Rising environmental regulations in China

The relationship between environmental regulations and competitiveness underlies a lot of our academic work.

A recent blog post over at China Environmental Law ponders a recent CRIEnglish.com article.

Exporters Confront Rising Environmental Costs [CRIEnglish]

Chinese manufacturers have seen their costs for environmental protection rise, in many ways, since the government raised the standards over the past year.

Companies that were identified as violating environmental laws were barred from the Canton Fair, or the China Import and Export Fair, during a penalty period, said fair spokesman Xu Bing.

One such company was Jilin Fudun Timber Co., Ltd., a timber company, which was placed on a blacklist by environmental regulators last year.

The Canton Fair is the most important channel for Chinese exporters to expand overseas, so a ban means big losses.

China has conducted special campaigns against polluting companies since last year. And violators have lost more than just export opportunities: blacklisted firms find it difficult to get loans. The State Environmental Protection Administration, now the Ministry of Environmental Protection, along with the central bank and the Banking Regulatory Commission, jointly issued a "green loan" policy in July that banned loans to blacklisted companies.

It is easier to just cut to the China Environmental Law for a commented version (saving me the work).

Happy May Day! [China Environmental Law]

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