Chinese pollution curbs must consider needs of businesses, says environment minister
- Environment minister Li Ganjie warns officials against ‘crude’ blanket bans that could harm economy
- Pollution controls set to be eased this winter as growth stalls and US trade war starts to take effect
China’s environment watchdog has warned against the use of “simple and crude” anti-pollution measures that would hurt businesses.
Li Ganjie, the Minister of Ecology and Environment, told a two-day conference that ended on Saturday that the increasingly uncertain economic outlook added another layer of complexity to environmental policy, along with other factors such as the slow pace of economic structural adjustment.
Li said the ministry would forbid blanket bans on factory operations and said officials must use their discretion when applying pollution controls to different sectors and regions.
Observers had predicted that its pollution curbs would be less severe this winter compared with last year as economic growth slows and the trade war with the US takes its toll.
China has introduced a series of measures to curb the country’s notorious pollution problem and President Xi Jinping has told officials to consider the impact on the environment, rather than going all-out for economic growth, under his plan for the country’s development.
In practice, however, many local officials have reacted by closing down all factories before central government inspection teams arrive to monitor pollution levels, regardless of whether those factories meet environmental standards or not.