China Industrial
The Chinese government has reportedly denied proposals for 47 different industrial projects with the intent of both protecting the environment and stifling overproduction. Many of these proposals were in the steel industry which is in line to produce more than 700 million tons of steel this year, though the market can only take in 500 million tons. Other denied programs involved cuts in chemical engineering, petro-chemicals, non-ferrous metals, and electricity generation. The government has pledged to refocus money into the so called “green” industries instead, in a bid to substantially help the environment.
Similarly, the Ministry of Land and Resources in China rejected nearly half of the applications put forth this year for land usage permits in an effort to curb overproduction. Many of those land usage permits were, again, from steel companies, as well as cement and glass industries. Though this has caused a number of job losses, China has also pledged to support those workers who were laid off as a result of these lost businesses with compensation. Clearly, the Chinese government has started making some choices that weigh the environment higher, in some cases, than even its own industry, a welcome gesture for environmentalists concerned about the decreasing quality of life in China.
