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China: Don’t bend the rules for steel industry

With China’s economy still in the recovery stage, it is to be expected that local officials will be tempted to prioritise growth over the demands of environmental protection. That would be regrettable at a watershed moment in the war on air pollution, with the battleground shifting from the energy sector to the steel industry. It is time to build on progress in curbing emissions from coal-fired power plants, not to rest on it.

Tighter standards since 2012 for new power plants and since 2014 for existing ones meant that by 2017, the steel industry had overtaken the energy sector to become the nation’s biggest polluter in industrial sectors. As a result, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and four other ministries have directed steel mills in the most polluted regions to meet “ultra low” emissions standards by 2025. The government has also tightened approvals of capacity swaps and banned new capacity in any form to streamline the sector.

The announcement cited an environmental science expert’s estimate that the measure could reduce particulates emissions around Beijing and the Yangtze River Delta by about 20 per cent, and lower the concentration of PM2.5, the most deadly small particles, by as much as 9 per cent.

President Xi Jinping has said curbing pollution is one of the “three critical battles” the country faces, along with eradicating poverty and curbing financial risk. Despite progress in clearing the air over the past few years, the war against pollution still faces a lot of problems, including some untrustworthy data from local governments who are struggling to achieve sustainable growth. It is a natural reaction for local government to sacrifice the environment under pressure to achieve growth. But keeping the focus on fighting pollution remains paramount because it has become one of the major public grievances and causes of resentment in the big cities.

Tax and financial incentives will be offered to steel mills that meet the new standards by target dates. But enforcement will be the key, given that last winter the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, a Beijing-based NGO, found that more than 70 steel plants had exceeded current emissions targets.
Source: South China Morning Post

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