Pollution in China has been a hot topic for ages, but measures are starting to be taken. The latest: Chinese companies might soon be rewarded for reducing pollution output.
A new law is in the works that if passed, companies that reduce emissions to half the national requirement would only pay half the taxes collected for air, water and soil pollution. Pollution meet solution.
The current ‘pollutant discharge fee’ system was put in place in 1979 so many would argue that yes, it’s probably time for a change.
Under the draft law proposed rates range from RMB350 to RMB11,200 per month on industrial noise pollution, sets a RMB1.2 stipend on air pollutants and a RMB1.4 stipend on water pollutants. There would also be charges ranging from RMB5 to RMB1,000 for each ton of different kind of solid waste (queue poop jokes).
An additional element of flexibility (and freedom) would also be added, allowing provincial governments to ‘appropriately’ raise rates when taking local economy and pollution conditions into account.
Then of course, there are the polluters and pollutants that would continue to get off scot-free.
Carbon dioxide is not included on the list. The tax would also exclude pollutants from agriculture in order to support agriculture development, plus normal emissions by urban sewage and refusal treatment plants. Taxable ‘mobile pollution sources’ are also covered.
But when all is said and done, the new law should close loopholes in the current system which ‘has an inadequate implementation and administrative interference’, a fancy way of saying that there is a whole lot more pollution out there then we probably realize.
[Image via Wikia.com]
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