the government that businesses should prepare for relevant environmental agencies.
as China’s crackdown on pollution gains momentum.
3. Environmental inspections to
1. Increased incentives for companies increase threefold
to cut down pollution
China’s air pollution inspections are expected to hit
As China grapples with a stagnating economy, more more regions this coming winter. According to the
provincial governments are choosing to incentivize rather Ministry of Ecology and Environment – businesses
than penalize businesses to cut down on their pollution. in the industrial, energy, transportation, and land-
use sectors will be hit the hardest, with continued
One such example is the province of Hebei, which enforcement of coal-to-gas conversions in the next
recently introduced a new ‘pace setter’ scheme to couple of months.
give leading enterprises preferential treatment and
exclusion from output restrictions lists. Unlike the previous 2017 Action Plan, the new 2020
Action Plan stipulates air pollution inspections that
‘Pace setters’ will typically be companies in industrial are not limited to the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region,
sectors, such as steel, cement, glass-making, and coking but will also include Shanghai and cities in Jiangsu,
and waste-to-energy. Zhejiang, Anhui, Shanxi, and Shaanxi provinces.
Independent third-party assessors will award ‘pace setter’ To enforce this expanded coverage, the central
status to those companies which, for example, impose government will be sending out two hundred teams
stricter than necessary emission standard, implement a comprised of some 18,000 inspectors and support staff
green supply chain system or consume low levels of coal who will take part in air pollution inspections from
and water. June 11, 2018 to April 28, 2019 – triple the workforce
from last year.
2. New soil pollution law targets
manufacturers, operators and land-use 4. Forced relocation or closures in
rights holders heavy polluting factories continue
From January 1, 2019, China will have a new soil Heavy polluting factories in urban areas, particularly
pollution law, which will crackdown on all ‘soil polluters’. those that produce steel or use coal in its process,
continue to be at risk of forced relocation or closure.
Manufacturers, business operators, and land-use
South China Business Journal 3
