Full Text: Integrated Reform Plan for Promoting Ecological Progress

VII. Establishing an Effective System for Environmental Governance

35. Improving the pollutant emissions permit system

A unified and fair business emissions permit system covering all fixed pollution sources will be established quickly nationwide. Emissions permits will be issued in accordance with the law. Emission of pollutants without a permit or in violation of a permit will be prohibited.

36. Establishing a mechanism for cooperation within a region in pollution prevention and control

Cooperative mechanisms for joint prevention and control of air pollution will be improved in major areas such as the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Pearl River Delta. Regional cooperation mechanisms will be established in other areas, taking into consideration their geographical features, levels of pollution, distribution of urban space, and patterns of pollutant transmission. Trials for creating new administrative systems for environmental protection will be held in some areas, using unified plans, standards, environmental evaluations, monitoring, and law enforcement. Trials will also be launched for the establishment of environmental regulators and administrative law enforcement agencies for river basins. A variety of cooperative mechanisms for protecting the water environments of river basins as well as early-warning systems for risk control will be put in place with the participation of the relevant provincial-level water-related departments within each river basin. An integrated mechanism for pollution prevention and control both on land and at sea and a control system governing the total quantity of pollutants discharged into key marine areas will be set up. The mechanism for responding to environmental emergencies will be improved and China' s capacity for dealing with environmental emergencies of varying degrees of severity and involving different pollutants will be strengthened.

37. Establishing systems and mechanisms for rural environmental governance

An eco-oriented system of agricultural subsidies will be created. Efforts to formulate and improve relevant technical standards and specifications will be accelerated. Reductions to the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and plastic sheeting and the recycling or safe disposal of animal husbandry waste will be carried out quickly. The production and use of biodegradable plastic sheeting is encouraged. The system for comprehensively utilizing crop straw will be improved. Networks for recycling, storing, transporting, and processing plastic sheeting and chemical fertilizer and pesticide packaging will be improved. Development of environmental protection facilities, such as those for handling rural wastewater and refuse, will be bolstered by subsidies from governments and village collectives, fee payments from residents, and the participation of non-government capital. A variety of assistive measures, including government procurement of services, will be adopted to foster and develop market entities for the control of all types of agricultural pollution from non-point sources and for the handling of rural wastewater and refuse. County- and township-level governments will carry greater responsibility for environmental protection, and efforts to build their capacity for environmental regulation will be boosted. In allocating government funds for supporting agriculture, full consideration should be given to improving overall agricultural production capacity and to preventing and controlling rural pollution.

38. Improving systems for public disclosure of environmental information

Extensive efforts will be made to ensure public availability of environmental information pertaining to the atmosphere, water, and so on, to businesses that emit pollution, and to regulatory bodies. The mechanism for the public release of environmental impact evaluations for development projects will be improved. The environmental spokesperson system will be refined. Efforts will be made to promote awareness for environmental protection among the general public, the system of public participation will be improved, and more work needs to be done to ensure that the people exercise oversight over the environment in a legal and orderly way. An online platform and system will be created for the reporting of offenses related to environmental protection, and systems for offense-reporting, hearings, and public opinion-based oversight will be improved.

39. Strictly implementing compensation systems for ecological and environmental damage

Manufacturers' legal responsibilities for environmental protection will be tightened, and the cost of illegal activities will be significantly increased. Legal provisions concerning environmental damage compensation, methods for appraising damage, and mechanisms for enforcing compensation will be improved. In accordance with the law, penalties will be meted out to those who violate environmental laws and regulations, compensation for ecological and environmental damage will be determined by the extent of damage and other factors, and when violations result in serious adverse consequences, criminal liability will be pursued.

40. Improving the administrative system for environmental protection

An effective administrative system for environmental protection will be established to strictly regulate the emissions of all pollutants. Duties and responsibilities for environmental protection, which are currently spread across departments, will be assigned to one single department, progressively creating a system whereby one department is responsible for unified regulation and administrative law enforcement over urban and rural environmental protection work. Regulatory authority from different fields and departments and at different levels will be systemically organized to create a unified and authoritative system for environmental law enforcement, strengthen the ranks of law enforcement, and provide those tasked with environmental law enforcement the necessary conditions and means to enforce the law. The mechanisms linking administrative law enforcement and environmental judicial work will be improved.