Air quality rule changes put heat on local authorities
Proposed amendments to national legislation could also pave the way for caps on coal use
Legislators on the mainland are considering changes to the air pollution law that could give the state new powers to punish negligent local authorities and industrial enterprises and provide a legal mandate to impose caps on coal consumption.
Amendments to the country's 15-year-old Air Pollution Law are expected to be approved this week by the National People's Congress, the country's legislature, and will make local governments directly responsible for failing to meet air quality targets.
The ruling Communist Party has acknowledged the damage that decades of untrammelled economic growth have done to the country's skies, rivers and soil, and it is now trying to equip its environmental inspection offices with greater powers and more resources to tackle persistent polluters and the local governments that protect them.
"Local governments will become responsible to assess and meet standards by a certain time," said Tonny Xie, director of the Clean Air Alliance of China, which has been involved in consultations on the law.
"Previously, there was one sentence in the law about 'making plans' to treat air pollution, rather than 'achieving plans'."
A 31-page draft includes sections on controlling pollution from coal combustion and will provide a legal basis for the establishment of consumption caps and restrictions on low-grade imports, but legislators continue to debate the precise details.
"We have been lobbying for the inclusion of a specific timeline for coal consumption to peak, but this won't be included," a source with an environmental group involved in consultations said.