BUSINESS
POLLUTION DATA UNEVEN ACROSS CHINA
JEAN-FRANÇOIS TREMBLAY/C&EN
between eastern and western China will widen even more because western cities seem to be progressing little in making more data available to the public. Mandated disclosure of environmental data is helping reduce pollution by companies in the cities IPE monitored, according Activists find both PROGRESS AND BACKSLIDING to the report. In 2011, it found, “218 comin disclosure of environmental data panies provided explanations regarding their pollution issues and the corrective measures that had been taken.” EnvironREGULATIONS on environmental discloThe report supplies a mix of good and mental information disclosure has “already sure adopted by China three years ago have bad news. A few cities on the coast are makstarted to push companies to re-think their improved the behavior of polluting compaing great strides in providing more environenvironmental responsibilities.” nies, claims a Beijing-based environmental mental data to the public, while some cities But not enough information is available group. But the new rules are unevenly to the west are actually releasing less data across China. The average score of the 113 followed across China, with municipal govto the public than they did three years ago. cities reviewed was 40.1 in 2011, a sign that ernments in the eastern part of the country On the whole, the report finds, China is still environmental disclosure on the whole more willing to disclose environmental doing a poor job of providing access to enremains poor, the report notes. It is likely data than are authorities in the west. vironmental information. that many cities do not want to disclose In May 2008, the central govhow polluted they have become. ernment in Beijing adopted two For instance, the city of Zibo regulations that improve public in central eastern Shandong access to official environmental province releases less informadata. One law was implemented tion than it did in 2008. But by the State Council, China’s Zibo is one of China’s largest top decision-making body. The emitters of sulfur dioxide and other was adopted by the counnitrogen oxide. There is a clear try’s Ministry of Environmental correlation between the city’s Protection. Among other oblihigh pollution rate and its poor gations, cities now have to let record of disclosure, the report citizens see what complaints claims. were filed against companies Lack of access to environand what follow-up actions, if mental data has policy conseany, authorities have taken. quences, according to a report Together, the new rules were on China’s environmental a “watershed” for transparperformance released in Deency on environmental affairs cember 2011 by the Yale Cenin China, says Jun Ma, director ter for Environmental Law & HIDDEN This viscose Policy, which collaborated with and founder of the Institute of Public & EnNingbo, in the affluent producer is located vironmental Affairs (IPE), a Beijing-based eastern province of Zhejiang, research centers in Hong Kong, in Jiujiang, Hubei nongovernmental organization. But cities ranks first in environmental China, and the U.S. Given the province in western vary in how much access to data they actudisclosure among the 113 cities China, where limited data, the study authors ally provide. reviewed, with a PITI score of conclude, it is not possible for environmental data In 2009, Ma’s group developed a pol84.0 out of 100. In second place are hard to obtain. researchers to assess China’s lution information transparency index, is Shenzhen, an industrial city environmental performance or or PITI, to monitor the impact of the new near Hong Kong. At the bottom for Chinese decisionmakers to rules. They used their methodology to of the list are poorer inland cities such as design effective policies that will improve grade 113 Chinese cities on their environHohhot and Chifeng. The latter scored a environmental conditions. mental information disclosure. Earlier this mere 13.2. According to the Ministry of Environyear, working in collaboration with the mental Protection, China has budgeted U.S.-based environmental group Natural CITIES IN CHINA’S more economically $540 billion in the five years from 2011 to Resources Defense Council, IPE published developed east tend to be more open about 2015 to improve its environmental perfora status report that shows the progress their environmental data than those in the mance, notably by reducing emissions of achieved in the past three years. west, even when their economies, like that major pollutants by 30 to 40%. But without The PITI rankings are calculated on the of Ningbo, rely heavily on industry. “There better access to data, researchers and the basis of eight metrics that measure qualiis a link between economic development Chinese public will have to take the govties such as availability of data on corpoand the level of disclosure,” Ma says. In ernment at its word later this decade when rate environmental violations and access coming years, he anticipates the gap in it announces the results of the program.— to citizens’ complaints. environmental information disclosure JEAN-FRANÇOIS TREMBLAY WWW.CEN-ONLIN E .ORG
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