How the Environmental Protection Industry Breaks the Bottleneck

In the face of the bottleneck in the development of the environmental protection industry, it is necessary to overcome difficulties and wisdom. To vigorously develop the environmental protection industry, we must continue to adhere to the principle of “government guidance and market-driven” as a whole, and explore new ideas and measures on this basis.

The severe ecological environment and frequent environmental pollution incidents have revealed the strategic importance and practical urgency of strengthening our ecological civilization. To build an ecological civilization, the environmental protection industry must accelerate the pace of development. In 2013, the State Council issued the “Opinions on Accelerating the Development of Energy-saving and Environmental Protection Industries”, clearly proposing to build energy-saving and environmental-friendly industries into a new pillar industry of the national economy, indicating the government’s determination and strength in developing this industry. However, in the field visits to provinces and cities with rapid development of environmental protection industries such as Guangdong and Beijing, we deeply felt that, despite innovative ideas from various regions, and actively promoting the development of the environmental protection industry, bottlenecks that restrict the development of the entire industry still exist. This makes people aware of the complexity and arduousness of the development of the environmental protection industry behind the momentum of a sound institutional environment and the industry's rapid development.

More than a month ago, the newly revised "Environmental Protection Law of the People's Republic of China" promulgated that the related supporting laws and regulations would be revised accordingly, thereby making the "system cage" for the protection of ecological civilization more and more dense. However, in some places simply pursue economic growth, there are phenomena of lawlessness, lax enforcement, and unlawful investigation. At the same time, the national and local environmental protection standards system is still not perfect, and the relationship between some standards needs to be further streamlined. As a typical policy-driven industry, preferential policies have helped to promote the development of the environmental protection industry. However, some enterprises have shown that some preferential policies are like paper on the implementation process, and they face many difficulties. In addition, environmental protection companies are still dominated by small and medium-sized enterprises. The degree of industrial concentration is not high and the problem of financing difficulties is prominent. Unregulated market order also restricts the development of the entire industry.

Today, the promotion of ecological civilization and the construction of a beautiful China have become a consensus. As a "new engine" to promote sustainable and healthy economic development, the environmental protection industry has ushered in an unprecedented period of golden opportunities. In the face of the bottleneck in the development of the environmental protection industry, it is necessary to overcome difficulties and wisdom. To vigorously develop the environmental protection industry, we must continue to adhere to the principle of “government guidance and market-driven” as a whole, and explore new ideas and measures on this basis.

Improve relevant laws and regulations as soon as possible. To clarify the status and role of the environmental protection industry in environmental protection, regulate the supervision of pollution source environment, and enhance the development space of environmental protection industry. Improve the national and local environmental protection standards system, increase the number of pollutants in the standard, modify pollutant discharge limits, improve environmental quality requirements and emission control requirements, and guide the development of environmental protection industries.

Promote green consumption patterns. On the one hand, the government took the lead, promoted green procurement, and led the green consumption of the whole society through demonstration; on the other hand, it increased publicity efforts to use environmental education as an important part of basic education and quality education, and used preferential policies to guide and encourage green consumption by the public.

Broaden the financing channels for environmental protection companies. Promote the development of project financing, financial leasing, and actively develop debt financing. Increase the credit facilities of financial institutions. The government adopts interest subsidies to encourage banking financial institutions to invest in the environmental protection industry. Actively use international capital to amplify the capital effect.

Increase the policy publicity, implementation and support of the environmental protection industry. Further sort out and publicize the current environmental protection industry policy and make good use of good policies. Accelerate and improve the implementation of relevant preferential policies to promote enterprises to strengthen technology research and development. It is recommended that the government set up a special fund for the development of the environmental protection industry and increase support for environmental protection technology research and development.

Further cultivate and standardize the environmental protection industry market. Strictly enforce the law, strengthen market supervision and product quality supervision, and let the cost return to reality. Classify and classify products for subsidies to promote the consumption of advanced environmental protection products. Accelerate the establishment and improvement of the pollutant emission trading market. Give full play to the role of industry associations, enhance their industry cohesion and appeal, and assist the government in regulating and guiding the healthy development of environmental protection industries.

At the same time, policy support systems that encourage environmental protection companies to “go global” should be established and improved, and their ability to “go global” should be enhanced, and enterprises should be encouraged to contract overseas environmental protection projects and service projects.