Local governments are approving more highly polluting power plants after reforms meant to delegate the power to veto environmentally dangerous projects to lower levels of government has backfired, Caixin reported. In the coal-producing province of Shanxi alone, 23 coal-fired power plants won approval from March to October of this year, with three more approved in Inner Mongolia. “The central government’s measure, originally designed to decentralize administrative power and improve efficiency, has been used as an opportunity for local governments who are counting on the coal industry for higher GDP growth,” one environmental expert said.
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