China will set up a new information platform to allow the public to track the emissions of polluting enterprises and help authorities prosecute those that break the rules or try to “evade supervision”, the environment ministry said, reported Reuters.
According to the environment ministry, the new information platform will allow authorities and members of the public to monitor real-time emission levels and check historical data in order to determine whether rules are being breached. It is set to come into effect on March 1, reported Reuters.
“For illegal behaviour such as the discharge of pollution without permits, there are continuous penalties issued on a daily basis, and they will also be ordered to cut production or shut down,” said Liu Zhiquan, senior official with the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE), adding that those found to be “evading supervision” would be detained.
Polluting enterprises are obliged to install monitoring equipment and keep at least five years of data, with fines of RMB 200,000 ($31,000) for those that fail to do so. Fines of RMB 1 million can be imposed on firms that pollute without permission.
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