China gets tougher on polluters
中国严惩污染环境企业

The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress has been convening in Beijing this week, to discuss the most pressing legal issues in the country. High up on that agenda is environmental protection. CCTV's Hou Na reports, lawmakers held group discussions on an amendment to the air pollution law on Friday, aiming to harden both penalties and controls.

The toughest penalties on polluters yet. The new draft was completed amid growing calls throughout the country for controls on air pollution. It addresses the sources, total discharge and density of pollutants.

"The previous amendment is not effective in controlling current multiple pollution sources, and isn’t working in ongoing efforts. The amended draft now specifies punishment for violations such as discharging pollutants without certificate, excess discharge and fabricating monitoring data," said Wang Yunlong, NPC deputy.

Based on the Ministry of Environmental Protection’s annual report on air quality, in 2013, the air in only three of China’s major 74 cities were within acceptable national standards.

The average number of smoggy days in the country in 2013 was 35.9, the most since 1961.

Coal-consumption sources contribute more to air pollution than they did 14 years ago, with such sources now including industrial production.

The new draft has separate chapters to address each source.

"The highlight of the draft is that the chapters include more details on dealing with various pollution sources, such as the required use of advanced equipment and technology in production, instructions on how to monitor vehicle exhaust, and bans on importing coal that emits an unacceptable level of pollution," said Liu Zhengkui, member of NPC Standing Committee.

The new draft lists detailed financial punishments, saying those responsible for air pollution will face larger fines, at most five times the direct economic loss in each case.

In addition, there are stipulations on fines for different violations in relation to pollution, information disclosure and other aspects.

Law makers say that there needs to be such law enforcement.

"Polluters currently are paying too low a price for violations, a big disincentive to controlling their behavior. The law needs more teeth to be effective," said Zhang Xingkai, member of NPC Standing Committee.

After the revised Environmental Protection Law passed in April, several other laws, including pollution prevention in the air, water and soil, are on the working agenda of the National People’s Congress, of which the air pollution prevention draft will be taken up first.