China needs to make greater efforts in implementing its
environmentally-friendly loan policy, or "green credit policy", to
tackle pollution, the country's environmental watchdog said on
Wednesday.
The green credit policy has "helped curb pollution and energy
wasting to certain extent, but has not yet achieved its full
purpose so far", said Pan Yue, State Environmental Protection
Administration (SEPA) vice director, at a press conference.
The policy was launched last July instructing banks to stop
making loans to high-energy consuming and polluting industries.
According to the policy, not only companies causing heavy
pollution and wasting energy are disqualified from getting loans,
companies that already have loans, but are later discovered to have
violated environmental protection regulations will also have their
loans called in.
Pan said among the 38 companies blacklisted by SEPA for
high-energy consumption and pollution since last July, 12 have been
banned from obtaining loans.
In the eastern Jiangsu Province alone, more than one billion
yuan (US$137 million) in loans have been called in from companies
who failed to pass environmental assessment or to implement China's
environmental protection regulations, he said.
He added the policy had achieved far less than hoped.
"Many of the high-energy consuming and polluting industries are
at the same time the most lucrative industries in some areas, and
some local governments refuse to order to cut off loans.
"Moreover, a number of these companies are turning from banks to
social groups for financing, which is not within the jurisdiction
of our policy."
Pan said the government will continue to mount efforts in
implementing the green loan policy by setting up economic
incentives for those environmentally-friendly companies, and
improving interaction between banks in the loan business.
The government would also draft more environmentally-friendly
policies concerning taxes and insurance to curb environmental
pollution, he said.
(Xinhua News Agency February 14, 2008)
