Energy saving and emission reduction dilemma: pressed the gourd up the Scoop

Oscar Wilde Fang Xuyan in the "Eleven-Five" period during the major reform, the former state environmental Protection administration has risen to the Ministry of Environmental Protection, but the Ministry of Environmental Protection and other ministries of the coordination of environmental protection, and did not solve the problem.　　"Eleven-Five" period, China's environmental economic policy mainly by administrative means mainly, this way encountered a lot of questions. So, in the environmental protection pressure surges, contradictions highlighted in the "Twelve-Five" period, environmental management system should do what changes? Will more environmental and economic policies be introduced?　　How is the problem between export trade and domestic environment coordinated?　　In this respect, this reporter interviewed the environmental protection Department of the Ministry of Trade and Environmental Experts group leader, Environmental protection Department of Environmental and Economic Policy Research Center researcher Hu Tao. Inter-ministerial coordination remains a problem "21st century": "Twelve-Five" will be, the relevant departments are also brewing environmental planning. But the environmental protection management system is not smooth, is the development of environmental protection constraints.　　What do you think of the "Twelve-Five" period of the problem in this area? Hu Tao: At present, the formal Ministry of Environmental Protection has three main functions: pollutant control, nuclear safety and ecological protection. But in fact, the Ministry of Environmental Protection can say only two functions. Why do you say that? Because the ecological functions are dispersed to the Ministry of Environmental Protection, such as the National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Land and Resources, housing and urban Construction, Ministry of Water, Agriculture, taxation Administration, Forestry Bureau, Bureau of Statistics, Ocean Bureau, more than 10 ministries.　　In other words, this function of the Ministry of Environmental Protection has been reduced in a disguised way to half a function. However, under the existing pattern, more than 10 of the various departments involved in the ecological rights, obligations, responsibilities are not uniform, easy to appear in the Department of fighting or the coordination of adverse problems.　　Therefore, it is necessary to define the division of responsibilities of each department as soon as possible and establish a unified and effective ecological protection mechanism.　　In this regard, a variety of reform options are being discussed to explore how to unify supervision and management and better fulfill the responsibilities of ecological protection.　　21st Century: So, is there a similar problem with energy saving and emission reduction?　　Hu Tao: Energy-saving emission reduction, now encountered the "under the gourd, a scoop" problem, in the emission reduction indicators and energy-saving indicators, pollution control and greenhouse gas emissions reduction between the uncoordinated. As far as the former is concerned, although we have identified the target of pollutant control, I have found in many places that pollution treatment, such as noise control and sewage treatment facilities, is not operational.　　Asked the reason, the local director replied that if the running, will affect the completion of energy-saving goals. In the latter case, the SO2 emission reduction is mainly achieved through the upper end treatment facility, such as the Desulfurization facility. However, the operation of desulfurization facilities requires a large amount of electricity consumption. Taking the power generation industry for example, electricity consumption accounts for about 1.5-1.8% of power generation.　　In other words, today's forced desulfurization reduces the SO2, but at the same time the CO2 is added. Therefore, the "Twelve-Five" period, from the management system, requires the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the NDRC, the Ministry of work to establish a more effective mechanism of coordination, the State Council for energy conservation and emission reduction leading Group to play a greater associationAdjustment function.　　"21st century": in the SO2 and CO2 reduction of the problem, in addition to the coordination between departments, whether through technical choice to solve?　　Hu Tao: The coordination between the departments is finally implemented to the specific technical choice. In the case of the power industry, our current SO2 control is achieved through end management such as desulfurization facilities, but we can also try front-end governance, such as clean coal technology such as coal washing, or coal gasification combined cycle power generation (IGCC) technology, or even renewable energy,　　These technologies can radically reduce SO2, NOx, particulate matter and CO2 emissions at the same time, thus achieving synergistic control, stone, and counting.　　This is not only a matter of cost, but also a matter of departmental co-ordination, and now the various ministries need to be considered in an integrated and coordinated situation.　　Environmental tax is better than emissions trading "21st century": "Twelve-Five" period, what do you think environmental economic policy should be adjusted?　　Hu Tao: Under the market economy, mainly through the Non-market administrative means to achieve energy-saving emission reduction, it is unreasonable, the market resources allocation efficiency is not high, resulting in high energy saving and emission reduction costs. In "Twelve-Five" period, should change this pattern, from the main administrative means to gradually change to market means mainly, such as emissions trading, environmental tax, sewage charges.　　This is also the basic means of reducing emissions in other market economies.　　21st century: What kind of means do you prefer between emission trading and environmental taxes?　　Hu Tao: In environmental economics, both emission trading and environmental tax are economic means, and the aim is to realize the optimal control of pollutant emission level.　　We see that the SO2 emission trading in China is not smooth, there are many reasons, I think the main problem is still in the management system, the integrity of polluters and the corresponding regulatory mechanism is not reasonable.　　Both methods can be used theoretically, but under China's current management system, I tend to levy environmental tax from the source of resources, so as to avoid the drawbacks of China's management system, reduce management costs, so that the market to effectively allocate scarce environmental capacity resources. 21st Century: Now all departments are talking about the imposition of environmental taxes, what do you think of this tax impulse?　　Now that corporate taxes are already heavy, is it necessary to levy taxes? Hu Tao: All departments are disputing environmental taxes, perhaps more from the interests of the sector, rather than to solve environmental problems. Strictly speaking, the government departments do not have the right to tax legislation, only the executive power, the task is to levy tax, but specifically to levy what tax, the executive branch where the legislative powers? Legislation is a matter for the NPC.　　This must be clarified. The imposition of environmental taxes does not necessarily increase the burden on enterprises. We are in the system design, in the imposition of environmental taxes, can also reduce the company's other taxes, such as corporate income tax or value-added tax and other taxes. A core idea is to design in a framework that does not increase the overall level of corporate tax burden, through a balance between different taxes,Ensuring environmental taxes does not add to the burden on businesses. In the tax collection, I advocate from the front-end levy, through the way of taxation, to increase the price of resources, including fossil fuels, and gradually reduce the use of fossil fuels, so that the root of the solution to the problem of environmental governance. The Ministry of Environmental Protection and the National Energy Bureau are discussing the regional coal-burning total control policy, which is also the front-end management idea.　　For the entire national economy, it is like, you plant a low-carbon tree, it can not grow high carbon foliage.　　2015 change "environmental deficit"?　　"21st century": it is because China's low resource prices, so China can export so many cheap products to the world, the result of many environmental problems in China, "Twelve-Five" How to solve this problem? Hu Tao: China's pollution problem is very serious, but you think carefully, it is not difficult to find that our business production of pollutants is not produced for ourselves, but for other countries and regions. According to our research findings, based on the 2005-year input-output table, China's 38% of SO2, 18% of cod, 23% of CO2 emissions are driven by foreign trade.　　In fact, we are paying for global environmental problems, with China's environmental capacity to subsidize other countries, is a typical "environmental deficit." This state must change during the "Twelve-Five" period. It is unrealistic to expect international negotiations in the WTO.　　But we can take unilateral measures to limit the export of resources and environment-intensive products and, on the other hand, restrict the development of such industries at home and encourage them to invest overseas.　　In the area of export tariff collection, we should draw on the practice and experience of the National Textile Special Fund to levy the tax on the environmental tariff of the export link, set up the Special Fund for Environmental protection, and use it to invest in the environmental facilities construction, enterprise technical renovation and clean production, and comprehensively enhance the comprehensive competitive power　　At the same time, the establishment of foreign trade enterprises Environment-friendly Incentive fund, the environmental behavior of good export enterprises, such as the implementation of ISO14000 environmental indicators or clean production audit, grant subsidies. I am now doing green trade scheme, I hope to add a per million exports of energy consumption indicators and pollutant intensity indicators, with this indicator to constrain and examine trade enterprises and departments, forcing local governments to expand exports must consider environmental factors. We hope to change the environmental deficit of our trade by 2015.