Pollution fines reach $14 million in Beijing
Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau announce that increases in penalty fees have raised 88 million yuan ($14 million) compared to 8.34 million yuan for the same period last year
Penalty fees for polluting enterprises in Beijing have seen the city bring in 88 million yuan ($14 million) already this year, according to the city’s environmental watchdog.
The Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau said that only 8.34 million yuan in fines were dished out during the same period last year.
Zhong Chonglei, head of the Beijing Environmental Monitoring Team, said on Tuesday: “All of the money collected will be used to improve the city’s air quality.”
The penalty fees were increased in January in an attempt to give the Bureau’s battle against pollution more impact and to enhance the public’s faith in the crackdown.
The fees were raised more than tenfold on major pollutants such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, chemical oxygen demand and ammonia nitrogen.
The Bureau also outlined its plans for enterprises that discharge 50 per cent fewer pollutants than the emission provision to be charged half of the benchmark price, whilst those that emit above the quota will be charged double.
Heavy emitters, such as coal-fired power plants and cement plants, contributed more than 18.47 million of the total 88 million yuan emission fee, the bureau said.
To reduce the cost and lower emissions, Beijing’s four main coal-fired plants have begun installing purification systems and consumed 2.6 million metric tonnes of coal during the first quarter of this year, 200,000 tonnes less than the same period last year.
Zhang Zhanping, deputy head of the capital’s monitoring team, said that the agency will also enhance supervision to reduce cases of enterprises failing to report accurate emission numbers or refusing to pay emission fees.
The city of Tianjin is also seeking to raise its emission fees on the four major pollutants starting on July 1.
The Tianjin Development and Reform Commission estimates the increase will bring in 900 million yuan annually, which will be used for the city’s environmental protection efforts.