Criticising China's Central Government Environment Policy

Today, the SCMP carried an article about a quite remarkable environmental conference sponsored by SEPA (State Environmental Protection Administration). (SCMP 6/19/2006, "Public services sidelined by growth, say scholars") Among the speakers were a number of high level officials, including "National People's Congress vice-chairwoman Gu Xiulian , Sepa viceminister Wang Yuqing , Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference vice-chairman Zhou Tienong and Song Jian , chairman of the All-China Environment Federation, an NGO under Sepa." All of them criticized the weak efforts of the central government's to get environmental problems under control, compared to efforts to promote economic development and foreign investment. Serving out the strongest criticism, however, seemed to be two professors from the China University of Political Science and Law (CUPSL), professor Jiang Ping and professor Wang Canfa. Jiang Ping, according to SCMP, is a former president of CUPSL and Wang Canfa is the director of the Center for Legal Assistance to Pollution Victims (CLAPV) (Wang was recently featured prominently on the CBC documentary "China Rises" as an environmental crusader). (Wang has agreed to speak at a VLS conference on China and the Environment next March.)

While criticism of environmental degradation issues is heard all the time, I have seldomly heard it being directed so squarely at the central government. It's quite courageous to speak out like this, but I also hope for the sake of both Jiang and Wang that this will not get them into trouble.

But there is also another issue that this raises - I wonder whether criticism of the central government's environment policies is going to a new level. In my opinion, in the past, the central government has largely received a "pass" in criticism about its environmental policy and law enforcement. Mostly, people (or at least many of the environmental folks I have met) have accepted the argument that China's serious environmental degradation is necessary to advance's its economic development. Alternatively, folks have blamed the local governments for failing to implement central government policies. The article might be an indication of a change.

Here's an excerpt from the article:

Jiang Ping , a former president of the China University of Political Science and Law, said the prolonged debate over the pace and direction of China's reforms had highlighted the government's failure to protect public interest. "The review of [China's economic] reforms in recent years has reminded us that the insufficient supply of public goods has resulted in widespread dissatisfaction among the people and even mass [protests]," he told an environmental forum yesterday.

Professor Jiang said the government, which had been obsessed with investment and economic growth, should shoulder most of the blame for worsening pollution, and increasingly expensive education and health care - the main causes of the soaring number of street protests on the mainland.

"The change in roles [required by administrative reform] means the government must deal with the rising demand for public services rather than placing too much emphasis on how to attract foreign direct investment," he said.

His views were supported by Ding Yuanzhu , a senior researcher from the National Development and Reform Commission, and Wang Canfa , an environmental expert at the China University of Political Science and Law.

Both Dr Ding and Professor Wang lashed out at the authorities' monopoly on policy-making.

Dr Ding, from the commission's Academy of Macroeconomic Research, said the lack of a democratic decision-making mechanism that involved all parties concerned - especially the public - should be addressed in the government-led administrative reform.

Professor Wang added that the government was wrongly using its role to oversee security and social equity to push for faster economic growth. Professor Jiang warned that rampant environmental accidents and disasters, and revelations about the country's ecological degradation had seriously undermined the authorities' credibility.

"While forced evictions are caused by the government's pursuit of development, pollution - which has harmed public health - highlights the authorities' lack of accomplishment and affects its credibility," he said.

More than 300 government officials, business leaders, scholars and NGOs attended the forum organised by the State Environmental Protection Administration (Sepa) yesterday.

The forum, which focused on building an environmentally friendly society, heard a range of stark warnings exposing the extent of pollution and harsh criticism of the country's single-minded pursuit of economic growth.

China's Environmental Expenditures for next 5 years

The Central government is planning to spend 1.3 trillion yuan on pollution control measures for the next 5 year plan (2006-2010. (SCMP 2/19/2006.) The announcement was made by Mao Rubai, director of the Environment and Resources Committee of the NPC. The statement was the first time this information has been made public. That comes out to 260 billion yuan per year, about 1.6 percent of GDP. It compares with 1.4 percent of GDP spending on pollution control measures in 2004.

The magnitude of the SEPA budget is designed to make-up for inadequate spending in the last 5-year plan and continued environmental deterioration.

Another river spill

There was another pollution spill, this time of 60 tons of coal tar into the Dasha river. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-5890943,00.html) This makes it 76 spills within the last 6 months.

A Swim in the Pearl River

On July 12, thousands of people will be swimming across the Pearl River which runs through Guangzhou in Guangdong province. (SCMP 6/12) While the event is supposed to show-case the improved pollution situation of the river, Guangdong environmental officials have advised against it because the river is still too polluted to swimming. The water quality is "rated at Grade 5, two levels down from the Grade 3 which would make it safe for swimming." In fact, the water is so polluted that it is not even suitable for industrial uses. The most shocking thing about the swim is that most of them, according to the SCMP, over 5000 students, teachers, police, and employees of state-owned enterprises, will be forced to participate.

On an unrelated matter, but relevant to issues of regulatory matters protecting the public, it has recently come to light that industrial grade (instead of clinical grade) oxygen has been used for patient care in a Guangxi hospital. (SCMP 6/12, based on a CCTV report) The obvious problem with industrial grade oxygen is that it contains impurities that might be harmful to patients. I suppose these issues would be consistent with the many stories of contaminated food and medicines that are the result of a weak regulatory system that, like environmental laws, should otherwise protect the public.

State of China's Environment

I have been off-line for the past few weeks for various reasons (exam grading, out-of-town, etc.). Back now.

There have been a some SEPA statements and a "White Paper" by the State Council over the past week. Deputy SEPA chief Zhu Guangyao said that pollution caused more than US$200 billion in environmental harm, constituting about 10% of China's GDP. (Xinhua 6/5/2006) The State Council also issued a paper ("Environmental Proteciton in China (1996-2005)) that summaries the developments over the last 10 years and sets out the priorities for the future. There is an English translation available at http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-06/05/content_4647221.htm.

Job Posting 5/19 - Pew Center on Climate Change

Pew is looking for an person to work on their Markets and Business Strategies team. Salary is 35-40K. Application deadline is ASAP (rolling review until position filled). For more info, see their website at http://www.pewclimate.org/about/career_opportunities/

More money for potable water for rural residents

The central government will spend 4 billion yuan (US$500 million) to provide up 20 million rural residents with potable water. (SCMP 5/7, China Daily 5/6) Apparently, the announcement was made by an official of the ministry of water resources at the same conference where SEPA announced more enforcement efforts.

Job Posting 5/5 - Golden Gate U. Law School - Env. Law & Justice clinic, staff attorney

Golden Gate Law School is looking to hire a staff attorney with at least
5 years experience for the Environmental Law & Justice Clinic. Application deadline is May 30, 2006.

I'm attaching a job description. Information also can be found on the
web at http://www.ggu.edu/jobs/applicant/listJobs.do.

Comparative Analysis of Air Pollution Trading in the US and China

I almost forgot to mention that the Environmental Law Reporter recently (last month) published an article by Heather Jarvis and Wei Xu on a comparative analysis of air pollution trading in the US and China. Heather was one of my students at VLS and Wei Xu is a student of my colleague Professor Li Zhiping at Sun Yat-sen University law school. The article may be found on-line at: http://www.elr.info/articles/vol36/36.10234.pdf

Pollution mass protests up almost 30%; more enforcement efforts

SEPA head Zhou Shengxian mentioned recently that there were over 50,000 disputes and protests about pollution last year and that they were increasing at a rate of almost 30% per year. (China Daily 5/4/06). Vice minister Pan Yue also said, as on previous occasions, that such issues are affecting social stability.

I cannot tell what the 50,000 number really means. The reporting is sufficiently ambiguous that it could be read as including both complaints by one person and complaints and dissatisfaction by hundreds or entire communities. It could also include letters about pollution violations and law suits. (This is probably the same problem that one encounters in evaluating the number of social unrest items that are reported by the government.) If complaints by single individuals are all included in the number, then the number does not look especially big or unusual, compared to the size of China and in comparison to the US. On the other hand, the fact that the number of such complaints is rising so quickly, at almost 30% per year, is probably of greater concern.

The comments were made at conference with local environment officials, where another SEPA vice minister (Zhang Lijun) openly referred to corruption as a cause of compliance problems and enforcement failures. As a result 3 new "environment supervision" centers, designed to strengthen enforcement, will be created in the northwest, northeast, and southwest regions of the country. These are in addition to such centers in east and south China. (Xinhua 5/4/06)

Job Posting 5/3 - Columbia Slough Watershed Executive Director

The Columbia Slough Watershed Council is actively seeking an Executive Director to manage and direct the operations and functions of the Council. It is the intent of the Council to recruit and hire an Executive Director that will begin employment on or about July 1, 2006. Application deadline is 5/22.

http://www.columbiaslough.org/jobs/index.htm

Job Posting 5/2 - NRDC New York/Urban Program Attorney/Advocate

Here's a job posting from a former student of mine at NRDC. If any current or former students are interested in this opening, please contact me and I will provide a direct contact at NRDC New York.

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Urban Program Attorney/Advocate

Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
New York Office

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is a non-profit national environmental advocacy organization with more than 1.2 million members and online activists. We have offices in New York, Washington, D.C., San Francisco and Los Angeles. Our staff of 275 includes attorneys, scientists, policy analysts and educators working to protect the environment and public health through advocacy and education.

Position Summary:
NRDC is seeking an Attorney or Policy Advocate to work full time in its New York City office. The successful candidate will work in NRDC's Urban Program, and in cross-programmatic initiatives, and will focus on major environmental and health issues affecting the New York region. The overall goal of our New York work is to advance long-term solutions to the region's most significant environmental health and natural resource problems and to create models of environmental policy that can be applied in other jurisdictions throughout the United States. Among initial areas of concentration will be solid waste and clean air, although it is likely that the programmatic focus will evolve over time, consistent with NRDC's broad institutional objectives for environmental progress.

The Attorney/Advocate's job responsibilities will include public policy advocacy, coalition-building, participation as lawyer or scientist in legal and administrative proceedings, media work and fundraising. In addition, the Attorney/Advocate may assist in managing NRDC's cross-programmatic New York Regional Initiative. The ideal candidate will have the personal and professional skills to meet the Initiative's objectives of enhancing communication, coordination and priority-setting among more than a dozen NRDC"s staff who work on various issues affecting the New York region.

Skills and Knowledge Requirements:
• Five to fifteen years of experience required
• Exceptional advocacy skills
• Persuasive written and oral advocacy abilities are vital, as is the ability to build coalitions broader than the traditional environmental community, and to address environmental problem-solving in new ways.
• Demonstrated experience in strategic thinking and in planning and implementing successful advocacy campaigns.
• Litigation and political experience is a plus
• A broad understanding of regional environmental issues and of national, state and local environmental and administrative laws is a plus
• Sharing NRDC's commitment to environmental justice

We offer competitive salaries, excellent benefits, and a pleasant working environment and are committed to workplace diversity.

How to Apply:
Applicants should send cover letter including salary requirements, resume and writing sample to hr@nrdc .org by June 1, 2006. No phone calls or faxes. Please reference where you saw this posting. NRDC is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

For further information about NRDC, please visit http://www. nrdc.org

Robert Matsui Writing Competition on Asian Pacific American Issues

The Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Washington DC Educational Fund sponsors the Robert Matsui Writing Competition on issues of importance to the Asian Pacific American community. Entries are due July 1, 2006. The winning entry's prize is $1500. For more information and an application, see http://www.aefdc.org/.

Symposium on China and the Environment

The Vermont Journal of Environmental Law has decided to make China and the Environment the topic of its 2007 annual symposium. While many details remain to be decided, the symposium will take place in March 2007.

toxic discharges into agricultural areas

The Standing Committee of the National People Congress just passed a law prohibiting "discharges of sewage, waste gas, solid waste or other poisonous substances to the agricultural product production areas." (SCMP 4/30). It is a response to widespread concerns about contamination of agricultural produce. It will become effective Nov. 1.

There was also another report of water pollution that is expected to affected the water supply of 40,000 people in Wuchuan City, Guangdong province. (China Daily 4/29) The pollution is affecting the water in the Sanchajiang river, but the news report does not make clear the source of the pollution or its composition.

Job Posting 4/29 - Climate Change Secretariat Senior Legal Advisor

The UNFCCC Secretariat in Bonn, Germany has an opening for a senior legal advisor position. Deadline for applications is May 17, 2006. Starting date is asap.
For more info, see http://unfccc.int/tools_xml/ie06.009.pdf.

How Beijing will meet air quality standards for the Olympics

The Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau may try to go the last-resort avenue to reduce air pollution for the Olympics. On high pollution days and depending on the weather, some cars would be banned from operation. (SCMP 4/27). This is, of course, all being planned in conjunction with traditional environmental regulatory measures, such as emissions controls. Cars kept off the road would be higher emission vehicles, most likely older vehicles.

Also, pollution levels in the Three Gorges reservoir, created by the Three Gorges Dam, is likely to become a significant public health and environmental problem. While pollution control have been stepped up, Professor Shu at a research institute of a PLA's Medical Hospital has said that only 20% of polluted water inflows are treatd. Shu just received an environmental protection award from the central government on Three Gorges reservoir water quality issues. (SCMP 4/27).

Job Posting 4/24 - US EPA Opening in Methane to Markets Partnership

here's job listing that has languished in my e-mail.

April 14, 2006

Program Manager and Environmental Protection Specialist Position
Openings –Methane to Markets Partnership and Natural Gas STAR Program,
US EPA

This notice is to announce the upcoming availability of two exciting
federal positions to work in the challenging world of international
climate change and energy programs. The positions are located in the
Office of Atmospheric Program’s Climate Change Division (CCD), Non-CO2
Programs Branch (NCPB). NCPB is responsible for the implementation of
voluntary programs that promote profitable opportunities for reducing
emissions of methane and high-global warming potential gases. The branch
is also responsible for the Methane to Markets Partnership (M2M).
Launched in November 2004, M2M will reduce global methane emissions to
enhance economic growth, promote energy security, improve the
environment, and reduce GHG emissions. Through multilateral,
public-private sector cooperation, the Partnership promotes
cost-effective, near-term methane recovery and use projects at
agricultural operations (manure management), coal mines, landfills, and
oil and gas systems.

EPA seeks to fill two positions to support the Methane to Markets
Partnership and the Natural Gas STAR Program. The salary range for
these positions is GS-11 to GS-13 ($54,272 - $100,554), dependent upon
qualifications. If interested, please e-mail a cover letter and resume
to the following contact:

Marian Smoak
USEPA (6207J)
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20460
E-mail: smoak.marian@epa.gov

NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE

This invitation for resumes is an opportunity for you to introduce
yourself to us. It is not an official job application process. All job
openings will be announced in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s
EZ-hire website (http://www.epa.gov/ezhire). EPA is an Equal
Opportunity Employer. Selection for these positions will be based
solely on merit without regard to race, color, religion, age, gender,
national origin, political affiliation, disability, sexual orientation,
marital or family status, or any other non-merit factors. U.S.
citizenship is required.

Environmental Protection Specialist, Methane to Markets Partnership

EPA is seeking a highly motivated individual to support the Methane to
Markets Partnership. EPA is the lead implementing agency for the US and
is serving as the M2M Secretariat. The Secretariat is responsible for
facilitating communication among members, planning M2M committee
meetings, and developing outreach and communication materials for the
Partnership. This position requires an ability to manage a wide range
of programmatic issues and operate in a fast paced and dynamic
environment. Work undertaken will include managing and coordinating
communications and activities between US government agencies and
international partner countries, evaluating program effectiveness and
identifying strategic opportunities for program improvement, identifying
and promoting existing and emerging project financing mechanisms,
preparing policy and research analyses, and interacting and fostering
relationships with the private sector, non-government organizations,
foreign governments, and other federal agencies to implement the goals
of M2M.

The ideal candidate will have a master’s degree in environmental
science, public policy, or a related discipline and possess strong
analytical, marketing, communication, international relations, and
presentation skills. Experience in project finance is preferred, but not
required. The candidate must also have a strong commitment to
environmental protection, excellent writing skills, a high energy level,
and some facilitation and outreach experience. The candidate will be
required to operate in an interactive team-based environment with each
member assuming responsibility for a diverse set of activities and
responsibilities. The job will require domestic and international
travel.
Program Manager, Natural GasSTAR Program

EPA is seeking a program manager for the Natural GasSTAR Program.
Natural GasSTAR is a voluntary public-private partnership designed to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions from oil and gas production,
transmission, distribution, and processing using cost-effective
management practices and technologies. The program works directly with
representatives of the oil and natural gas industry, including
companies, major industry trade associations, governments, and research
organizations. Internationally, the Natural Gas STAR Program is
responsible for implementing EPA’s Methane to Markets Partnership oil
and gas related activities.

This position requires a diverse set of skills including, an ability to
comprehend technologies and technical issues, conduct successful
face-to-face negotiations and interactions with industry, perform
technical and financial analysis, promote new projects, and manage a
wide range of programmatic activities. Work undertaken will involve
strategic program planning, marketing directly to the industry,
performing cost-benefit analyses of new emission reduction technologies
and practices, designing and developing technical and outreach materials
to forward the goals of the Program and the Methane to Markets
Partnership, and managing key program activities.

The ideal candidate will have a masters degree in environmental science,
public policy, or a related discipline, and strong analytical,
marketing, communication, international relations, and presentation
skills. The individual must also have the ability to rapidly learn
technical information and communicate it to the relevant stakeholders.
A petroleum background and international experience is preferred but not
required. The ideal candidate will also have a strong commitment to
environmental protection, excellent writing skills, a high energy level,
strong quantitative skills, project management experience, and an
ability to work well with others. The program operates in an
interactive team-based environment with each member assuming
responsibility for a diverse set of activities and responsibilities.
Domestic and international travel is required.

local governments lose 30-50% of administrative law suits

Local governments lose an astonishing 30-50% of law suits in China, according a magazine article described in SCMP (SCMP 4/23, "Governments on wrong side of law"). The article suggests that this shows that local government are acting contrary to the law. These law suits are being brought under the China's 1989 Administrative Procedure law. Of these administrative law suits, 30-40% consist of cases concerning land seizures, housing relocations, social security and state-owned-enterprise reform (in essence, folks getting laid off from their state company jobs).

The assertion that local governments oftentimes act contrary to the law and are sued as a result seems pretty unremarkable. However, I am astonished that the plaintiffs appear to win so often. From all the things I have heard, the plaintiffs most of the time come out on the losing end. My sense was that judges would not ordinarily rule against local government officials in such matters. Even if judges in large metropolitan areas like Beijing and Shanghai may be more professional, and so such a high loss rate seems likely in such regions, that is less the case in the rural areas and away from the coast.

Enforcement of law in China - IPR and Environment

The recent announcement of greater law enforcement efforts in the IPR sector is an interesting contrast to what has been going on with respect to environmental matters. In connection with President Hu Jintao's visit to the US, there have been pronouncements that China will be cracking down on violators of IPR, including software pirating. The US Commerce Department seems to estimate that up to 70% of all Chinese software is pirated. In a conversation that I had with a Microsoft manager in Beijing a few months ago, he estimated that only 1 of every 10 copies of Windows used on Chinese computers was actually a legitimate version.

All of this has led to great efforts on the part of the US to prod China to step up its IPR enforcement efforts. While the rhetoric is good, what will actually occur remains to be seen. But within the last year, there have been some high profile enforcement actions, including law suits about knock-off goods against the Beijing silk market and another place that is very popular with foreigners and expats.

I have been wondering whether more dialogue (and prodding) by US officials with Chinese officials could yield a greater commmitment with respect to environmental enforcement. But the first question one would have to ask is why US officials would really care? I am quite certain that EPA and the US government generally "care" about environmental issues in China. But do they care enough to expend some diplomatic capital to raise such issues in high-level ministerial meetings? I don't know what EPA Administrator Steve Johnson discussed with the SEPA director during his recent visit. But was such a meeting maybe a chance to discuss environmental enforcement and law implementation issues as has occurred with respect to IPR in other US/China ministerial meetings?