Archive for the 'pollution' Category

The Taihu Lake district got into trouble when nearly a year ago there was blue-green algae outbreak in the lake. This disrupted water supply to two million residents in Wuxi, Jiangsu province.

The measures that were taken seem to be working. Many manufacturing enterprises, at the urging of the provincial and city governments, have taken difficult and costly measures to cut down on industrial pollution.

Li Yuanchao, head of the Organization Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the former Party Secretary of Jiangsu province said, ‘Excessive industrial development along the Taihu Lake area has taken a deadly toll on the environment. Strict environmental standards should be enforced to reduce pollution, even if that means a slowdown in growth. It’s the price we have to pay.’

The Jiangsu provincial environmental protection bureau issued what is considered the strictest environmental standard in the nation — DB32 Discharge Standard of Main Water Pollutants for Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant and Key Industries of Taihu Area — which took effect at the beginning of this year. DB32 leaves little room for compromise: enterprises either comply or get out.

Wuxi has played host to one of the nation’s most advanced and developed modern industrial zones. It enjoys a long history of industrial development, especially in textile and machine manufacturing, while printing, dyeing, plating and chemical industries mushroomed in the 1980s.

Growing environmental problems in recent years, such as the algae outbreak, have sounded a serious warning that the old pattern of growth simply can’t be sustained.

Now matters are changing. Statistics from the municipal economic and trade committee show some 600 small chemical companies were closed down in 2007. Other sectors like metallurgy, printing and dyeing, plating and cement are also facing the heat.

Qin Jueming, chief of staff of the environmental watchdog said, ‘Companies will have to do preliminary treatment if the content of pollutants in the wastewater proves high. If they don’t do it, they will simply be shut down.’
Source: China Daily

China has been reforming its policies in an effort to discourage overseas investment in energy-intensive, polluting and resource-based ventures — the so-called smokestack industries.

Delivering a work report to the 1st session of the 11th National People’s Congress (NPC) on Wednesday, Premier Wen Jiabao made known China’s determination to end its position as a global center of such industries.

He said, ‘We will limit or ban foreign investment in projects that are energy-intensive or highly polluting, limit or ban foreign investment in some areas of resource exploitation, and correct illegal practices for attracting foreign investment.’

Zhang Yansheng, chief of the Institute of Foreign Economics affiliated with the National Development and Reform Commission, said: ‘Given the size of the Chinese economy, I believe the international community will benefit from the country’s policy adjustments toward overseas investment in terms of resources, environmental protection and the balance of global trade.’

Overseas investors are now being encouraged to enter fields such as recycling, clean production, renewable energy, environmental protection and efficient use of resources.

They are restricted or banned from entering energy-intensive, polluting sectors or certain certain fields of resource exploitation, and export tax rebates for 1,115 commodities in these sectors have been ended.

Zhang Yansheng said the blind pursuit of foreign funds led to many short-lived smokestack factories that turned out low-end goods.

A report released by the China Council for International Cooperation in Environment and Development in late February disclosed that the number of overseas investors investing in polluting industries accounted for about 30% of overseas-invested ventures in 1995 and 84.19% in 2005.
Source: China View