SHARAH MAY A.

MAWILE IS 32 -

Environmental Policies of China regardinng Governance

INTRODUCTION

China’s rapid growth in development mostly in the area of economics, has been growing

rapidly for the last years1 and the country owe its growth mostly on eastern side of the

country and mostly on the industrial aspect meanwhile not so much on the agricultural

sector of China seeing that industrialization was booming from 1990 to present times 2.

Due to the growing economy, the domino effect on the people coming onto globalization

and urbanisation of the country is on of the factors that contributed to the nearing

pressure for the environment to keep up with the said development. The increase of the

demand in car ownership, the growing need for consumer goods such as mobile

phones, televisions, personal computers, and energy use contribute to the overall

building pressure to the environment. In the pursuit of growth, the question whether the

country is developing policies that protect their environment and how efficiently they

manage governing their environmental concerns are still questionable for the fact that

they are still in transition in adjusting policies that benefit the government and the

people alike also the fact that it is ever changing and fluid to change for the national

aspect and worldwide.

1
Economic and industrial growth percentages in China, 1996–2004. Source: World Bank data.
2
Morrison, Wayne. 5 February 2018. China’s Economic Rise: History, Trends, Challenges, and Implications for the
United States. fas.org
BODY

China, known officially as the People’s Republic of China, is a country in East Asia and

one of the biggest countries in the world geographically and also in terms of population.

Covering approximately 9,600,000 square kilometers (3,700,000 sq mi), it is the third- or

fourth-largest country by total area. As of the 6th of January, the current population of

China is at 1,417,638,722 according to the United Nations estimates and this is

equivalent to 18.41% of the total world population3. Economically, China has been doing

well over the course of the years from 1990-2016 based on the annual percentage GDP

growth and also the world’s second largest economy by nominal GDP4 and purchasing

power parity.

When it comes to the law-making process of China, the Standing Committee of the

Central Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China, usually known as the

Politburo Standing Committee (PSC) is the de facto top decision-making body that

officiates discussions for policy and make decisions on major issues that involves the

country. Xi Jinping, president and the head of state, including 7 others 5, are part of the

CPC Politburo Standing Committee and are incharge of different areas in the decision

making-process.

Like all policies that are just starting, it as not fully implemented and much appreciated

as it was for the fact that care for the environment was not yet highlighted during the

3
"World Population Prospects: The 2017 Revision". ESA.UN.org (custom data acquired via website).
United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division.
4
"GDP, PPP (current international $)". World Bank
5
Cheng, Li. 26 October 2017.China’s new Politburo and Politburo Standing Committee. Brooking.edu
early years. It was only then around the 1970s that the Chinese government took full

action and all seriousness to its government protection as the pollution control was

given attention by the United Nations on the 1972 UN Conference on Human

Environment at Stockholm. This lead to the creation of various organizations in the

country and on 1998 when China experienced tremendous flooding, it eventually led to

the spearheading of the State Environmental Protection Administration that is known

today as the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, is a department of the State Council

of the People’s Republic of China. The creation of this department signified the state of

the country’s concern in taking care of the environment, specifically their own. Due to

the globalization pull that made China into a superpower cost a toll on their

environment. Coal burning has the most disastrous health hazard of any source of the

pollution of air in the country and it resulted to 366,000 death in 2013 6.

Although many policies and the growth of the economy was steadily increasing, it

cannot be denied that China was still one of the most heavily polluted country in the

world despite the policies imposed on the people. What was the purpose of

implementing those policies if they have weak enforcements? Authorities have very

limited powers and it is not enough for it to be strongly enforced to the individuals. Aside

from punishment and implementation, the policy needs also the idea of giving

incentives7 to particular individuals and companies to encourage the masses on the

unification of ideology on the protection of the environment. The downside also to these

is that, even the government is contradicting its policies for the sake of development.

6
Wong, Edward. 17 August 2016. Coal Burning Causes the Most Air Pollution Deaths in China, Study Finds. nytimes.com

7
Xiangcong, Ma. 21 February 2002. China's environmental governance. chinasdialogue.net
Land appropriation, pollution, excessive mining and the failure to carry out

environmental impact assessments: much of this happens due to a failure to act on the

part of government – or with the government’s tacit consent, approval or active

participation.

As stated earlier, environmental concern was not given that much attention and the first

ever non-governmental organization to be created in the country was Academy for

Green Culture (presently known as Friends of Nature), created on 1994 focused solely

on the environment protection. As of 2001, over 2,000 NGOs are now taking part and

has millions of participants in their challenge for a better environment. In paving way to

this progress, it is not without challenges. Various NGOs have undergone issues that is

concerning and although by seeking the aid of the government, it was still shrugged off

to the side by individuals concerned seeing that the organizations were not that

empowered and due to the lack of influence they have8.

CONCLUSION
8
Wu Chenguang. 13 July 2002. China's Environmental NGOs. china.org.cn
To wrap the issue on China’s Environmental governance, it is made clear that the

implementation process is still long overdue and as shown it is still on its early stages

and definitely needs a much more wide scope of reviews and observations. One point in

which that legislation should be more involved in the process so that there is a

corresponding follow-up to the progress so that laws made for environmental protection

will not only be focused on the environment and natural resources but also the

implementation of respect and the building of boundaries from the other aspects of the

government, may it be civil, administrative, and criminal; anything to contribute to the

betterment of the environment protection.