The Ministry of Environmental Protection is taking significant steps to enhance cross-regional cooperation in air pollution control. As part of its efforts, the ministry is developing assessment criteria that involve 19 provinces, covering key indicators such as the operational efficiency of pollution control projects, the rate of elimination of yellow-plate vehicles, and exhaust emission testing rates. The goal is to introduce a “one-vote veto†system for air quality, which would allow poor performance in environmental standards to block development projects or policy approvals.
According to reports, the upcoming assessment framework will include both annual reviews and final evaluations, which will be submitted to the State Council. These assessments will serve as critical references for evaluating local government leaders and implementing accountability measures. In areas where pollution remains severe and project progress is slow, environmental assessments for new construction projects may face restrictions.
This initiative comes amid a period of prolonged, large-scale, and highly polluted weather conditions. In response, the Ministry of Environmental Protection, along with the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Finance, has issued the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan" for atmospheric pollution control in key regions. This follows earlier efforts, such as the 2010 joint guidance from nine ministries on regional air pollution prevention, which banned the expansion of heavy industries like steel, non-ferrous metals, petrochemicals, and cement in urban and suburban areas.
However, recent public reports indicate that many local governments have continued to push forward with heavy chemical projects, often in regions already struggling with frequent smog. For example, Hebei has accelerated the construction of a 10 million-ton PetroChina Huabei Refinery and a coal Machinery project. Lanzhou plans to launch major construction projects, while Wuhan aims to complete an 800,000-ton ethylene plant and an 8-million-ton oil refinery. These developments raise concerns about further worsening air quality.
A professor from Tsinghua University, who advises the Ministry of Environmental Protection, warns that the air quality in these central cities is already poor, and new projects could exacerbate the problem. He suggests that affected areas should implement a “pollution reduction and replacement†strategy, ensuring that new emissions are offset by at least 1.5 to 2 times the reductions from existing sources. In northern cities with dry climates and limited natural air purification, strict limits on heavy industry are essential.
Solving regional air pollution requires more than just mutual respect between regions. At the 2013 National Environmental Protection Working Conference, Minister Zhou Shengxian announced the formation of a joint leadership group in Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, and the Yangtze River Delta, led by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and local governments.
Chai Fahe, deputy director of the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Protection, noted that cities most affected by smog last month were not major metropolitan centers but second- and third-tier cities like Shijiazhuang and Handan. He emphasized that regional cooperation is not just about protecting others—it’s also about self-protection.
Chai also pointed out two common mistakes in pollution control: some developed regions simply move high-polluting industries without considering the environmental capacity of surrounding areas, while underdeveloped regions prioritize economic growth and employment, often addressing pollution only after it occurs.
He stressed that industrial transfer should not become pollution transfer. Only through technological upgrades can less developed regions benefit from industrial relocation. Developed regions must also support underdeveloped areas in pollution control and industrial restructuring, including funding for regional air pollution management and sharing transition costs among localities.
While the desire to boost economic growth in underdeveloped regions is understandable, encouraging heavy-polluting projects like steel, petrochemicals, and cement will come at a high cost in terms of environmental management and ecological restoration, warned an expert from the Planning Institute.
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