Comments on NPC-CPPCC proceedings in Beijing
Check out the original comments by Peace Plus One - World Sustainability Project founder Philip McMaster, Hans Xu and Sze Pang Cheung from Greenpeace and Logan West, a researcher at the Tsinghua-BP Clean Energy regarding the outcomes of the recent NPC-CPPCC meetings in Beijing. here, in Global Times: http://www.globaltimes.cn/www/english/metro-beijing/lifestyle/health&food/2010-03/513207.html
Putting China’s ‘green’ house in order
- Source: Global Times - March 16 2010 by Paul Morris
Song Chunli, a committee member, receives a reusable bag provided by the NPC. Photo: CFP
By Paul Morris
Trying to decipher any potential “green” legislation that might emerge from the 2010 National People’s Conference (NPC) is a tough job for any layman. Lifestyle has done the hard work for you and spoken to three experts on their hopes, fears and analyses of what we might expect.
Philip McMaster, is an MBA/CSR/ISR instructor. He worked for the Chinese Academy of Sciences and is co-founder of the McMaster Institute for Sustainable Development in Commerce.
I believe I witnessed a positive breakdown of the traditional barriers between government, business and environmentalists. Low carbon, LOHAS (lifestyles of health and sustainability) and sustainable development are on everyone’s agenda. The integration of China is forcing a review of our capacities and responsibility. As citizens, we are quickly recognizing we are one tribe of humanity, with a dizzying diversity of motives, approaches, beliefs and traditions of how to get what we want, but a new common understanding: we need to become sustainable in our actions. Period.
At this NPC-CPPCC meeting, the conflicting camps of “environmentalists,” “economists” or those merely “socially responsible” seem to have recognized they can’t all act independently.
It is encouraging to learn the government’s spending 800 billion yuan on the 800 million rural farmers. The enormous urban-rural economic gap can narrow with this stimulus. However, using the old consumer goods consumption model of pumping billions toward the purchase of 40 million largely unsustainable home appliances (using scarce water, electricity, steel, plastics), cars (more dwindling manufacturing materials, oil), and energy to power new flat screen TVs is a problem… they’ve struggled with the issue of consumer spending and the careful balance between social and environmental factors.
My hope is that the stimulus is carefully channeled into educating consumers to buy what they actually need to live healthier, more dignified and productive lives, as well as training the rural millions in eco-entrepreneurship, sustainable manufacturing, sustain-able clean-tech construction and maintenance of sustainable agriculture and forest carbon sinks. In one effort to holistically support the government’s strategy, we proposed the “Tian Di Ren” project, linking the aspirations of the people with the means and train-ing to achieve and maintain a lifestyle of sustainability.
Big changes within the borders of China include new rights, representation and responsibilities in voting reform law. While it justifiably empowers underrepresented regions, hopefully it will also provide a motivation to take on greater responsibility, stop comparing and complaining on a national and international level and move China towards the leadership role it must inevitably accept.
The dignity that rural and urban Chinese will gain doesn’t come from the government just granting it – it comes from individuals accepting their responsibilities so that future generations may live better. Evidence of this abounded at the NPC-CPPCC meetings, from the discussion of circular economy to the simple but powerful message that change is good. Introducing the eco-friendly calcium carbonate “stone paper” was an important signal that the government is not only talking the talk, but walking the walk.
Hans Xu and Sze Pang Cheung from Greenpeace, China
Greenpeace has appealed to the legislative body to draw up strong policies to accelerate a transition to a green economy. These include a carbon tax to discourage coal use, the removal of subsidies assisting fertilizer manufacturers, an immediate halt to the com-mercialization of genetically modified (GM) crops and a serious tightening of pollution laws against hazardous chemicals.
“Environmental degradation will stall China’s economic miracle unless the nation hastens towards a green economy,” warned Campaign Director Sze Pang Cheung. “The NPC has the legislative power to draft and enact policies prioritizing environmental issues in the 12th Five Year Plan.”
Greenpeace’s policy recommendations, according to Cheung, are as follows.
1. During the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011 to 2015), China should levy a carbon tax as soon as possible. This would accelerate resources price reform, in particular that of coal. The revenue should be used for the development of clean technologies such as energy efficiency retrofitting and renewable energies;
2. China should implement more favorable policies to further increase the share of renewable energies and promote green construction, energy efficiency and public transport;
3. China should monitor, publicize, and eliminate hazardous chemicals such as heavy metal pollutants and persistent organic pollutants;
4. China should remove subsidies for chemical fertilizer production and impose fiscal policies, such as a resource tax and an environment pollution tax, on the manufacturer;
5. China should tighten pesticide regulations in the Food Safety Law;
6. China should not commercialize any GM food crop (in particular rice and corn), and start comprehensive research and investigation into the impacts of GM cotton on the environment, farmers’ lives and implications for food security;
7. China should re-organize its agricultural sector from chemical-intensive farming to ecological farming.
Logan West is a researcher at the Tsinghua-BP Clean Energy Research and Education Center in Beijing.
There’s a revision of the air quality legislation coming up for discussion and many ministries have sent in their ideas. They’ve taken advice from outside government, including foreign groups who’ve made suggestions to the Ministry of Environmental Protection. The NDRC will take a shot at it and then it’s on to the NPC Standing Committee, which will have the final say.
I think, in general, one of the best things they can do is put their efforts towards ensuring that current legislation is enforced. There is decent legislation out there, it’s just making sure that folks at the local level look at it seriously.
On that note, penalties will need to be re-evaluated. If the fault lies with the government for knowingly or negligently letting violations slide, then the official in question should face consequences; at the moment, if the fault lies with the entity violating the law then they normally just face fines. The issue here is that if the fine costs less than adhering to the law, companies are happy to be in violation as it’s a good business decision; we’ve seen this before in China.
New tort laws should come out of the NPC, which will in theory allow citizens to sue for environmental damages. This is a really progressive move, which, again, will work as long as it’s strongly enforced. The Chinese government is studying how other nations have approached similar legislation. There will be problems with law, and my guess is that they won’t come out as stringent as the West would like to see, yet the Chinese are already stronger in some areas of environmental reform than much of the world; the US for example, still doesn’t have carbon emissions legislation.
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