Full Transcript | The Ministry of Ecology and Environment held a regular press conference in November

On November 30, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment held a regular press conference for November. Zhao Ke, Director of the Department of Regulations and Standards of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, attended the press conference to introduce the construction of China's ecological environment laws and institutional systems, and answer questions from reporters. Zhao Ying, deputy director of the Department of Publicity and Education of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, presided over the press conference.

The scene of the press conference

Zhao Ying:Welcome to the regular press conference of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment in November, the theme of which is to strengthen the rule of law in the ecological environment and ensure the construction of a beautiful China. We invited Zhao Ke, Director General of the Department of Regulations and Standards of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, to introduce the relevant situation and answer your questions.

Next, I would like to invite Director Zhao Ke to introduce the relevant situation.

Zhao Ke, Director-General of the Department of Regulations and Standards of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment

Zhao Ke:Thank you, moderator, journalists, ladies and gentlemen, good morning! Three days ago, the Politburo of the CPC Central Committee held its 10th collective study session, at which General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that the law is the yardstick for social life and national governance. Our theme today is the same, the rule of law is the criterion for ecological and environmental governance. The press conference of the Department of Laws and Regulations on the rule of law last year was September 28, and today is exactly one year, two months and two days, and I would like to thank all journalists and friends for their concern, support, help and very timely, pertinent and diverse publicity reports on the rule of law in the ecological environment in the past year, thank you.

Over the past year, we have benchmarked the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the decision-making and deployment of the National Conference on Ecological and Environmental Protection, and made great efforts in four aspects, providing a solid legal guarantee for the in-depth fight against pollution and the construction of a beautiful China.

The four areas are:

First, we will continue to promote ecological and environmental legislation to effectively guarantee the construction of a beautiful China.

The first is to actively promote legislation in key areas, such as the work we are doing now, fully cooperate with the National People's Congress to do a good job in the compilation of the ecological and environmental code, complete the formulation and revision of the Marine Environmental Protection Law, the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Ecological Protection Law and other laws, and issue and implement five departmental rules and regulations, including the Measures for Administrative Punishment of the Ecological Environment and the Measures for the Management of the List of Key Units in Environmental Supervision.

The second is to actively promote legislation in emerging areas. For example, the Interim Regulations on the Administration of Carbon Emission Trading and the Administrative Measures for Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Trading (Trial) have been promulgated and implemented to ensure the healthy operation of the carbon market.

Third, in response to the outstanding problems of strict legal liability, in cooperation with the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Supreme People's Court revised the "Interpretation on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Handling of Criminal Cases of Environmental Pollution", adjusted the standards for conviction and sentencing of environmental pollution crimes, and clarified the rules for dealing with data fraud, such as environmental impact assessment, monitoring, and greenhouse gas emissions, and other fields of data fraud, promoting the formation of a strong deterrent to environmental violations and crimes.

Second, the standard benchmark health work aspect. By continuing to promote the health of ecological and environmental standards and benchmarks, we will effectively support precise and scientific pollution control.

The first is to ensure high-quality development with standards. In the past year, 58 standards have been issued, bringing the total number of currently effective ecological and environmental standards to 2,357. In the past year, 9 local standards have been recorded, so that the number of currently effective local standards has reached 249. Ecological and environmental standards have become a strong support for leading the green transformation of the economy and society, forcing the technological progress of the industry, and fighting the battle of pollution prevention and control.

The second is to consolidate the management and technical foundation of environmental benchmarks. Implement the "Environmental Benchmark Work Plan (2023-2025)", make overall arrangements and promote various tasks in an orderly manner, and gradually establish and improve the national environmental benchmark system. The construction of the national ecological and environmental benchmark database was initiated.

The third is to carry out pilot projects for environmental health management. Exploring the combination of health risk prevention and control and ecological environment management, 26 regions and units have been arranged to do this work, and last year's national residents' environmental health literacy monitoring was fully completed and the monitoring report was released. The monitoring results show that the level of environmental health literacy of Chinese residents has been significantly improved, exceeding the target of "increasing to 15% and above by 2022" proposed in the "Healthy China Action (2019-2030)".

Third, continue to use the rule of law thinking and methods to further advance the fight against pollution in accordance with the law.

The first is to strictly control the source, strictly implement the legality review system for administrative normative documents, and strictly implement the legal review system for major law enforcement decisions to ensure that red-headed documents and law enforcement decisions are legal and effective.

Second, it is necessary to properly resolve administrative disputes, strictly implement reconsideration supervision, handle administrative reconsideration cases fairly and impartially, promote standardized law enforcement, promote the performance of duties in accordance with the law, and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the public and enterprises.

Third, it is necessary to conscientiously implement the responsibility system for popularizing the law, publicize and implement the Yellow River Protection Law, the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Ecological Protection Law, the Marine Environmental Protection Law, and other newly formulated and revised laws and regulations, so as to lay a mass foundation for the implementation of the law. Organize and carry out thematic essay collection activities for primary and secondary school students, so that the rule of law grows together, and organize and carry out rule of law training at different levels, on different topics, and for different targets, to increase the pertinence of training.

Fourth, we will continue to promote the reform of the compensation system for ecological and environmental damage, and make every effort to protect the "ecological green".

The first is to strengthen coordination and supervision. In conjunction with relevant state organs, fully implement the "Provisions on the Administration of Compensation for Ecological and Environmental Damages" through the convening of national promotion meetings and other forms, guide local governments to revise relevant supporting systems, print and distribute the fourth batch of clue lists, and select and publish the third batch of top 10 typical cases of consultation on compensation for ecological and environmental damages.

The second is to improve supporting standards, study and formulate national standards, and consolidate the foundation of work. For example, national standards for farmland ecosystem, restoration effect evaluation, soil ecological environment baseline investigation and determination, etc.

The third is to restore the damaged ecological environment. From January to November this year, a total of about 7,000 cases of compensation for ecological and environmental damage were initiated across the country, involving about 4 billion yuan in compensation, and about 48 million cubic meters of surface water, 10 million cubic meters of groundwater, 1.7 million square meters of soil, about 1.49 million square meters of wetlands, about 1.7 million square meters of farmland, and about 10 million square meters of forest land were restored. Through these restoration actions, we will make our ecological environment more beautiful.

I am honored to be able to answer your questions below, thank you.

Answering questions from reporters

Cover News: Director Zhao just mentioned the legislative work plan of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), pointing out that it is necessary to actively promote the compilation of the environmental code.

Zhao Ke:Thank you for your question. As the saying goes: "The prosperous era repairs the classics, and the classics carry the prosperous times." "The Code is a sign and a symbol of the prosperity of a country and a nation. At the 2020 Central Work Conference on Comprehensively Governing the Country According to Law, General Secretary Xi Jinping said that it is necessary to summarize the experience of compiling the civil code and promote the codification of the legislative field in a timely manner. Later, at the 2021 National People's Congress Work Conference, General Secretary Xi Jinping once again emphasized this sentence. We believe that the field of ecological environment is very suitable for this condition, mainly in two aspects:

First, great achievements have been made in practice. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, we have practiced the construction of ecological civilization, and everyone feels that the quality of the ecological environment has indeed improved, and the air quality has improved. At the same time, we also have the practice of ecological and environmental legislation, and the total number of laws in our country is now 299, which is the latest data as of this month. Among them, there are 35 environmental resources, which can be calculated as a relatively large proportion. This provides us with very good textual support for codification, which is the basis for practice.

Second, strong theoretical guidance. This theoretical guidance is Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization and Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law, both of which are sufficient to support the compilation of ecological codes.

Therefore, whether in practice or theory, the conditions for the codification of ecological and environmental codes are very mature. In September this year, the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) issued a legislative work plan that included the ecological code in the first category of projects. The so-called first-class projects are those that are relatively mature and should be submitted for consideration during the term of office. In other words, it will be submitted for deliberation during the current NPC session, and we can optimistically estimate that the deliberation time may be brought forward.

The Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) is very concerned about the work of the Ecological and Environmental Code. The compilation of the ecological and environmental code is related to the major adjustment of the legal relationship of the ecological environment, the long-term protection of the ecological environment, and the overall situation of the construction of a beautiful China. Secretary Sun Jinlong and Minister Huang Runqiu have repeatedly issued instructions and instructions, requiring them to do a good job of cooperating, that is, cooperating with the National People's Congress to do a good job in the compilation of the ecological and environmental code. In the early stage, we have organized relevant subordinate units and colleges and universities to do some basic research, such as systematically sorting out the current ecological and environmental laws and regulations, and analyzing and studying the relevant systems and norms. At present, we are organizing research seminars to understand the needs of the grassroots for the code and the expectations of the provisions, collect local opinions and suggestions, sort out and integrate the relevant provisions of the current ecological and environmental laws and regulations, and study and put forward some opinions and suggestions such as translation, modification, and supplementation.

Combined with the practice of ecological environmental management, we also have some suggestions for the codification of ecological and environmental codes.

The first is to adhere to the orderly convergence and fully absorb the achievements of the current legislation on ecological and environmental protection. It is recommended to fully absorb all useful and effective provisions in ecological and environmental laws and regulations, especially some systems stipulated in the newly formulated and revised laws and regulations since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. At the same time, appropriate integration and improvement.

Second, we should persist in being problem-oriented and give full consideration to the needs of social and economic development. It is suggested that the current situation of ecological and environmental work should be fully considered, the expectations of the people should be considered, the problem orientation should be adhered to, and the provisions that are not adapted to the actual situation should be systematically revised. Compile an ecological and environmental code that conforms to social reality, has a practical basis, and is highly operable.

The third is to adhere to inclusiveness and fully reflect the latest achievements in the construction of ecological civilization. It is suggested that the latest instructions and requirements of the Party Central Committee should be sorted out, the practical results of the reform should be absorbed, and the legislative gaps should be filled as much as possible, while maintaining openness. Because there will be some new areas coming out, and we will encounter situations that we have not encountered in the past, and we also need to reserve space for legal norms for these situations. There should be some room for a one-liner approach to emerging fields in the future.

In the next step, we will follow the unified arrangements of the National People's Congress and its Standing Committee, and fully cooperate with the support and cooperation of the compilation of the ecological and environmental code.

Southern Metropolis Daily: What achievements have been made in the construction of the rule of law in the ecological environment in recent years, and what are the legislative plans for the next step?

Zhao Ke:Thank you for your question. The results of the legislation should be said to be very remarkable. This has to go back to Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law and Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization. There is a sentence that we are all familiar with, insisting on protecting the ecological environment with the strictest system and the strictest rule of law, which is one of the core tenets of Xi Jinping's thought on ecological civilization, and it is also a summary of our experience in the great achievements of ecological civilization construction. At the National Conference on Ecological and Environmental Protection held this year, General Secretary Xi Jinping said "4561", and in the "5 experience summary", a very important part of which is closely related to the rule of law in our ecological environment.

General Secretary Xi Jinping stressed that we must always adhere to the strictest system and the strictest rule of law to protect the ecological environment and maintain normalized external pressure. We implement the instructions and requirements of General Secretary Xi Jinping, and in terms of ecological and environmental protection legislation, we must adhere to the people-centered, meet the people's growing needs for a beautiful ecological environment, strive to improve the quality of legislation, enrich the form of legislation, accelerate the pace of legislation, and promote the continuous improvement of the ecological and environmental legal system. Now there is a basic evaluation: the socialist legal system for ecological and environmental protection with Chinese characteristics has taken shape. This basic evaluation was put forward by the National People's Congress, and it was described in three words: comprehensive, pragmatic and effective, and strict and rigorous.

Specifically, it mainly includes the following most important aspects:

First, the Constitution. A few days later, on 4 December, we celebrate our 10th Constitution Day, and we have a series of commemorative events. When we were in elementary school, we learned that the Constitution is the fundamental law of the country, which stipulates the basic political system of the country and also stipulates the basic rights and duties of citizens. For ecological civilization, the 2018 revised constitution includes new development concepts, ecological civilization construction, and the construction of a beautiful China. The Constitution provides the most fundamental legal guidance for the establishment of our ecological and environmental legal system, which is the most solid foundation for our ecological and environmental legislative work.

Second, basic laws. Previously, we had a "teeth" environmental protection law, innovated the concept of environmental protection, strengthened government responsibility, improved the regulatory system, increased punishment, etc., and made a major breakthrough when it was revised in 2014. This year, the compilation of the ecological code will be carried out, and this code will be the final review by the National People's Congress, rather than the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, which is a higher level like the Environmental Protection Law and other individual laws. The ecological code is a basic law with stronger force. In addition to the Constitution, there are also basic laws such as criminal law and civil law, and the ecological and environmental code is also included in one of the basic laws of our country, which is deliberated by the National People's Congress.

Third, the single method. The single law we passed this year is the Marine Environmental Protection Law, followed by the Noise, Solid Waste, Soil, Water, and Air Pollution Prevention and Control Law. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the laws in the field of ecology and environment have basically been revised. This is our focus on the outstanding environmental issues that the people feel most deeply and urgently demand, and we will intensify the revision of the law. Through this round of formulation and revision, all fields of the ecological environment have basically achieved laws to follow, providing a strong legal guarantee for fighting the tough battle of pollution prevention and control.

Fourth, the new Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Ecological Protection Law promulgated this year is related to this, that is, the innovation of river basin and regional ecological and environmental legislation. The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Ecological Protection Law, the Black Soil Protection Law, the Yangtze River Protection Law, and the Yellow River Protection Law are all pieces of legislation that belong to special regional river basins. Through these legislations, the ecological value of lucid waters and lush mountains will be comprehensively enhanced. In addition, we also support the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei legislation on the prevention and control of emissions from motor vehicles and non-road mobile machinery, the Yangtze River Delta and Baiyangdian river basins, the Chishui River in Yunnan-Guizhou, and the Sichuan-Chongqing-Jialing River in Sichuan and Chongqing. Through these legislations, cross-regional ecological and environmental problems will be solved and high-quality development of the region will be promoted.

In the next step, we will continue to implement the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee, and coordinate the formulation and revision of relevant laws and regulations in the field of ecology and environment.

The first is to fully cooperate with the National People's Congress, compile the ecological and environmental code, and promote the resolution of problems such as inadaptability, incoordination, and inconsistency in the implementation of the law.

The second is to actively promote the formulation of administrative regulations such as the interim regulations on the management of carbon emission trading, the regulations on the management of ozone-depleting substances, and the regulations on the monitoring and management of the ecological environment.

The third is to promote the coordination of laws and regulations to further enhance the overall effectiveness of the legal system.

Guangming Daily: This year marks the first year of the implementation of the Yellow River Protection Law, what supporting work has the Ministry of Ecology and Environment done and what progress has been made in order to better implement this law?

Zhao Ke:Thank you for your question. I also answered this question last year. Last year, I quoted a lyric, "The Great Wall of the Yangtze River, the Yellow River of the Yellow Mountain, weighs a thousand pounds in my heart." ”

The Yellow River is special in our country, it is the mother river of the Chinese nation, and the Yellow River basin is the cradle of the Chinese nation. We have a deeper affection for the Yellow River. The protection of the Yellow River is related to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, which is a great plan for the future, and it is closely related to everyone. On April 1 this year, the Yellow River Protection Law came into effect, and the Yellow River Protection Law grasped the main contradiction in the Yellow River Basin, insisted on emphasizing protection and governance, and formed an effective legal system for the protection of the Yellow River.

In terms of the construction of the rule of law, we have carried out the following work on the implementation of the Yellow River Protection Law:

The first is to study and publicize in depth. The "Notice on Publicizing and Implementing the Yellow River Protection Law of the People's Republic of China" was issued, which sorted out the main responsibilities of the ecological and environmental departments involved in the provisions of the Yellow River Protection Law. From the aspects of in-depth study and extensive publicity, improving supporting facilities, and strengthening law enforcement, the local ecological and environmental departments are required to prepare for the implementation of the Yellow River Protection Law, and can also give us timely feedback on some problems encountered in the implementation process.

The second is to maintain the unity of the rule of law. The laws, regulations, and normative documents related to the Yellow River Basin have been cleaned up in a centralized manner, and those that do not meet the requirements of the central government for the high-quality development of the Yellow River and the provisions of the Environmental Protection Law must be revised or abolished.

The third is to improve the supporting system in a timely manner. In accordance with the provisions of the Yellow River Protection Law, formulate and revise relevant supporting documents. For example, the Plan for the Protection of the Water Ecological Environment in Key River Basins has been issued, which is a supporting document to the Yellow River Protection Law. A few days ago, the "Technical Guidelines for the Formulation of Water Environment Quality Standards in River Basins (Draft for Comments)" has been open to the public for comments, and until December 24, everyone can put forward comments. At the same time, we have also cooperated with other departments to formulate some specific measures such as the ecological flow guarantee target in the Yellow River Basin, and also guided the local government to do a good job in local legislation and institutional support.

Fourth, further strengthen supervision and law enforcement. Last week, the third round of the first batch of central ecological and environmental protection inspectors was launched, and three of the five provinces stationed are closely related to the Yellow River, Henan, Gansu and Qinghai, all of which are important provinces involved in the Yellow River basin.

We will also continue to shoot a warning film on the ecological environment of the Yellow River Basin, further promote the "Green Shield" nature reserve to strengthen the supervision of the special action, severely crack down on the illegal transfer and dumping of solid waste, continue to promote the "waste removal action" in the basin and the prevention and control of pollution from tailings ponds, strive to prevent major ecological risks, carry out in-depth investigation and rectification of sewage outlets into the river, and promote the treatment of black and odorous water bodies in county-level cities and counties.

CCTV News: This year marks the 50th anniversary of China's first environmental standard, what work has our country done in terms of environmental standards in the past 50 years, and what actual progress has been made?

Zhao Ke:Thank you for your question. On November 17, 1973, China's first environmental standard "Trial Standard for Industrial "Three Wastes" Discharge was issued. The reason for this is that in 1972, the United Nations convened a conference on the human environment, and with the care and support of Premier Zhou Enlai, China sent a delegation to participate in the meeting. After coming back, I felt very deeply, and in 1973 I began to prepare for our country's first environmental protection work conference. The Office of the Leading Group for the Preparation of the Conference set up an emission standard group and began the research and preparation of our national standards. It was January 8, 1973, and there was no standard before. This standard is also very special, it was deliberated and adopted at the first national environmental protection work conference held in August, and jointly issued by the State Planning Commission, the State Infrastructure Construction Commission, and the Ministry of Health in November. This standard was issued on November 17, 1973, which is its birthday, and today it should be 50 years and 13 days. From the release of the first standard to the present, our standard work has gone through 50 years of history, although more than half a hundred years old, but for the standard work is still very young, is a state of youth.

Looking back on the past 50 years, there are several developments:

First, the number of standards has increased dramatically. From 1 to 2,882, 2,882 is the total number of standards we have cumulatively issued, and the middle has also been revised and abolished, and there are 2,357 currently in effect, which is a very large increase.

Second, the expansion of the standard system. From a single standard to the current "two levels and six categories", two levels are the national and local levels, six categories are the quality standards of the ecological environment, risk control standards, pollutant discharge standards, monitoring standards, basic standards, management technical specifications, a total of six types of standards. Among these six types of standards, the quality standard (due to the particularity of the soil, it is the risk control standard) is the core, and the focus of our work is to do work around the improvement of the quality of the ecological environment, and the core of the corresponding standard system is the quality standard. Pollution prevention and control standards are one way to achieve environmental quality standards. Other standards, such as monitoring standards and technical specifications, provide basic support and services to ensure the quality standards and pollutant prevention and control standards mentioned above.

The current standard system has covered all kinds of environmental elements and management fields, and the architecture is relatively complete, which is compatible with the level of China's economic and social development. It is our judgment that the standard system to support the battle against pollution has been basically completed.

Third, the improvement of technical level. At present, the types of projects specified in the mandatory standards are basically the same as those of similar foreign technical regulations. The technical content and approach of the standard are also in line with international standards, and the restriction indicators have reached the international intermediate advanced level. Some of them have reached the international leading level, such as the emission standards of air pollutants from motor vehicles.

In the past 50 years, standards have played a very large role, leading the strategic transformation of ecological environmental protection, forcing technological and economic progress and the optimization and upgrading of industrial structure, supporting accurate, scientific and law-based pollution control, and helping the historical, turning point and overall changes in the construction of ecological civilization. At the same time as the rapid economic development, a significant improvement in environmental quality has been achieved, in which standards have played an important role.

In the next step, we will focus on the implementation of Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization and the spirit of the National Conference on Ecological and Environmental Protection, and plan and promote the standard work with a higher position, a wider vision and greater efforts.

First, it is necessary to strengthen the supporting connection with major policies and legal systems. Standards cannot talk about themselves, they must be linked to our policies and legal systems, and find the right way to implement the standards and the nodes of their role. In particular, to promote green and low-carbon development and high-quality economic and social development, our standards should play an important leading role in this.

Second, it is necessary to promote the optimization and upgrading of the standard system. Make up for the shortcomings and shortcomings, expand the areas covered, enhance coordination and compatibility, improve the technical level, and strengthen the prevention and control of risks.

Third, we should vigorously support the development of local standards. It is necessary to improve the level of support of local standards for accurate, scientific and law-based pollution control in various localities.

Fourth, it is necessary to consolidate the scientific foundation of standards. In-depth research to solve some common technical problems of standards, and comprehensively improve the integrity, scientificity, systematization and applicability of the standard system.

Nanfang Daily: The reform of compensation for ecological and environmental damage has been carried out for nearly eight years, what are the results of the compensation system for ecological and environmental damage? What are the priorities for the next step? Can you introduce some typical cases?

Zhao Ke:Thank you for your question. The reform of the compensation system for ecological and environmental damage is an important reform measure of the central government, which has gone through eight years of history, and it should be said that the phased goal has been successfully completed. Clear responsibilities, smooth channels, technical specifications, strong guarantees, compensation in place, and effective repair are the goals set in those years, and now they are basically completed.

We have done some work in the following aspects and achieved certain results.

The first is to strengthen the top-level design and improve the institutional system. As I said earlier, there are now 299 laws in our country, several of which have been written into the compensation system for ecological and environmental damages, such as the Civil Code, the Law on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Waste, the Law on the Prevention and Control of Soil Pollution, the Law on the Protection of the Yangtze River, the Law on the Protection of the Yellow River, and the Law on Forests. The compensation system for ecological and environmental damage has been clearly stipulated in the law, which has also laid a good legal foundation for our work.

According to our statistics, local regulations in 22 provinces have also been written into the compensation system for ecological and environmental damage, which has also provided support for local work.

After deliberation and approval by the Central Committee for Comprehensively Deepening Reform, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, together with 13 units including the Supreme People's Court, issued the "Regulations on the Administration of Compensation for Ecological and Environmental Damage"; The Ministry of Ecology and Environment has also preliminarily established a standard system for the appraisal and assessment of ecological and environmental damage, and has studied and formulated 10 technical documents, such as the recommended method for the appraisal and assessment of ecological and environmental damage; the State Administration for Market Regulation has issued six national standards, such as the General Outline, and so on; and we have three standards that have now passed the deliberation of the executive meeting of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and are going through the procedure of issuing standards.

The Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Justice and other relevant units have also issued a number of guidance documents, the content of which involves specific aspects of the reform of the compensation system for ecological and environmental damages, such as case trial, public interest litigation, fund management, and judicial appraisal, and has very strong support and guarantee for the work. Nearly 460 supporting documents have been issued by the local government, which is also a large number.

The second is to strengthen guidance and scheduling and promote the in-depth work. The outstanding problems of compensation for ecological and environmental damage have been included in the scope of the central ecological and environmental protection inspection, and the compensation for ecological and environmental protection damage has been included in the central government's assessment of the effectiveness of the pollution prevention and control battle for the provincial party committee and government for three consecutive years, and all provinces have included the compensation for ecological and environmental damage in the local pollution prevention and control assessment, and 24 provinces have been included in the scope of the provincial ecological and environmental protection inspection.

The Ministry of Ecology and Environment also issued four batches of clue lists, with a total of 32,000 clues, which were handed over to local governments for verification and handling. The Ministry of Ecology and Environment has also guided the handling of some major cases, such as the ecological damage case in the Muli mining area in Qinghai Province and the pollution case of Meili Paper in Ningxia.

The third is to pay close attention to case practice and improve quantity and quality. The number of cases handled is increasing year by year, and we also have a statistic that the average annual growth rate is 150%. Up to now, the total number of cases handled nationwide since the trial has been 32,200, which is an increase in the number. The efficiency of case closure is also improving, and compensation agreements are reached through negotiation to encourage self-restoration of compensation and promote the efficient conclusion of cases. So far, nearly 20,000 cases have been closed across the country. We have also selected typical cases and released three batches of top 10 typical consultation cases, and some local provinces such as Jiangsu, Chongqing, Guizhou, and Guangdong have also released local typical cases. Through the selection and release of typical cases, demonstration and guidance, to improve the quality of cases. The case was also mentioned by a reporter from Nanfang Daily just now, and I also have some pictures here that I can show you.

Compensation for ecological and environmental damage caused by illegal discharge of an enterprise in a circular economy industrial park in Ji'an City, Jiangxi Province

This is a restored picture, and this picture looks relatively green at first glance, which looks very comfortable. This is one of the cases, which was handled by the Ji'an Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment in Jiangxi Province, and it was handled very well, and it was caused by the illegal discharge of pollutants by a company related to a circular economy industrial park. In 2021, the Central Ecological and Environmental Protection Inspectorate found that the environmental pollution in this park was serious, and the enterprises in the park had been illegally polluting for a long time, and the surrounding people reacted strongly. After we found out, we first let the local government deal with it, and there were administrative penalties and detentions. The next step is to restore the damaged ecological environment. The Ji'an Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment, together with the procuratorate, the Bureau of Justice, the Forestry Bureau, the Bureau of Natural Resources, the Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and other departments, negotiated with the compensation obligor and reached an agreement, with a total amount of more than 38 million yuan, to be paid by the enterprise in batches. The plot was planted in rotation of non-edible crops according to the season, and the heavy metals in the soil were adsorbed. The picture you see is the picture after planting non-edible crops.

The typical significance of this case lies in how to determine the liability of multiple compensation obligors, as well as the payment of compensation in installments and the first restoration, which is a very good reference point in these three points.

In this case, allowing the indemnity obligor to perform its business in batches not only adhered to the principle of damages, but also took into account the long-term development of the indemnity obligor, and avoided beating the enterprise to death. Because after being beaten to death with a stick, the enterprise goes bankrupt, and there is no one to take responsibility for the ecological environment, and there is no money to repair it. Through the method of compensation in batches, the unity of environmental, economic and social benefits has been realized.

The scene of the public hearing on the compensation for ecological and environmental damage in the case of compensation for ecological and environmental damage caused by excessive discharge from a sewage treatment plant in Handan City, Hebei Province

In the second case, it was the scene of a meeting, and this meeting was a hearing, and in this consultation, a hearing was held in such a way that an agreement was finally reached. The handling of this case was handled by the Ecology and Environment Bureau of Handan City, Hebei Province, and they handled it very well. In Handan City, a sewage treatment plant discharged more than the standard, and the data exceeded the standard due to improper operation and maintenance. In the process of handling the case, the Handan Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment invited the city's people's mediation committee for ecological and environmental disputes to participate. The participation of mediation institutions is the "Fengqiao experience" in the new era, and it is a better practice to resolve conflicts and disputes locally, so that small things do not go out of the village, major matters do not go out of the village, and conflicts are resolved locally.

The Handan Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment invited the People's Mediation Committee to participate and adopted the form of a hearing to listen to the reasonable demands of the compensation rights holders, compensation obligors, and other surrounding people, which is of very good typical significance for the fair and just protection of public interests.

At the same time, this case also has a certain degree of innovation in the use of funds. According to the actual situation of the enterprise, the compensation right holder will use part of the compensation for the acceptance river body that exceeds the standard discharge to carry out functional construction and environmental restoration, and the other part will be used to improve the enterprise's emergency response capacity, so that the enterprise can improve its ability to respond to emergencies and prevent the occurrence of environmental damage incidents.

The launching ceremony of the construction of Kunshan Ecological and Environmental Damage Compensation Base

The third case is from Kunshan, Jiangsu, and this picture is the launching ceremony of a base. The Kunshan Ecological Environment Bureau of Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province, together with the procuratorate and the high-tech zone, handled the case of illegal dumping of organic solvents. This case is the first case in Jiangsu Province in which the results of corporate criminal compliance have been accepted by the court as a discretionary circumstance. In the process of handling this case, Suzhou Kunshan Ecological Environment Bureau, Kunshan Municipal People's Procuratorate, Kunshan High-tech Zone and other units have negotiated with the company many times. The company proposed to fulfill its liability in the form of monetary compensation, and took the initiative to pay 6 million yuan in compensation for environmental emergency response and the construction of Kunshan Ecological Environment Damage Education Base.

In addition, the company also took the initiative to bear the cost of warning publicity and education on ecological and environmental protection, and in view of the company's active cooperation with the compliance review and the review was qualified, the Kunshan Municipal Procuratorate made a decision not to prosecute the company. The highlight of this case is that this is a typical case of cooperation between the ecological environment department and the judicial authorities to urge enterprises to bear the liability for ecological damages. In the process of handling, the compensation for ecological damage was taken as a discretionary circumstance for the enterprise involved in the case to bear legal responsibility, and the compensation for damages was combined with the criminal compliance review of the enterprise to promote the rectification of environmental compliance, which played a positive role in improving the quality of the local ecological environment. After the construction of this base, it will help to enhance the environmental awareness of the people, and the public will have a place to relax, which will also improve the happiness index of the masses.

A copper company in Zhongshan City, Guangdong Province, illegally discharged wastewater and ecological environment damage compensation case

The fourth case is a case that occurred in Zhongshan, Guangdong. The Zhongshan Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment in Guangdong Province, together with the procuratorate, handled the case very well. It is a copper company that illegally discharges sewage. The typical significance of this case lies in the criminal and civil interaction of ecological damage compensation, and the illegal act of illegal sewage discharge is severely punished by simultaneously investigating the criminal, administrative and ecological environmental damage liability of illegal enterprises.

The Zhongshan Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment, together with the procuratorate, and the local town government held two rounds of negotiations with the compensation obliger, and claimed punitive damages in view of the company's long-term malicious and illegal pollutant discharge. At the same time, it will work with the water conservancy department to carry out alternative restoration.

Because the enterprise involved in this case has violated the law for a long time, the subjective malice is very strong, and the application of punitive damages can increase the cost of violating the law, and at the same time, it will also help prevent and curb possible illegal acts in the future, so as to punish and promote prevention, treatment and reform. The picture you see is the scene of the investigation at the time of the crime. Because the nature of the violation is serious, it is characterized by punitive damages and increased liability.

In addition to these four cases, there are many cases that have been handled very well in the localities, and they are limited to time constraints, so I will not give examples one by one. If you are interested in the case, we can provide clues, and it will be more intuitive for you to go to the scene to take a look, and the news report will be more readable.

In the next step, we will fully implement the "Provisions on the Management of Compensation for Ecological and Environmental Damage", further strictly standardize the work procedures, improve various supporting systems, strengthen supervision and assessment, consolidate the main responsibility of the local party and government, continue to carry out case practice, actively promote the incorporation of reform results into relevant laws and regulations, and promote the gradual realization of legalization, standardization and scientificization of compensation for ecological and environmental damage.

National Business Daily: According to the legislative planning requirements of the State Council this year, interim regulations on the management of carbon emission trading will be formulated.

Zhao Ke:Thank you for your question. This question was also answered last year, when the term "pending" was used. Today I use a word called "Coming Out".

Carbon emission trading is a new thing, and we are also very cautious about the introduction of relevant systems. This system is an institutional innovation that uses market mechanisms to control and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote green and low-carbon development.

The CPC Central Committee and the State Council attach great importance to the construction of the carbon market, and the regulations have been included in the legislative plan of the State Council many times, and the legislature is also stepping up its efforts. We, the Department of Ecology and Environment, have also done a lot of work in cooperation with the legislature. The work we have done is mainly to put forward draft regulations based on the construction of the carbon market, summarizing local experience, and learning from foreign legislation. This regulation is to build a scientific, standardized and orderly carbon emission trading management system. At the press conference in September last year, some considerations for the construction of relevant institutions were also introduced.

This year, there are some new situations, and we must take into account the important meetings and documents of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, such as the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the spirit of the National Conference on Ecological and Environmental Protection. The carbon market has been running for another year, and there have been some successes and failures in this year, and what are the shortcomings and what are the good operations should also be reflected in the regulations. This year, we have focused on making some optimizations to the original draft provisions, mainly in three aspects.

First, strengthen the party's leadership. It is clearly stipulated that the management of carbon emission trading and related activities should adhere to the leadership of the Communist Party of China. The "dual carbon" goal itself is also a declaration by General Secretary Xi Jinping at the United Nations General Assembly and a decision of the CPC Central Committee.

Second, improve data quality management. We have added some new provisions that require key emitters to develop and strictly implement quality control plans for greenhouse gas emissions data. From a practical point of view, there are indeed some objective situations where carbon emission data is falsified. In view of these situations, it is necessary to reflect the corresponding institutional measures in the regulations and respond to the situations that arise in practice.

Third, strengthen legal liability. Strict legal liability should be stipulated for key pollutant discharging units, as well as technical service institutions for tampering with and falsifying data.

At present, the introduction of this regulation is in the final stage, so let's wait and see.

In addition, we are also working on other systems to address climate change. For example, the State Administration for Market Regulation issued the Administrative Measures for Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Trading (Trial), which regulates voluntary emission reduction trading and related activities to help achieve the "dual carbon" goal. In line with the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate revised and issued the Interpretation on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Handling of Criminal Cases of Environmental Pollution, which clarifies that the crime of providing false supporting documents under Article 229 of the Criminal Law also applies to intermediary organizations with duties such as greenhouse gas emission inspection and testing, emission report preparation or verification, and stipulates specific criteria for criminalization. Through the criminalization of carbon emission data fraud, the criminal responsibility of relevant personnel is investigated, so as to ensure the quality of carbon market data.

Red Star News: My question is what are the characteristics of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Ecological Protection Law, which was passed and implemented this year, and how will the Ministry of Ecology and Environment ensure that this law is better implemented?

Zhao Ke:Thank you for your question.

The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is the roof of the world and the water tower of Asia. Spanning six provinces and autonomous regions of China, accounting for about a quarter of China's land area, it is an important ecological barrier related to the survival and development of the Chinese nation. The enactment of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Ecological Protection Law is an objective requirement to ensure national ecological security and strengthen risk prevention and control, as well as a practical need to solve the special problems of ecological protection on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and meet the expectations of the people. The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Ecological Protection Law is of great significance for strengthening the ecological protection of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and building a national ecological civilization highland.

The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Ecological Protection Law involves the following aspects, or several bright spots.

First, three basic principles of protection were identified. The principle of nature is to respect, conform to, and protect nature. The second principle is the principle of priority, insisting on ecological protection first, and natural restoration first. The third principle is the scientific principle, which adheres to overall planning and coordination, classified policies, scientific prevention and control, and systematic governance.

Second, the management system for ecological protection of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau has been determined, a coordination mechanism has been established, and the work responsibilities of various departments of the State Council and the relevant responsibilities of the people's governments at all levels on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau have been clarified. All localities are required to work together, and the six provinces and autonomous regions of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau should work together to promote the ecological protection of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Third, we should coordinate the layout of ecological security, strengthen the protection and restoration of ecological environment, and strengthen the prevention and control of ecological risks.

Fourth, measures for safeguards and supervision have been improved. For example, we encourage and support scientific investigations involving the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, promote the monitoring of ecological protection on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and clarify supporting policies such as fiscal, financial, tax, and ecological compensation.

We have also sorted out the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Ecological Protection Law, and after combing, there are four aspects related to the responsibilities of the ecological environment department.

First, strictly carry out the zoning control of the ecological environment, mainly the relevant provincial governments, in accordance with the requirements of the ecological protection red line, the bottom line of environmental quality, and the upper limit of resource utilization, strictly formulate the ecological environment zoning control plan and the ecological environment access list.

Second, establish and improve the ecological and environmental risk prevention and control system, mainly in response to the ecological risks brought about by climate change and human activities, and stipulate relevant institutional measures, such as the monitoring, early warning and assessment of climate change, for example, the investigation and evaluation of natural disasters, monitoring and early warning, such as the closure of important glaciers and the protection of permafrost, as well as the monitoring of the whole life cycle of some major ecological projects. Through these institutional measures, we will promote the establishment of an institutional system for efficient response and adaptation to climate change.

Third, we should further strengthen biodiversity conservation, strengthen scientific and technological research on biodiversity on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, improve the biodiversity monitoring network, optimize the ecological security barrier system, implement major biodiversity conservation projects, and strictly control the invasion of alien species.

Fourth, strictly control activities that do not meet the requirements of ecological and environmental protection control. For example, mining, sand mining, etc.

In the next step, we will focus on the following work from the perspective of rule of law construction.

The first is to support local governments in formulating supporting documents. Actively support local governments in formulating supporting documents such as plans related to the national ecological civilization construction highland, and guide local ecological and environmental departments to cooperate with the construction of relevant local legislation and systems.

The second is to strengthen the implementation of monitoring and assessment, and guide local ecological and environmental departments to promote the construction of a monitoring network system for the ecological environment and biodiversity on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. In conjunction with and in cooperation with relevant departments, do a good job in the monitoring of invasive alien species, the monitoring of climate change and its impacts, the monitoring of regional ecosystem impacts, and risk assessment.

The third is to strictly investigate and deal with illegal acts, urge ecological and environmental departments at all levels to implement their work responsibilities, and strictly investigate and deal with all kinds of illegal acts in accordance with their statutory duties, so as to ensure the implementation and implementation of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Ecological Protection Law.

Phoenix TV: The newly revised Marine Environmental Protection Law will come into effect on 1 January next year, what are the new formulations and highlights of this law? What is the significance of this law to China's marine environmental protection work, and what supporting work will the Ministry of Ecology and Environment carry out in the next step to promote the work of "enactment, reform, and abolition"?

Zhao Ke:Thank you for your question.海洋是生命的摇篮，海洋孕育了生命，连通了世界，促进了发展。海洋对于人类社会的生存发展具有非常重要的意义。我国是海洋大国，我国大陆海岸线1.8万多公里、海岛岸线1.4万多公里、主张管辖的海域面积约300万平方公里，约占陆地面积的三分之一。

The CPC Central Committee attaches great importance to the protection of the marine ecological environment, mainly in two aspects:

First, the construction of marine ecological civilization. The Marine Environmental Protection Law involves the construction of marine ecological civilization, which is one of the important contents.

Second, the construction of a maritime power. To build and develop the ocean, we must go out and move from light blue to deep blue.

In the process of formulating the Marine Environmental Protection Law, we cooperated with the legislature to actively promote the revision of the Marine Environmental Protection Law, and successfully completed the task of amending the law. The new marine environmental protection law focuses on the outstanding problems of marine ecological environmental protection, summarizes practical experience, adheres to the overall planning of land and sea and regional linkage, strengthens the protection of marine ecological environment and pollution prevention and control, and systematically strengthens marine supervision and management. The new Marine Environmental Protection Law has three important significance:

First, it is necessary to protect and improve the marine ecological environment and ensure ecological security.

Second, let the people enjoy the blue sea and blue sky, clean beaches, and ensure the health of the people.

Third, safeguard the country's maritime rights and interests and build a maritime power.

There are also many institutional innovations and some pragmatic and effective measures in the Marine Environmental Protection Law.

First, the new marine environmental protection law consolidates the responsibilities of the government, clarifies the responsibilities, stipulates that the local people's governments at or above the county level in the coastal areas shall be responsible for the quality of the marine environment in the sea areas under their management, and implement a responsibility system for marine environmental protection objectives and an evaluation and assessment system.

The second is to highlight the overall planning of land and sea, and unify the requirements for marine environmental protection of coastal engineering and marine engineering construction projects. In the past, marine engineering and coastal engineering were managed separately due to institutional reasons, and some requirements were not completely consistent. Strengthen the management of rivers entering the sea, and promote the prevention and control of pollution in rivers entering the sea in a coordinated manner, so as to open up both shore and sea miles.

The third is to pay attention to comprehensive management, delineate key sea areas and their control areas for national environmental governance, and formulate action plans for comprehensive management. At the local level, the coastal local people's governments are also required to formulate implementation plans for the sea areas under their jurisdiction, take measures adapted to local conditions, carry out comprehensive management, and coordinate the promotion of the governance of key sea areas and the construction of beautiful bays.

Fourth, it is necessary to strictly enforce pollutant discharge permits, further refine the pollutant discharge permit system, and stipulate that coastal engineering and marine engineering units that need to directly discharge industrial wastewater and medical sewage into the sea, as well as the operating units of centralized urban sewage treatment facilities, and other enterprises, public institutions, and producers and operators, shall obtain pollutant discharge permits in accordance with the law and strictly enforce them.

Fifth, it has strengthened the supervision of sewage outlets into the sea, optimized the setting of sewage outlets into the sea, strengthened the monitoring of sewage outlets, and stipulated the requirements for the investigation and remediation of various sewage outlets into the sea and daily supervision and management.

In the next step, from the perspective of the construction of the rule of law, we will focus on the following work:

First, we have drafted a circular on publicizing and implementing the Marine Environmental Protection Law, requiring local sea-related provinces to make preparations for the implementation of the Marine Environmental Protection Law.

Second, organize the formulation of supporting documents related to the new marine environmental protection law. For example, the list of wastes that can be dumped into the sea, the measures for the supervision and management of sewage outlets into the sea, and the implementation guidelines for the establishment of sewage outlets into the sea need to be coordinated with the Marine Environmental Protection Law to ensure their implementation.

Third, it is necessary to promote the formulation and revision of a number of administrative regulations that are compatible with the Marine Environmental Protection Law, and to effectively implement the system of the Marine Environmental Protection Law through the formulation and revision of supporting administrative regulations.

Zhao Ying:This concludes today's press conference. Thank you!