Input in Environment to Account for 1.5 Percent of GDP

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, March 14, 2003

Input in Environment to Account for 1.5 Percent of GDP

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Xie Zhenhua, director of the State Environmental Protection Administration, said Friday that a minimum investment that accounts for 1.5 percent of the gross domestic product is needed to basically control pollution arising from economic development.

Xie told a news conference that over the past five years China invested 580 billion yuan (about 70.13 billion US dollars) or 1.2 percent of its GDP in environmental protection and biological construction, of which 480 to 490 billion yuan was channeled to pollution control.

He said that experience of foreign countries and China's own practice have proven that if the input in environmental protectioncan reach 1.5 percent of the GDP, pollution problems can be brought under control; and if the input exceeds 1.5 percent of the GDP, the environment can be improved.

License system to be adopted for waste emission

Xie said that in the coming few years China will implement an overall volume control and a license system for waste emission, on the basis of which, trading of sulfur dioxide will be carried out in some key areas.

In response to questions at a news conference, Xie said that China and the United States have had cooperation in the trading of sulfur dioxide emission, and pilot projects in some places and enterprises have been doing well. The key to trading waste emission is the implementation of overall volume control and license system.

He said that the policy of waste emission trading has been widely accepted, and the policy is expected to spread further following the success of the pilot projects.

Nuclear radiation level under control

The senior official said Friday, according to monitoring results, China's current nuclear radiation level is within the controlled scope and there should be no problem with it.

To ensure nuclear safety, the National People's Congress is discussing a law for preventing nuclear radiation pollution.

He said that each step of nuclear production and construction is subject to strict examination, special monitoring institutions and personnel are held accountable for the supervision of construction and operation of nuclear facilities. In addition, the disposal of nuclear waste is also strictly controlled.

He said that to ensure no impact on the environment, China has built automatic and continuous monitoring network in places around nuclear facilities, and has built storehouses in relevant provinces for centralized storing of civil radiation waste.

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