China planning to end ‘one size fits all’ environmental policies
Officials who fail to take heed of local conditions will be held responsible, environment ministry says
China plans to end its “one size fits all” approach to fighting pollution, the environment ministry said on Monday, as it tries to devise more nuanced policies that match local conditions and minimise economic disruption.
The failure to take heed of local conditions will be regarded as a form of bureaucratic thinking and officials will be held responsible for any serious problems that arise, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment said in a notice.
China imposed blanket restrictions on traffic, coal use and industrial activity throughout the smog-prone north last year as it raced to meet its politically crucial air quality targets.
In some cities, industrial sectors like steel were forced to shut down as much as 50 per cent of their production capacity to limit smog build-ups in the region, and many firms complained that Beijing’s failure to take account of local conditions had made it impossible to fulfil client orders.
Overzealous efforts by local officials to convert coal-fired boilers to cleaner-burning but scarce natural gas also left thousands of households without heat during the freezing winter.
