Explanation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) Air Pollution Prevention and Control Law (Revised Draft)

Chairman, Vice-Chairmen, Secretary-General and members:

????According to the current legislative plan of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC), the Environmental Protection Committee of the National People’s Congress began to revise the Law on the Prevention and Control of Air Pollution in the second half of 1998. The revised draft is now explained as follows.

????People’s Republic of China (PRC) Air Pollution Prevention Law was adopted at the 22nd meeting of the 6th the National People’s Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) on September 5th, 1987. On August 29th, 1995, the 15th meeting of the 8th the National People’s Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) amended the Law. After more than three years of implementation, the revised law has played a certain role in controlling air pollution: it has promoted the clean utilization of coal; Accelerate the elimination of backward technologies and equipment that seriously pollute the atmosphere; Some key areas have begun to control acid rain and sulfur dioxide pollution. However, due to the lack of understanding of the serious situation and development trend of air pollution at that time, the prescribed prevention and control measures were not strong enough, and some new changes in recent years, the revised Air Pollution Prevention and Control Law could not meet the needs of the situation. At present, China’s air pollution is serious, and the total emission of air pollutants remains high. In 1998, the national emission of sulfur dioxide reached 21 million tons, the emission of smoke and dust reached 14 million tons, and the emission of industrial dust reached 13 million tons, making it one of the largest countries in the world. According to the evaluation results of air pollution in 272 cities in 54 countries published by the World Health Organization in 1998, among the 10 cities with the most serious air pollution, China accounted for 7. With the rapid increase in the number of motor vehicles, hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides emitted by motor vehicles in cities account for an increasing proportion of similar pollutants in the atmosphere, and nitrogen oxides have even become the primary pollutants affecting air quality in some megacities. In addition, the legal liability part of the current law is less,The strength is not enough, resulting in some illegal acts not being investigated. The increasingly serious air pollution has affected people’s health and social and economic development. The masses have strongly reacted to this and called for stricter prevention and control measures to change the current pollution situation as soon as possible.

????I. Main contents of the revision

????From a national perspective, China’s coal-based energy structure is unlikely to change significantly in a short period of time. In the case that clean energy cannot replace coal, it is impossible to fundamentally change the urban air quality. However, for some key cities and regions, it is possible to improve the air quality by adjusting the energy structure, replacing coal with gas and replacing coal with electricity. Shanghai, Xi ‘an, Shenyang and other cities have established "coal-free zones" in urban centers, and replaced direct coal burning with clean energy such as natural gas and electricity, which significantly improved the air quality in urban areas and proved to be a successful measure. Therefore, the revision of the Law on the Prevention and Control of Air Pollution has faced the reality, grasped the key points, and made stricter regulations on key cities and key areas, so that their air quality has been significantly improved within the time limit prescribed by the state.

????The main contents of this revision are as follows:

????First, concentrate on the prevention and control of air pollution in key cities.

????There are 668 cities in China with a population of about 400 million. In more than 300 cities where environmental statistics are implemented, more than 70% are at or above the third-grade standard of atmospheric environmental quality. From this, it can be seen that serious urban air pollution in China is a quite common phenomenon. It is unrealistic to ask so many cities to significantly improve air quality in a short period of time. In addition to the provisions on air pollution control in all cities, the revised draft focuses on a number of key cities and stipulates that these cities should improve air quality within a time limit. This is in view of the fact that under the condition of limited national strength, we must highlight the key points. As early as 1980s, 47 cities in the State Council were designated as key cities for environmental protection. The cities classified as key cities are municipalities directly under the central government, provincial capitals, special economic zones, coastal open cities and key tourist cities. The State Council has stipulated that the air quality of these key cities should meet the national standards by functional areas in 2000. These regulations have laid a foundation for the implementation of classified control of urban air pollution and the deadline for key cities to meet the standards. To this end, the draft stipulates that "the State Council will designate key cities for air pollution prevention and control according to the overall urban planning, environmental protection planning objectives and the quality of urban atmospheric environment." "Key cities for the prevention and control of air pollution that fail to meet the quality standards of atmospheric environment shall meet the quality standards of atmospheric environment within the time limit specified by the environmental protection administrative department of the State Council or the State Council. The people’s government of this city shall formulate a plan to meet the standards within a time limit, and may take stricter measures according to the authorization or regulations of the State Council.Achieve the standard planning on schedule. "The areas under the jurisdiction of these key cities are also very large, so we should also focus on air pollution control. That is, first grasp the urban areas with concentrated population, and then gradually expand the scope of governance after these areas meet the requirements, and implement the governance policy from the inside out, from small to large, and gradually expand. To this end, the draft stipulates that the people’s governments of key cities for air pollution prevention and control can designate coal-forbidden zones according to the actual situation in their respective jurisdictions, stop burning coal directly within a time limit, and switch to natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, coal-based gas, electric energy or other clean energy sources. In the process of soliciting opinions, all departments and localities generally believe that grasping the prevention and control of air pollution in key cities means grasping the key point and the breakthrough point. As long as the air quality of key cities is improved, it can influence and drive a large number of cities to speed up the pace of air pollution control.

????Second, strengthen the prevention and control of motor vehicle pollution

????Motor vehicle exhaust pollution is becoming more and more serious in large and medium-sized cities in China. Motor vehicles emit a variety of pollutants. As far as nitrogen oxides are concerned, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Wuhan and other cities have shown an increasing trend in recent years, and motor vehicles have become the main pollution sources in cities. In order to strengthen the control of motor vehicle exhaust pollution, the revised draft takes the prevention and control of motor vehicle and ship pollution as a separate chapter, and makes provisions from the aspects of motor vehicle manufacturing, use and maintenance of in-use vehicles, fuel quality, supervision and inspection, etc. For new motor vehicles and vessels, it is stipulated that "the pollutants discharged into the atmosphere by motor vehicles and vessels shall not exceed the prescribed emission standards." "No unit or individual is allowed to manufacture, sell or import motor vehicles and vessels whose pollutant emission exceeds the prescribed emission standards." For motor vehicles in use, it is stipulated that "motor vehicles in use are not allowed to drive on the road if they do not meet the pollutant discharge standards." The quality of fuel oil is also stipulated. "The state encourages and supports the production and use of high-quality fuel oil and takes measures to reduce the pollution of harmful substances in fuel oil to the atmospheric environment. Units and individuals shall stop producing, importing and selling leaded gasoline within the time limit stipulated by the State Council. " The draft provides for the supervision and inspection of motor vehicle exhaust pollution from two aspects: annual inspection and daily inspection. In the process of soliciting opinions, the relevant departments in the State Council generally indicated that strengthening the prevention and control of motor vehicle exhaust pollution will not only be beneficial to pollution control, but also shorten the gap between China’s automobile industry and the international advanced level, and that corresponding standards and implementation rules will be formulated according to the newly revised regulations.

????Third, strengthen the control of urban dust.

????At present, 50% of the total suspended particulate matter in the atmosphere of northern cities in China comes from dust, among which construction is an important source of dust. Beijing is a city with prominent dust. 60% of the total suspended particulate matter in the atmosphere comes from dust, and even reaches 68% during non-heating period. Controlling dust pollution has become an urgent problem to protect and improve urban air quality. According to the investigation, dust pollution reflects the low level of urban greening and poor construction management. To this end, the draft stipulates that "the urban people’s government should take measures such as greening responsibility system, increase the per capita green space, reduce the exposed ground in urban areas, and prevent urban dust pollution." "Units engaged in construction or other activities that produce dust pollution in urban areas must take measures to prevent dust pollution in accordance with local environmental protection regulations, and may include the expenses for preventing dust pollution in the construction quota or production and operation costs." "The relevant administrative departments in the State Council should take the control of urban dust pollution as one of the bases for the comprehensive assessment of urban environment." In the process of soliciting opinions, everyone agreed that the construction dust is a management problem. As long as we abide by the laws and regulations, strengthen management and achieve civilized construction, the dust can be greatly reduced.

????Fourth, it is forbidden to discharge pollutants that exceed the discharge standards.

????China has promulgated the Standardization Law. According to the provisions of Articles 7, 14 and 20 of the Law, China’s current pollutant discharge standards are mandatory standards, and violation of the discharge standards is illegal, and administrative penalties should be imposed on those who fail to implement them. Judging from the common practice of countries all over the world, whether it exceeds the standard is also the main boundary to decide whether it is illegal. However, the current Law on the Prevention and Control of Air Pollution does not specify that excessive discharge is illegal, but only stipulates that excessive discharge of pollutants should be charged. In this revision, excessive discharge of pollutants is regarded as an illegal act, which is consistent with the Standardization Law. In 1996, in the Decision on Several Issues of Environmental Protection, the State Council requested that the emission concentration of all industrial pollutants in China should meet the national and local standards by the year 2000. In 1998, the national standard rate of industrial waste gas treatment reached 66%. Through hard work, most enterprises can discharge pollutants up to the standard by the end of this century. To this end, the draft stipulates that "those who discharge pollutants into the atmosphere shall not exceed the national and local emission standards." And in the legal responsibility, it is stipulated that "if the pollutants discharged into the atmosphere exceed the national and local emission standards, the administrative department of environmental protection of the local people’s government at or above the county level shall impose a fine of not more than 100,000 yuan; Those that seriously pollute the atmospheric environment should also be treated within a time limit. " In the process of soliciting opinions, although the relevant departments in the State Council have some opinions on the formulation procedures of standards, they generally believe that emission standards should be the yardstick to define whether they are illegal or not.After the law prohibits the discharge of pollutants exceeding the standard, it is conducive to strengthening enterprise management and accelerating enterprises and institutions to achieve discharge standards.

????Fifth, implement the total amount control and licensing system for air pollutant discharge.

????The current Law on the Prevention and Control of Air Pollution is based on the discharge concentration of pollutants reaching the standard. Judging from the current situation, in many areas where population and industry are concentrated in China, because the air quality is already very poor, even if the concentration of pollution sources reaches the standard, it cannot control the continuous deterioration of air quality. Therefore, it is imperative to carry out total control. Over the years, the State Council and some places have taken measures to control the total amount of pollutants discharged. In 1996, the State Council approved the National Total Amount Control Plan for Major Pollutants during the Ninth Five-Year Plan. Comrade Jiang Zemin pointed out at the Fourth National Environmental Protection Conference: "Historical experience tells us that in order to ensure environmental safety, we must control the total amount of pollutants discharged." Comrade Li Peng also pointed out at this meeting: "To control the total discharge of pollutants, different requirements should be put forward for different regions and different industries. It is necessary to further improve the industrial pollutant discharge permit system, strictly implement the deadline treatment system, and improve the comprehensive prevention and control effect. " To this end, the draft stipulates that "the state shall take measures to control or reduce the total amount of air pollutants discharged in various places in a planned way." "the State Council and the people’s governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government may designate areas that have not yet reached the prescribed atmospheric environmental quality standards and acid rain control areas and sulfur dioxide pollution control areas approved by the State Council as total air pollutant control areas." At the same time, it is stipulated that the competent administrative department of environmental protection shall, according to the total amount control plan of atmospheric pollutants and the declaration of enterprises and institutions with total amount control tasks, follow the principles of openness, justice and fairness,Check the total amount of air pollutants discharged by the enterprise and institution, and issue the air pollutant discharge license. In the process of soliciting opinions, the State Council’s comprehensive economic departments and some enterprises think that it is not yet possible to fully implement the total amount control from top to bottom in the whole country, and suggest starting from key areas and gradually promoting it. The revised draft adopted these opinions and made the above-mentioned provisions on the implementation of total control by region.

????Sixth, establish a sewage charge system.

????Judging from the implementation of the current over-standard charging system in China, many enterprises prefer to pay sewage charges rather than control pollution due to low charging standards. In fact, the over-standard charging system has become a way to legalize over-standard sewage discharge. At the same time, after the provisions of this draft prohibit the discharge of pollutants exceeding the standard, the premise of excessive charges no longer exists. Therefore, it is necessary to reform the current charging system, and the direction of reform should be to charge according to the total amount of sewage, and gradually transition to environmental tax. This is not only a kind of compensation for the damage to the atmospheric environment, but also can promote enterprises and institutions to gradually reduce pollutant emissions. To this end, the draft stipulates that "those who discharge pollutants into the atmosphere shall pay sewage charges according to the types and quantities of pollutants discharged in accordance with the regulations of the State Council." "The sewage charges collected must be used for pollution prevention and control in accordance with the regulations of the State Council, and shall not be used for other purposes." In the process of soliciting opinions, business circles and relevant departments in the State Council raised the issue of the affordability of enterprises, and some suggested changing the sewage charges into environmental taxes. After repeated consultations with relevant departments, a consensus was reached. The affordability of enterprises is related to the level of charging standards, so it is suggested that the State Council should consider all aspects when formulating relevant standards. Regarding the change of fees to taxes, the direction is right, but it is necessary to make a gradual transition, and the charging system is still maintained at present.

????Seventh, strengthen legal responsibility.

????The law of environmental protection is often called "soft law", and its legal authority is poor. One of the important reasons is that the law has made provisions and put forward requirements, but there is no clear punishment for violating these provisions, which makes law enforcement agencies powerless in the face of illegal acts. According to the principle that legal responsibility corresponds to the code of conduct, the draft supplements and modifies the legal responsibility part to safeguard the authority of the law and truly implement the provisions of this law. In the process of soliciting opinions, although various departments have different opinions on the scope of punishment, it is generally believed that the operability and enforcement of the law will be greatly enhanced after the legal liability is clearly defined.

????In addition, the revised draft has made other adjustments and supplements to the current Air Pollution Prevention and Control Law.

????Second, the expected effect and economic cost of the revised draft

????Through joint research with relevant departments and experts in the State Council, the expected effect and economic cost of the revised draft are preliminarily estimated. If, after the promulgation of the law, law enforcement is in place and all legal provisions are effectively implemented, it is expected that the following four aspects will be achieved:

????1. On the basis of control, the total discharge of major pollutants began to decrease year by year. According to the calculation of the State Environmental Protection Administration, after the implementation of total amount control, the emission of major air pollutants in China can be controlled at the level of 1995 by 2000. The analysis of sulfur dioxide pollution control planning in 175 cities and regions in the national acid rain and sulfur dioxide pollution control zone (the "two control zones") shows that the total sulfur dioxide control can reduce the sulfur dioxide emissions in the "two control zones" by 4.32 million tons in 2000, 4.9 million tons in 2001-2005 and 4.16 million tons in 2006-2010.

????2. The air quality in key cities has improved significantly. Judging from the 47 cities currently listed as the focus of air pollution prevention and control, there are 13 cities whose air quality has reached the standard according to functional areas. After the adoption of the new draft, the remaining 34 cities will be urged to achieve the second-class standard of atmospheric environmental quality within the time limit stipulated by the State Council, and the urban air quality, especially the urban air quality, will be significantly improved, and the people will be satisfied.

????3. Motor vehicle exhaust pollution is controlled. According to the research in Beijing and Guangzhou, after adopting the new motor vehicle emission standards and implementing strict management according to the legal measures stipulated in the revised draft, the emissions of single vehicles will be significantly reduced, and the emissions of carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides can be effectively controlled and reduced when the number of motor vehicles increases greatly, thus improving the level of motor vehicle pollution control in China from the international level in the 1970s to the international level in the 1990s, and greatly shortening the gap between China and the international advanced level.

????4. Urban dust is effectively controlled. The revised draft has made strict provisions on dust control. As long as these regulations are strictly implemented and management is strengthened, urban dust can be greatly reduced. According to Beijing’s calculation, building dust can be reduced by 70% by strengthening management.

????Judging from the above expected results, the revision of the Law on the Prevention and Control of Air Pollution is positive and effective, especially in controlling air pollution in key cities.

????In order to achieve the above expected results, the estimated economic costs are:

????1. Total amount control: To control acid rain and sulfur dioxide pollution, and achieve the goal of controlling sulfur dioxide emissions in the "two control zones" at about 10 million tons by 2010, it will take about 180 billion yuan to control the pollution, with an average annual investment of 18 billion yuan. According to the estimated GDP of the "two control zones" of 3.6 trillion yuan in 1995, it accounts for about 0.5% of the region’s GDP, which is affordable.

????2. Pollution control in key cities: From the perspective of 34 key cities (excluding 13 cities that meet the standards), it can be divided into three categories: one is coastal open cities. Such as Fuzhou, Shantou, Suzhou, Zhanjiang, etc., these cities have good economic foundation and good atmospheric environmental quality, and do not need more investment to achieve air quality standards, with an average of about 6? 800 million yuan; The second category is megacities, such as Beijing and Shanghai. Although the economic conditions are good, the task of controlling air pollution is heavy, and it takes a lot of investment to achieve the standard, with an average of about 25-30 billion yuan; The third category is other cities, such as Zhengzhou, Hangzhou, Qingdao, Guilin, etc., with an average investment of 1.5-2 billion yuan. To sum up, if these 34 cities meet the standards, they need to invest about 120-150 billion yuan, which accounts for about 1.5% of the GDP of these cities in the same period according to the planning period for achieving the standards. This ratio is also affordable.

????3. In the aspect of motor vehicle pollution control, the preliminary study shows that if the motor vehicle pollution control reaches the new national emission standard, the control cost will account for about 0.3% of GDP. 0.7%, but the contribution of the development of automobile industry with advanced control technology to GDP can reach 3%.

????4. In terms of dust pollution control, the control of dust pollution in construction is far simpler than that in industrial pollution control. As long as laws and regulations are strictly implemented and management is strengthened, results can be achieved without much investment. According to the calculation of an example in Beijing, the cost of preventing dust pollution in construction only accounts for 0.15% of the total project budget. 0.35%。

????To sum up, the revision of the Law on the Prevention and Control of Air Pollution is not only conducive to the improvement of environmental quality, but also to the development of the national economy.

????Judging from the goal and expected effect of the revision of the Law on the Prevention and Control of Air Pollution, it has a strong stage. Compared with the long-term goal of improving the quality of atmospheric environment and realizing sustainable economic and social development, it still has a long way to go compared with the existing environmental situation in developed countries. Looking forward to the 21st century, only by making great changes to the existing energy structure and coal utilization mode in China and implementing the measures of clean energy, especially "replacing coal with electricity", can the atmospheric environment of our cities be fundamentally changed, and the blue sky and fresh air can be reproduced. This is a very arduous task, which requires our unremitting efforts.

????My explanation is over, please consider it.