Promote the formulation and revision of pollutant emission standards for key sectors, including the pesticide industry.

On September 28, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment held a press conference to highlight its work on formulating ecological and environmental laws, regulations, and standards. Yan E, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Laws and Standards at the Ministry, stated that efforts will be stepped up to revise and update pollutant emission standards for key industries, including printing, glass, mineral wool, pesticides, starch, and yeast.

Ecological and environmental standards are formulated in accordance with the law by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and the people’s governments of provincial-level administrative regions, and they set forth uniform technical requirements for environmental protection work. These standards serve as an important means of implementing environmental laws and regulations, and they provide critical technical support for advancing precise, science-based, and law-based pollution control.

China’s first ecological and environmental protection standard was promulgated in 1973—the Trial Standard for the Discharge of Industrial “Three Wastes.” Over nearly five decades, significant progress has been made in the formulation and revision of China’s ecological and environmental standards.

Regarding which environmental protection standards will be prioritized for revision during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, Yan E stated that, in line with the goals of improving ecological and environmental quality, advancing ecological civilization, and building a Beautiful China, efforts will continue to focus on winning the tough battle against pollution. More comprehensive and higher‑quality standards will be put in place to provide robust support for this critical endeavor. Work will primarily be carried out on two levels.

At the national level, efforts will continue to address existing gaps and weaknesses and to further refine and improve the standards system. In response to new functions, tasks, and emerging areas in environmental management, work will be accelerated to establish and enhance standards and regulations in such fields as carbon‑emission accounting and related greenhouse‑gas emission controls, ecological protection and restoration oversight, and the management of emerging pollutants. To strengthen the coordinated control of nitrogen oxides and VOCs (volatile organic compounds) and to bolster environmental risk management, emission standards for key industries—including printing, glass, mineral wool, pesticides, starch, yeast, and others—will be formulated or revised, with further refinements to the scope of regulated pollutants and the associated control requirements.

At the local level, it is essential to vigorously promote the development of local standards and further enhance the precision of regional environmental management. Given the varying levels of economic and social development, as well as diverse resource and environmental conditions across China, regional environmental challenges and priorities for improving environmental quality differ from one area to another. A number of environmental protection laws and regulations grant provincial-level governments the authority to formulate local standards: for items not covered by national standards, local authorities may establish supplementary standards; for matters already addressed in national standards, they may adopt even more stringent requirements. The Yangtze River Protection Law explicitly stipulates the responsibilities of the people’s governments of each province within the Yangtze River Basin to develop local standards. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, guidance and support will be provided to localities to actively undertake the formulation and revision of local standards, thereby meeting the needs of differentiated environmental governance and further elevating the precision and scientific rigor of pollution prevention and control.

First, we need to develop supplementary standards. Certain regions have distinctive industries or specific pollutants for which no national standards exist; in such cases, local standards should be formulated to address these gaps. For example, in the aquaculture sector, significant regional variations necessitate the establishment of tailored local standards.

Second, standards should be tightened. For regions with densely concentrated industries and acute environmental challenges, where compliance with national standards fails to meet local needs for improving environmental quality, more stringent local standards may be established. For example, in certain areas of the Yangtze River Basin where the chemical industry is highly concentrated, the relevant provinces should expedite the research and formulation of local pollutant emission standards for the chemical sector.

Source: China National Radio Network