China environment ministry accused of passing buck on project approvals

The environment ministry is planning to hand many of its approval powers over industrial projects to local governments, a move it says is aimed at reducing regulatory interference.

But some experts fear the plan could lead to further environmental degradation.

"The Ministry of Environmental Protection has been working on a list of 'approval items' that will be passed on to local governments since the beginning of this year," said Beijing-based lawyer Xia Jun, adding that he expected the change to be "quite significant".

The law stipulates that an environmental impact assessment report is required before construction of any industrial project can start. The environment ministry is now responsible for reviewing such reports on nuclear projects, those involving large investments and those deemed ecologically sensitive.

The mechanism, even though it has some flaws such as poor transparency, has carried some weight in the ministry's struggle to put the brakes on local governments' pursuit of economic growth at all costs.

Details of the plan have not yet been unveiled, but Environment Minister Zhou Shengxian said in February that his ministry would "transfer approval power for environmental reviews to lower-level governments and simplify procedures, in a bid to cut red tape and improve efficiency", Xinhua reported. He said the move was in line with the new leadership's call for a reduction in government interference.