Working for China’s Environmental Protection

By staff reporter ANAIS CHAILLOLEAU

IN early 2014， Chinese Premier Li Keqiang resolutely declared war on pollution. In April that year， the Environmental Protection Law， adopted in 1989， was revised to be officially implemented from January 1， 2015. The move signaled the pledge by the Chinese government and people to combat air pollution.

“I am so glad to see that a whole chapter in the revised law is dedicated to the publics access to environmental information， participation in environmental planning and the decision-making process， and access to justice in environmental matters，” said Mr. Dimitri de Boer， the team leader of the EU-China Environmental Governance Program （ECEGP）. Mr. de Boer is also an expert consultant of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization （UNIDO） and vice president of the NGO China Carbon Forum （CCF）.

In a recent interview， Mr. de Boer shared with us his thoughts on public awareness of environmental protection， Chinas progress and cooperation with developed countries in this field， and its role in the upcoming climate change conference in Paris.

Raising Public Environmental Awareness

Born in the Netherlands， Mr. de Boer has been interested in Asian culture since childhood. The multi-linguist lived in Thailand for a spell before settling in China. “I came to Beijing to study Mandarin in 2002 and never left.” He became a project leader for UNIDO while studying at Beijing Language and Culture University， Beijing Foreign Studies University， and Peking University. “In the field of industrial development， one of the key issues is environmental pro- tection. So I gradually shifted the focus of my work to the environment. People working in this sector are not in it for the money but for their beliefs.”

At the dawn of the 21st century， slogans calling for citizens to respect nature could be seen everywhere in China， de Boer recalled. However， few of them were put into practice； people were more concerned with making money. Everyone knew the risks of environmental pollution were imminent， he said， but no one knew when the day would come， let alone what kind of risks were looming.

Even de Boer himself didnt realize how close the lurking danger was. “It was in 2011 when my colleagues first asked me to close the office window. I preferred to let in air for ventilation but the pollution was really bad that day. I didnt really know about air contamination but my colleagues tracked the index of particulate matter concentration released by the US embassy in Beijing daily. They also read related scientific articles about how the polluted air could affect health.”

“In China today， the whole of society is concerned about air pollution，”he continued. “I think releasing the air quality index data has encouraged environmental awareness among the public.” De Boer holds that to achieve substantial progress in this issue， it is essential to involve the public. “In the past few years， the Chinese government has realized the imperative of protecting the environment. However， pressure from economic growth impeded these measures， and the public was not conscious of the need for change. But now the situation has vastly improved： The topdown model that appeared to have little effect has been reversed to a more efficient bottom-up model.”

Government Action and Public Participation

Public participation is crucial as it generates enthusiasm for saving the planet. It is the first of the four guidelines of the ECEGP， the other three being public access to environmental information， access to justice in environmental matters， and corporate environmental responsibility. “These four themes were jointly confirmed by the European Commission and the Chinese Ministry of Environmental Protection，”de Boer explained. “The first three focus on the public， and are believed to be a channel for protecting peoples environmental rights. The fourth one aims to establish a relationship with industry.”

Information acquisition， public participation in decision making， and access to justice in environmental issues are principles promoted by the Aarhus Convention， which was signed by 47 countries， including EU member states， in Denmark in 1998. The treaty highlights the important role of the public in environmental issues and their right to environmental information. “Back then， it was impossible for China to become a signatory country； it was premature for the country，” de Boer said. “However， China is becoming aware of the importance of these principles and is sparing no effort to put them into practice.”

In fact， de Boer and his team are working to coordinate governmental organizations， especially the EU Delegation to China， the Chinese Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Ministry of Commerce， to support the environmental cause. He and his colleagues also formulate yearly action plans and allocate funds to different projects.

A total of 15 projects are in progress within the current framework of the ECEGP. “A local government in Guizhou Province commissioned an NGO to monitor the most polluting companies. All local residents can participate in the project by providing evidence to the NGO of factories contaminative deeds，”de Boer explained. “This is a meaningful project that could become a model to roll out China-wide.”

De Boer also outlined some other projects， governmental and private， that are being arranged in cooperation with foreign countries. They include the climate change agreement reached by China and the U.S. during the APEC Summit in November 2014， and a package of contracts in the fields of clean resources （nuclear energy， clean carbon） and renewable energy （wind and solar energy， and hydroelectricity）.

Through international cooperation and its own efforts， China has achieved considerable progress in a few years， and taken numerous measures， including the daily publication of the air pollution index， the allocation of huge funds for pollution control and clean energy， the revision of the Environmental Protection Law， and the increase of penalties for polluters – a McDonalds supplier was recently fined RMB 3.92 million for water pollution. The government is also preparing to levy environmental tax and encourage carbon emissions trading.

However， de Boer thinks that there is still a long way for China to go to radically improve the environment and combat various hazards （such as air， water， soil， and noise pollution）. “Now in China， we are able to get real-time air pollution data， which is rarely seen in other countries. However， access to information on noise and soil pollution and waste disposal could be better. In the debate on pollution in China， people are quick to blame industry but overlook agricultural contamination. In fact， chemical fertilizers and pesticides are two major polluters. Every sector has different polluting emissions， so we wont solve the issue overnight.”

Concerted International Efforts Needed

“China has attained a rapid rise in economic development – and in pollution，” de Boer added. After three decades of economic and industrial growth， China is paying a high price now： It is the biggest emitter of carbon dioxide， 60 percent of the water in aquifers is of uncertain quality， and 16 percent of Chinese soil is polluted by arsenic， mercury and other chemical elements. However， compared with Brazil， Russia， India， South Africa， and Mexico， China， a developing country， has made huge investments in environmental protection， de Boer said.

About 190 countries will be attending the upcoming 2015 Climate Change Conference in Le Bourget， a town northeast of Paris. “At the Copenhagen climate change conference， participants agreed to limit global warming to within two degrees Celsius to avoid disaster. However， this is a goal that is impossible to meet， even if every country honored the commitments they made earlier.” Thus far， the anticipation for climate warming has been adjusted to four degrees Celsius.

Mr. de Boer is very optimistic about the upcoming conference： “I believe it will produce a working framework for all countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This kind of agreement can be expected. Every country should introduce its own action roadmap and targets， negotiate on agreements， and make efforts to meet their pledges. This is a good way of working out a solution. The EU， the U.S. and China， considering their substantial quantity of emissions， will be the major players in the conference. To meet the preset targets， every country should make more effort.”