China to boost environmental protection with new law
Amendments to China's 1989 Environmental Protection Law will give the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) greater authority to challenge and sanction polluters who don’t meet required targets
A new law in China is set to give Beijing more powers to shut polluting factories, punish officials, and make protected regions off-limits to industrial development, according to reports.
Amendments to China's 1989 Environmental Protection Law are expected to be finalised later this year, giving the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) greater authority to challenge and sanction polluters who don’t meet the required targets.
The fourth draft is due to be completed within weeks and reports suggest that agreements are in place fore the environment to be given significantly higher priority.
The amendments will be the first changes to the legislation in 25 years and will give legal backing to the newly declared war on pollution that was announced by government officials recently.
The MEP has started to use its powers of approval over environmental impact assessments to force major companies including Sinopec and the China National Petroleum Corporation to reduce carbon emissions at some of their plants and the new legislation would give the ministry the authority to take stronger punitive action.
