Comments on: SEPA unleashes Green Whirlwinds

By: The Green Leap Forward 绿跃进 » Blog Archive » The Different Shades of Green Finance

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 15:39:39 +0000

[...] nascent Green Credit program (one of the Green Whirlwind policies we gave an overview of previously), and a bank-by-bank assessment of China’s green finance practices. In this post, I’d [...]

By: The Green Leap Forward 绿跃进 » Blog Archive » Green Hops: Autos, Nukes, Agro, Recycling Woes

Mon, 29 Dec 2008 06:17:18 +0000

[...] claim under the Green Insurance scheme, one of the Green Whirlwind policies, was made for the first time. A chemical company in Hunan province was compensated 11,000 yuan [...]

By: Illusions of Reform and the Need for Integrated Governance « The Green Leap Forward 绿跃进

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 07:14:13 +0000

[...] We are starting to see hints of integrated environmental governance in China, as evidenced by the Green Whirlwinds, which integrate environmental criteria into the regulation of the capital markets, credit, [...]

By: Julian

Julian — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 16:50:26 +0000

Thanks Eugene! I attempt to shed some of my thoughts on the government restructuring developements in my next blog post (March 12). Just as significant, I feel, is how the responsibilities for energy policy regulation have been restructured.

Keep up the great work at AsiaIsGreen and keeping the green flame burning in Singapore!

By: eugene

eugene — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 09:06:19 +0000

Hi Julian, what’s your view on the recent upgrading of the SEPA to the Ministry of Environmental Protection?

Keep up the good writing, added your blog to my list of Recommended Websites at the AsiaIsGreen website (http://www.asiaisgreen.com).

By: Julian

Julian — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 06:03:19 +0000

Thanks, Charlie, for your feedback. I’ve added China Environmental Law to the GLF blogroll as well!

I agree that there is much to be be done, and in fact, one of the biggest challenges that SEPA acknowledges it faces in administering these new initiatives is the compliance by provincial and local governments and banks with the new policies. See http://english.sepa.gov.cn/News_service/news_release/200803/t20080310_119113.htm

I think real impactful change will happen when Rule of Law is truly established, i.e. an institutional capacity to enforce and administer the myriad of environmental and clean energy regulations across the ranks. That is the nature of my next blog post.

Thanks for reading!

By: cmcelwee

cmcelwee — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 09:23:25 +0000

Hi Julian,

Nice post. Do you think we are in the middle of the lastest “Green Whirlwind” or is it still to come? It’s unclear to me, but if I had to bet, I think we will see something a little more high dramatic than just “green taxation” (ho hum) in the coming months (probably something involving enforcement measures as usually happens during these campaigns). I don’t mean to disparage “green taxes,” but China essentially has a “green tax” system in its pollutant discharge registration and fee system. Higher fees/more taxes will hit those who are already complying with the law disproportionately. I suppose the taxes could be on consumer products, based on their environmental burden, but I don’t think China has or will in the foreseeable future have the information necessary to impose effective taxes at this point in the consumer chain. My take on SEPA’s recent actions is yes, they certainly are opportunistic, but they are a sign of weakness, not strength. SEPA operates in the sphere where it has some authority; unfortunately, that sphere only impacts the biggest, highest profile players–the ones who already should be in compliance with the environmental laws. The fact that 10 out of 37 potential share listers were not in compliance (or didn’t submit sufficient information) is a sign of how much remains to be done.

Thank you for thinking and writing about these issues. I have a blog addressing China’s environmental laws (http://chinaenvironment.wordpress.com/), and I will add you to my “blogroll.” Best of luck,

CRM