Environmental issues and policy priorities in China: A content analysis of government documents

China: An International Journal

Volumn 8, Issue 2, 2010, Pages 220-246

  Huang, Xibing ^a   Zhao, Dingtao ^a   Brown, Colin G ^b   Wu, Yanrui ^c   Waldron, Scott A ^b  

^a UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY OF CHINA   (China)

^b UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND   (Australia)

^c UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA   (Australia)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 77958607312     PISSN: 02197472     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1142/S0219747210000142     Document Type: Article

References (82)

1. See, for example, Ma Jun, China's Water Crisis (Zhongguo shui weiji), trans. Nancy Yang Liu and Lawrence R. Sullivan (Norwalk: Eastbridge, 2004);
2. Elizabeth Economy, The River Runs Black: The Environmental Challenge to China's Future (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2004);
3. Colin G. Brown, Scott A. Waldron and John William Longworth, Sustainable Development in Western China: Managing People, Livestock and Grassland in Pastoral Areas (Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2008);
4. Jianguo Liu and Jared Diamond, "China's Environment in a Globalizing World", Nature 435 (2005): 1179-86;
5. Charles W. Schmidt, "Economy and Environment: China Seeks a Balance", Environmental Health Perspective 110 (2002): 517-22;
6. World Bank, China Air, Land and Water: Environmental Priorities for a New Millennium (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2001).
7. Information Office of the State Council, "White Paper on Environmental Protection in China (1996-2005)", at 〈http://www.china. org.cn/english/2006/Jun/170355.htm〉 [5 June 2006].
8. World Bank, Clear Water, Blue Skies: China's Environment in the New Century (Washington, DC: World Bank, 1997), p. 2.
9. For more information about the work on green GDP in China, see 〈http://bgt.mep.gov.cn/hbdsj/200612/W020061206587957039175.pdf〉 [7 Sept. 2006].
10. Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy and Center for International Earth Science Information Network at Columbia University, "2010 Environmental Performance Index", at 〈http://epi.yale.edu〉 [28 Jan. 2010].
11. Jianguo Liu and Jared Diamond, "China's Environment in a Globalizing World", pp. 1179-86.
12. For example, Yonghua Dong and Diane Holt, "An Overview of Environmental Pollution Prevention and Management in China", International Journal of Environment and Pollution 15 (2001): 406-16;
13. Alasdair MacBean, "China's Environment: Problems and Policies", The World Economy 30 (2007): 292-307;
14. Kun-min Zhang and Zong-guo Wen, "Review and Challenges of Policies of Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development in China", Journal of Environmental Management 88 (2008): 1249-61.
15. Xiaoying Ma and Leonard Ortolano, Environmental Regulation in China: Institutions, Enforcement, and Compliance (Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, 2000);
16. Stefanie Beyer, "Environmental Law and Policy in the People's Republic of China", Chinese Journal of International Law 5 (2006): 185-211;
17. Benjamin van Rooij, "Implementation of Chinese Environmental Law: Regular Enforcement and Political Campaigns", Development and Change 37 (2006): 57-74.
18. Rebecka Engstrom, Mans Nilsson and Goran Finnveden, "Which Environmental Problems Get Policy Attention? Examining Energy and Agricultural Sector Policies in Sweden", Environmental Impact Assessment Review 28 (2008): 241-55.
19. Marilyn Beach, "Local Environment Management in China", China Environment Series 4 (2001): 21-31;
20. Lixin Gu and William R. Sheate, "Institutional Challenges for EIA Implementation in China: A Case Study of Development Versus Environmental Protection", Environmental Management 36 (2005): 125-42;
21. Holly Sims, "One-fifth of the Sky: China's Environmental Stewardship", World Development 27 (1999): 1227-45.
22. Ye Qi, Li Ma and Huanbo Zhang, "Translating a Global Issue into Local Priority: China's Local Government Response to Climate Change", The Journal of Environment and Development 17 (2008): 379-400.
23. Stanley Krippner and Jan Weinhold, "Gender Differences in the Content Analysis of 240 Dream Reports from Brazilian Participants in Dream Seminars", Dreaming 11 (2001): 291-324.
24. These studies include Anita Jose and Shang-Mei Lee, "Environmental Reporting of Global Corporations: A Content Analysis Based on Website Disclosures", Journal of Business Ethics 72 (2007): 307-21;
25. Tasos Hovardas and Konstantinos J. Korfiatis, "Framing Environmental Policy by the Local Press: Case Study from the Dadia Forest Reserve, Greece", Forest Policy and Economics 10 (2008): 316-25;
26. Dennis Tánzler, Moira Feil, Dorthe Kromker and Frank Eierdanz, "The Challenge of Validating Vulnerability Estimates: The Option of Media Content Analysis for Identifying Drought-Related Crises", Regional Environmental Change 8 (2008): 187-95.
27. The Chinese government renamed the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) to the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) in March 2008, and elevated its status to a full ministry under the State Council, a hopeful sign of the Chinese government's willingness to make a serious effort to improve the environment.
28. The Two Control Zones include 175 cities and districts in 27 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, accounting for 11.4 per cent of China's territory and 60 per cent of the national SO2 emissions. The zones are mainly dispersed south of the Yangtze River and the coastal regions.
29. The "Three Greens" project refers to a project to promote green consumption, cultivate green markets and open green channels.
30. Han Shi and Lei Zhang, "China's Environmental Governance of Rapid Industrialisation", Environmental Politics 15 (2006): 271-92.
31. Rui Santos, Paula Antunes, Gualter Baptista, Pedro Mateus and Luisa Madruga, "Stakeholder Participation in the Design of Environmental Policy Mixes", Ecological Economics 60 (2006): 100-10.
32. Neil Gunningham and Peter Grabosky, Smart Regulation Designing Environmental Policy (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1998), pp. 422-35.
33. The "green credits" movement calls upon the commercial banks to deny enterprises of environmental non-compliance access to credit. The "green securities" plan requires that heavily polluting companies applying for an initial public offering must undergo inspection by environmental specialists and disclose information about their environmental performance. The "green trade" scheme refers to abolishing the export drawback of pollution- and energy-intensive products.
34. The Chinese government has initiated a series of voluntary programmes, such as the construction of ecological demonstration zones, ecological provinces (prefectures, counties and villages), environmentally-beautiful towns, environmental protection model cities, eco-industrial parks, environmentally-friendly enterprises, green communities, green schools and green households.
35. For more information on international environmental treaties that China has signed, see 〈http://english.mep.gov.cn/Plans-Reports/11th-five-year- plan/200803/t20080305-119001-5.htm〉 [5 Mar. 2008].
36. World Bank, China Air, Land and Water, pp. 84-5.
37. China Air, Land and Water, 84-85 Ibid.
38. For more information about China's implementation of the Montreal Protocol, see 〈http://www.zhb.gov.cn/ztbd/hjr/2005cyr/2005xw/200509/ t20050920-70130.htm〉 [20 Sept. 2005].
39. From the official website of National Development and Reform Commission, at 〈http://en.ndrc.gov.cn/newsrelease/P020070604561191006823.pdf〉 [4 June 2007].
40. Report from Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency.
41. See 〈http://www.pbl.nl/en/news/newsitems/2007/ 20070622ChineseCO2emissionsinperspective.html〉 [22 June 2007].
42. Peter Ho, "Greening without Conflict? Environmentalism, Green NGOs and Civil Society in China", Development and Change 32 (2001): 893-921;
43. Jun Jing, "Environmental Protests in Rural China", in Chinese Society: Change, Conflict and Resistance (2nd edition), eds. Elizabeth J. Perry and Mark Selden (London:b Routledge, 2004), pp. 204-22.
44. Six NGOs launched an energy-saving campaign in June 2004 to urge people throughout the country to set the temperature of their air conditioners above 26 degrees centigrade in the summer.
45. The Water Retaining Project in Yuanmingyuan Park was stopped as it was strongly opposed by the environmentalists. Chinese environmental non-governmental organiataions, experts and the concerned citizens have been actively lobbying the government to stop the construction of a dam on the Nu River in southwestern China.
46. The residents of Xiamen City campaigned actively against a PX chemical project that might bring about an environmental disaster.
47. Han Shi and Lei Zhang, "China's Environmental Governance of Rapid Industrialisation", p. 275;
48. Jianguo Liu and Jared Diamond, "China's Environment in a Globalizing World", p. 1185.
49. See, for example, Jianguo Liu and Jared Diamond, "China's Environment in a Globalizing World", p. 1179;
50. Charles W. Schmidt, "Economy and Environment", p. 517;
51. Alasdair MacBean, "China's Environment", p. 295.
52. From the Information Office of the State Council, "White Paper on Environmental Protection in China (1996-2005)". China has set five "Grades" of air quality standards for its urban areas. Air quality above Grade II is considered to be good for people's health.
53. The total amount of municipal and industrial wastewater was 40.1 billion tons in 1999, while the figure has increased to 57.1 billion tons in 2008 (from the official website of the National Bureau of Statistics of China, at 〈http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/ndsj/〉).
54. See the Report of the State Council from 〈http://english.sepa.gov. cn/Plans-Reports/11th-five-year-plan/200803/t20080305-119001-1.htm〉 [5 Mar. 2008].
55. Charles W. Schmidt, "Economy and Environment", p. 517.
56. Jianguo Liu and Jared Diamond, "Revolutionizing China's Environmental Protection", Science 319 (2008): 37-8.
57. Rebecka Engstrom, Mans Nilsson and Goran Finnveden, "Which Environmental Problems Get Policy Attention?", p. 3.
58. Benjamin K. Sovacool, "The Costs of Failing Infrastructure", Energybiz (Sept./Oct. 2008): 32-3;
59. Benjamin K. Sovacool, "The Costs of Failure: A Preliminary Assessment of Major Energy Accidents, 1907-2007", Energy Policy 36 (2008): 1802-20.
60. World Nuclear Association, "Nuclear Power in China", at 〈http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf63.html〉 [15 Feb. 2010].
61. Abigail R. Jahiel, "The Contradictory Impact of Reform on Environmental Protection in China", The China Quarterly 149 (1997): 81-103.
62. According to an interview with Zhou Shengxian, the Minister of MEP, there are about 20,000 chemical plants in China, of which nearly 10,000 are located along the Yangtze River and about 3,800 are situated along the Yellow River.
63. See 〈http://www.mep.gov.cn/ztbd/xyshx/xlbd/200711/t20071119-113060. htm〉 [19 Nov. 2007].
64. The chemical spill in the Songhua River in 2005 was a stark reminder of the serious consequences. Xie Zhenhua, the former director of SEPA, had to step down in December 2005 due to the accident.
65. See the official website of the National Bureau of Statistics of China, at 〈http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/ndsj/2007/indexch.htm〉 [1 Sept. 2007].
66. http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/ndsj/2007/indexch.htm Ibid.
67. Hongpin Mo, Zongguo Wen and Jining Chen, "China's Recyclable Resources Recycling System and Policy: A Case Study in Suzhou", Resources, Conservation and Recycling 53 (2009): 409-19.
68. Han Shi and Lei Zhang, "China's Environmental Governance of Rapid Industrialisation", p. 284.
69. Fredric C. Menz, "The US Experience with Controlling Motor Vehicle Pollution: Lessons for China", International Journal of Environment and Pollution 18 (2002): 1-21.
70. This measure is called "region-based limitative ratification" in China. In January 2007, four seriously polluted cities were disciplined using the measure by the SEPA.
71. See, for example, Qin'Geng Wang, Gang Gu and Yoshiro Higano, "Toward Integrated Environmental Management for Challenges in Water Environmental Protection of Lake Taihu Basin in China", Environmental Management 37 (2006): 579-88;
72. Mark Wang, Michael Webber, Brian Finlayson and Jon Barnett, "Rural Industries and Water Pollution in China", Journal of Environmental Management 86 (2008): 648-59;
73. Bryan Tilt, "The Political Ecology of Pollution Enforcement in China: A Case from Sichuan's Rural Industrial Sector", The China Quarterly 192 (2007): 915-32;
74. Wanxin Li, "Looking at the Songhua River Incident from An Environmental Regulatory Governance Perspective: A Long Standing Issue in China", Perspectives 7 (2006): 21-35;
75. Dongquan He, Michael Wang and Alainna Thomas, "Air Pollution Challenges and Solutions for China's Urban Transportation Development", International Journal of Environment and Pollution 30 (2007): 154-71.
76. See, for example, Madhu Khanna and Lisa A. Damon, "EPA's Voluntary 33/50 Program: Impact on Toxic Releases and Economic Performance of Firms", Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 37 (1999): 1-25;
77. Madhu Khanna, "Non-Mandatory Approaches to Environmental Protection", Journal of Economic Surveys 15 (2001): 291-324;
78. Andy Gouldson, Elena Lopez-Gunn, Jamie Van Alstine, Yvonne Rees, Miles Davies and Vijay Krishnarayan, "New Alternative and Complementary Environmental Policy Instruments and the Implementation of the Water Framework Directive", European Environment 18 (2008): 359-70.
79. Zhong Xiang Zhang, "Can China Afford to Commit Itself an Emission Cap? An Economic and Political Analysis", Energy Economics 22 (2000): 587-614.
80. Ye Qi, Li Ma and Huanbo Zhang, "Translating a Global Issue into Local Priority", pp. 379-400.
81. For more information about China's National Climate Change Programme, see 〈http://en.ndrc.gov.cn/newsrelease/P020070604561191006823.pdf〉 [4 June 2007].
82. Gørild Heggelund and Ellen Bruzelius Backer, "China and UN Environmental Policy: Institutional Growth, Learning and Implementation", International Environmental Agreements 7 (2007): 415-38.