【英语中国】中国环境污染加剧 减排前景不容乐观

Environmental protection authorities in China acknowledged on Thursday that despite tougher measures, pollution is increasing as the country's economy rebounds, quashing hopes that China had turned a corner last year when emissions dropped.

Emissions of acid-rain-causing sulfur dioxide rose 1.2% in the first quarter from a year earlier, as exports and domestic demand picked up and China burned more coal in power plants and factories, according to Zhang Lijun, vice minister of the environment.

It was the first quarterly rise since 2007.

Mr. Zhang said at a news conference that authorities now are 'not very optimistic' on the prospects of emission cuts.

The news followed announcements last month that China's energy intensity -- a measure of how much fuel is used per dollar of economic output -- has reversed direction and is also on the rise.

China's battle to clean up its badly polluted environment and improve energy efficiency has had a disappointing year.

Gains made across a wide swath of areas in recent years have been reversed as environmental concerns took a back seat to the economic recovery.

Critics say some environmental regulations were ignored in China's massive scramble to reboot its economy with economic stimulus.

Mr. Zhang acknowledged some of those problems. He said that part of the reason for the increased pollution is an increase in energy-intensive projects and a 'slack mentality,' in addition to weak supervision by local environmental authorities.

The setbacks pose a problem for China's ability to reach its domestic goals of cutting major pollutants, including sulfur dioxide -- one of its key pollutants that is also linked to many health problems -- 10% by 2010 from their levels in 2006.

The reversal also poses a problem for Beijing's international pledge to cut back carbon emissions per dollar of economic output by 40% to 45% by 2020 from 2005 levels.

China made that promise as part of efforts to gain the upper hand in global climate-change negotiations.

In May, Chinese Premier Wen Jia bao vowed to use an 'iron hand' to reach energy-efficiency targets after it was revealed that energy intensity rose 3.2% in the first quarter compared with the year-earlier first quarter, reversing a steady decline.

Energy intensity is closely linked to reducing greenhouse gases because most of China's power comes from burning fossil fuels, like coal, which release carbon.

Mr. Zhang promised tougher enforcement and said that six regional supervision centers had been set up to monitor implementation of environmental regulations.

But critics say the environmental watchdog, which was promoted to ministerial level two years ago to give it more standing, doesn't have either the manpower or the legal power to adequately police polluters.

Critics also say that many of China's recent environmental improvements came because polluting factories had stopped working during the global recession, and these are now operating again.

Mr. Zhang defended his ministry's reputation, saying it had rejected 190.5 billion yuan, nearly $28 billion, worth of construction projects last year after they failed to meet environmental standards. He also said the ministry had penalized almost 2,000 industrial projects that started operations before getting regulator approval.

周四，中国环保当局承认，尽管措施更为严厉，但随着经济回暖，中国的污染情况加剧。去年中国的排放量下降时，人们曾希望中国已经开始向好的方向发展。此言一出，希望随即化为泡影。

环保部副部长张力军称，今年第一季度，随着出口和国内需求的加大，以及中国发电厂和工厂燃煤量的增加，会导致酸雨发生的二氧化硫排放量同比增加1.2%。

这是自2007年以来首次出现季度性增加。

张力军在新闻发布会上说，当局目前认为减排前景不容乐观。

上个月，中国宣布其能源强度不降反升。能源强度是指单位国内生产总值(GDP)的能源消耗量。

中国努力清洁其污染严重的环境并改善能源效率，但今年的表现令人失望。

近年来，中国许多地区的节能减排工作取得进展，但随着对环境的担忧让位于经济复苏，情况出现逆转。

批评人士说中国通过大规模经济刺激努力恢复经济的过程中忽视了部分环保规定。

张力军承认出现了一些问题。他说污染加剧的部分原因在于能源密集型项目的增多和思想松懈，以及地方环保当局监管不力。

这种倒退给中国实现节能减排目标的能力打上了问号。中国力争到2010年把二氧化硫等主要污染物的排放量在2006年水平的基础上降低10%。二氧化硫是中国的主要污染物之一，并与许多健康问题密切相关。

中国政府向国际社会承诺，2020年中国单位GDP碳排放比2005年下降40%-45%。当前的逆转也给这一承诺带来难题。

中国的这一承诺在一定程度上是为了努力在全球气候变化谈判中占据上风。

今年5月，中国总理温家宝披露全国单位GDP能耗稳定下降的形势出现逆转，第一季度能源强度同比上升3.2%，并誓言要采取“铁的手腕”完成节能减排目标。

因为中国大部分电力来源于燃烧煤等会导致碳排放的矿物燃料，因此能源强度与减少温室气体排放量密切相关。

张力军保证执法将更为严厉，并说已成立了六个区域性环境保护督查中心以监督环保法规的执行情况。

但批评人士说，虽然中国在两年前将其环保监督机构提升为部级单位以增强其重要性，但环保部的人力和法定权力均不足以有效监管污染者。

批评人士还说，中国近期的环境改善在很大程度上是由于污染性企业在全球衰退期间停工，而当前情况出现逆转是由于他们现在又开始生产。

张力军对环保部的声誉进行了辩护，说去年环保部否决了价值1,905亿元（合近280亿美元）的不符合环保标准的建设项目，查处了近2,000个未批先建的工业项目。