China.org.cn | August 16, 2024
China News Service:
To improve air quality and succeed in the efforts to keep the sky blue, it is necessary to introduce policy combinations in law, market, technology and policy, especially by strengthening policy support in finance, taxation and pricing. Could you please elaborate on the measures outlined in the action plan to coordinate efforts across various sectors? Thank you.
Liu Bingjiang:
The improvement in air quality we see today is felt by the public, and the cooperation between various departments has been exemplary. Frankly speaking, whenever documents needed to be signed by over 20 ministries and commissions, everyone was able to sign off quickly, which itself demonstrates support for the work. Over the past decade, concerted efforts in air pollution control have yielded excellent results, and the collaboration between departments has been very effective. Using legal, market, technological and policy measures to continuously improve air quality has been a very successful and effective "policy combination." After 10 years of effort, "breathing together, striving together" has become a norm across society, and this "policy combination " is still retained and further strengthened in the latest Action Plan for Continuous Improvement of Air Quality.
First, we leveraged the guiding role of fiscal and financial policies. Over the past decade, central government funding for air pollution prevention and control has consistently increased each year, reaching a total of over 200 billion yuan. This funding has been especially critical in addressing the difficult challenge of implementing clean heating in rural areas. The Ministry of Finance has employed a competitive evaluation method, an innovative approach that proved essential. Without this funding, initiating clean heating in these areas would not have been possible. At the same time, there has been an increase in credit financing support in related fields, promoting green finance and guiding substantial investments from social capital.
Second, we leveraged pricing policies. The implementation of pricing policies for desulfurization, denitrification, dust removal and ultra-low emission electricity has propelled China to become the world's largest clean coal-fired power generation base, with emission levels from coal-fired units as high as those from natural gas. Additionally, as I just mentioned, clean heating electricity and natural gas are offered at discounted prices. Discounts are also provided for shore power facilities at ports, and we are currently improving the mechanism for flexible adjustment of railway transportation prices. After the shift from "highways to railways," railway transportation prices will also be discounted.
Third, we will leverage the regulatory role of taxation. Every year, the country collects over 20 billion yuan in environmental protection taxes, with more than 80% coming from the atmospheric domain. By implementing preferential tax policies when companies complete ultra-low emission upgrades, we provide strong support for enterprises undertaking these improvements. Currently, environmental protection taxes primarily target particulate matter, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. Moving forward, we will strengthen tax policy support, improve the environmental protection tax collection system, and accelerate efforts to expand the tax scope to include VOCs. This will enhance taxation's role in providing incentives and constraints, encouraging companies to reduce VOC emissions by ensuring that those who emit more pay more, and those who emit less pay less.
Fourth, we will improve the legal and regulatory standards system. Energy consumption and air pollutant emission standards for key industries have already been clearly defined. Moving forward, we will continue to strengthen the legal and regulatory framework, research and revise relevant laws, and initiate studies on revising air quality standards and related technical specifications.
Fifth, we will enhance technological support. Technological advancements have played a significant role in air pollution prevention and control. Currently, scientists are tackling challenging issues and making promising progress, particularly in areas such as composite pollution control, understanding air pollution transmission mechanisms, precise pollutant tracing and smart regulation.
In summary, this comprehensive approach has been highly successful over the past decade and will continue to be effective in achieving future air quality improvement goals. Thank you.