Horizontal environmental policy: implementation, impact and effectiveness

Editor's note 20Mar14: Source D142-7.

The basis of environmental laws stems from the Constitution where Article 26 states the responsibility to "protect and improve the living environment” (1982). The Environmental Protection Act was introduced in 1989 with the principal purpose is to enhance the protection through both national responsibility and citizens' obligations. The law only regulates and punishes pollution caused by enterprises. The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Law was created in 2002 in order to achieve prevention.

The general goal of horizontal environmental policy (environmental assessment and licensing) is the protection of the natural environment, particularly with regard to air, water quality, and the conservation of wild flora and fauna.

A specific goal of this policy is the timely consideration of the environmental impacts of policies, programs, and projects. Through this consideration, the Central Government’s prevention and precautionary principles, specific measures, terms, and restrictions may be applied to the case under consideration.

Objectives of horizontal environmental policy in China

Source: authors

At the national level, the Ministry of Environmental Protection is the main policy maker and promoter. The Environmental Protection Department was established in 2008 (to replace the SEPA) with the responsibility of formulating environmental policies, supervising environmental issues and issuing environmental permits.

In recent years, the problem of energy and climate change has been brought onto the agenda as well, causing discussions on energy conservation and policy, as the deterioration of the environment has begun to slow the rapid development of the economy.

In the process of environmental impact assessment, local government organizations hold public hearings, conduct opinion polls, and obtain advice. These conclusions will serve as an important reference for the EIA. The Environmental Protection Department may defend the public interest through participation in the EIA; it is particularly positive that the Department uses legal means to seek the intervention of the EIA process as the public may not be involved.

The primary policy instruments of horizontal environmental policy are administrative and consist of procedures for the issuing of an environmental license to carry out any economic activity.

Horizontal environmental policy instruments in China (summary)

Source: authors

Implementation, impact and effectiveness

At the local level, the Ministry is the key policy maker and promoter responsible for implementation of the policies for environmental improvement, supervision of pollution prevention and issuing of environmental permits. For a certain scale of national projects, the EIA results will be submitted to the higher levels of government.

Interestingly, the county environmental departments have more enforcement rights than the higher levels of government in the issuing of administrative penalties for specific actions. The county government has better insight into implementation details than higher authorities. Although lower government levels have very limited power, their role in local policy implementation can help decision makers to assess practical implications and modify the policy implementation framework.

Banks are a platform for financing and disbursement of funds and are official participants in policy implementation, through green credit. Private equity funds and investment companies are also important participants as investment decisions affect the region's environment. In recent years, the Zigui government has greatly developed small and medium enterprises mainly in small-scale agricultural machinery and comprehensive supporting industries for citrus.

Aside from the problems in planning and resource allocation, the most important issue is the treatment of wastewater and waste. In addition, old industrial enterprises whose equipment is aging will inevitably result in greater pollution. They need to upgrade their equipment. Although the performance of the government on combating pollution is inadequate, NGO environmental groups have formed spontaneously to respond to continuing pollution issues. World Wildlife Fund and Greenpeace have repeatedly been involved in ecological protection of the Three Gorges Reservoir. The legitimacy of their activities has not been unquestioned.

One of the primary instruments of horizontal environmental policy is approval policy of environmental projects. The development of this type of policy instruments can be divided into two stages:

• Prior to the 1990s: command-and-control tool. This form of policy was based on a mandatory system of licensing and prohibition, governed by a series of administrative decrees and regulations. Interim Measures Sewage Charges (1982) established a pollution levy system on waste gas, wastewater, waste, and noise. Local implementation results are low.
• Post 1990s: blend of old and new environmental policies. From the 1990s, environmental policy instruments have taken on a hybrid form. Environmental regulation has become increasingly more powerful. In addition, the state has implemented a series of economic governance principles, such as protection for development, restoration, and gradual increase of the sewage charging standard, improve the sewage charge instruments, and expand the emissions trading pilot projects. The concept of clean production and circular economy has been widely accepted and environmental practices began to change from treatment at the end of the process, focusing on the production source, process, and control over the whole process. Since the early 2000s, the State Environmental Protection Department put forward the "policy to accelerate the introduction and implementation of conducive price, tax, financial and other incentives". Local government however has responded negatively to the national decree.

The impact of the policy for Zigui is limited as responsible public services are weak and often too bureaucratic. The following issues have become very significant:

• Due to tourism development and housing construction, the relevant environmental impact assessment threshold projects must meet is very low. As a compromise for economic growth, potential environmental risk is significant.
• Contamination of groundwater is prevalent but sewage companies only exceed the scope of their license subject to effective supervision. There is no guidance document on supervision and law enforcement, which leads to a disadvantage of the environmental protection department.
• Citrus processing enterprises have also become a source of pollution which cannot be ignored. Such companies need to have separate sewage treatment facilities, but their short and long-term effectiveness has not been adequately supervised.

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