北京——就在中國國家領導人本月進行換屆時，中國出現了一片末日般的景象。在給上海提供飲用水的河流中發現了逾1.3萬頭漂流的死豬。類似於火山煙霧的霧霾籠罩着首都，導致居民劇烈咳嗽，還把紫禁城大門上懸掛的毛澤東畫像變得晦暗不清。
中國的環境災難如此嚴重，有害空氣為禍尤甚，以至於中國政府高層已被迫公開承認污染的存在。全國人民代表大會女發言人傅瑩說，每天早上，她都會拉開
窗帘查看霧霾情況，並稱家裡備有兩個口罩，女兒一個，自己一個。新任國家總理李克強說空氣污染讓他感到“心情很沉重”，並承諾“要下更大的決心，以更大的
作為去進行治理。”
領導人略去未表的是，政府官僚機構的內鬥是制定更有力的環境政策最大的障礙之一。政府數據及對參與政策談判的人士進行的採訪顯示，雖然一些官員推行了更嚴格的污染物限制措施，國有企業，尤其是中國的石油和電力企業，卻始終把利潤置於民眾健康之前，對新規則陽奉陰違。
例如，儘管奔走於全國各地的卡車和大客車比其他任何交通工具對環境的影響都要惡劣得多，然而，在過去的幾年裡，石油企業還是一再把改善此類車輛所用
柴油之事往後推。結果就是，中國柴油的硫含量通常是美國產品的23到33倍。至於電力公司，中國三家最大的電力企業全都在一而再、再而三地違反政府的燃煤
電廠排放限令；違規的電廠遍及整個中國，從內蒙古到西南大都市重慶都有。
在制定環境標準政策的時候，國有企業被賦予了至關重要的角色。例如，負責制定燃油標準的委員會就在一家石油企業的大樓里辦公。能否迫使企業遵從而不
是阻撓環境限制條例，將是對李克強和新任共產黨總書記、國家主席習近平所作承諾的一個重大考驗，他們都承諾要遏制利益集團在經濟領域的影響力。目前，環境
惡化是普通中國人的首要關切之一。
上個月，就在華北地區的致命空氣污染突破歷史記錄之後，以時任總理溫家寶為首的官員推出了被石油企業封殺多年的嚴格的燃油新標準。不過，對石油企業
能否照章行事的疑慮依然存在，鑒於石油行業官員曾在四年前抵制類似政令，拒絕提高燃油等級，這種疑慮就變得尤為明顯。國有電力公司也一樣抗令不遵。根據部
委的數據，電力企業常常對政府升級燃煤電廠的命令不予理會。和石油企業一樣，電力企業在政府內部的環境政策討論中發揮着極大的影響力。
2011年，在一輪實施更嚴格的排放標準的討論中，代表電力企業的中國電力企業聯合會大力反對擬議之中的限制措施，說升級電廠的成本太高。聯合會秘書長王志軒在一篇社評里寫道，政府的環境監管計劃將使其成為笑柄。
“綠色和平”東亞區(
Greenpeace East Asia)氣候變化與能源事務主任周嶸說：“在設定標準的過程中，企業和行業協會有很大的影響力。我個人的看法是，就算我們針對每個行業出台了最嚴苛的標準，企業依然會違反標準。”
今年2月28日，德意志銀行(Deutsche
Bank)發表了分析人士的一份報告，稱中國現行經濟政策將在接下來的十年里導致煤炭消耗和汽車銷售出現巨大增長。“中國業已無法忍受的空氣污染還將大幅
度惡化，”分析人士說，並呼籲重大政策變化和“強烈的政府意願，以克服利益集團的反對。”
報告預測，中國的乘用車數量將從現在的9000萬輛一路突飛猛進，到2030年突破4億輛。
環保倡議者稱，在很大程度上，中國的汽車製造商支持以清潔技術實現車輛更新換代的舉措，因為這會讓他們的產品在全球更適銷。不過，沒有高質量的燃油，更好的技術就無法得到充分的應用，這就是瓶頸所在。
燃油標準的制定體制已經導致了激烈的官場內鬥。
環保部是提倡提高燃料標準和升級汽車技術的主要政府部門。該部有權頒佈更嚴格的尾氣排放標準，由此迫使汽車製造商採用新技術，但卻不能單方面制定新燃料標準，也不能強制石油公司遵守。相反，該部門只能遊說其他相關部門或者機構採取行動。
當燃料標準與汽車技術不相匹配時，環保部只能推遲頒佈新的尾氣排放標準，這樣一來，汽車就不會升級。
燃料標準是由國家標準化管理委員會發佈的，該委員會負責召集各小組開會對標準進行研究。
岳欣是代表環保部參加其中一個小組的科學家，他稱，環保部和國家標準化管理委員會各有30到40名成員，他們幾乎全都來自石油公司。
岳欣稱，來自石油公司的成員“會更多地考慮公司利益”。中石化和中石油這兩家最大的石油公司一直堅稱，消費者或者政府應該為他們升級煉油廠、生產清潔燃料買單，如果不能就誰來買單的問題達成一致，他們就會一直推遲批准更高標準。
曾在中國環保部工作的國際清潔交通委員會(International Council on Clean
Transportation)高級研究員衛梵斯(David Vance
Wagner)稱：“多年以來，中石化從未對中國需要提高標準的觀點表示異議。他們爭論的只是資金來源。”
根據國家媒體新華社的報道，1月底，中石化董事長傅成玉承認，石油公司應該對空氣污染承擔一些責任，但他也辯稱，這是因為政府的燃料標準不夠高。傅成玉沒有說明的是，在研究燃料標準的委員會當中，來自石油公司的代表一直是出台更高標準的主要阻礙。
岳欣和其他一些人都表示，由於石油公司不斷討價還價，政府幾年來一直在推遲發佈與歐洲標準統一的國四柴油升級標準。2月6日，在人們對爆表的空氣污
染表示憤怒之後，中國國務院打破了這一僵局，出台了相關指導方案，要求在2014年底之前在全國採用新柴油標準，也就是國四標準。
國務院還為出台和逐步實施更清潔的國五標準設定了最後期限。次日，國家標準化管理委員會發佈了石油公司幾年來一直試圖推遲的國四柴油標準。
但是，升級成本仍然可能使石油公司漠視新標準。2009年，國務院下令在中國逐步實施國三柴油標準時，他們就是這麼乾的。
國務院在2月6日的公告中稱，政府需要制定財政政策來支持煉油廠升級，但財政部還沒有拿出相關政策。
另一個大問題在於與更清潔的國五汽油標準相關的討論。國務院稱，國五標準必須在12月以前發佈，並在2017年底之前逐步實施。在委員會討論中，中石化稱，要達到該標準對硫含量的要求，成本太高。
石油公司的代表沒有回應本報的置評請求。在公開場合，石油公司高管試圖轉移罪責。本月，傅成玉對記者稱，“ 罪魁禍首是煤炭。”
北京官員已經指出，空氣中主要的危險污染物PM2.5有22%來自汽車尾氣，另外40%來自北京及附近省份以煤炭為燃料的工廠。
2月份，環保部針對六個燃煤行業發佈了更加嚴格的工廠排放標準。名列第一的就是佔中國煤炭消耗約一半的電力行業。
然而，國有企業是否遵守規定依然是個問題。環保部每年都在發佈違反排放規定的工廠名單。一份研究顯示，這些違規工廠都屬於規模最大的那些電力公司。
卡內基國際和平研究院(Carnegie Endowment for International Peace)能源方面的學者塗建軍稱，年度列表只揪出了一小部分違規工廠，由於工廠的監測設備安裝得不規範，這些設備的讀數可以被操控。
另一個問題是懲罰力度較低：綠色和平(Greenpeace)代表周嶸稱，罰金一般都不會超過16000美元（約合10萬元人民幣），沒有太大的威懾力。她稱，違規的工廠“應該被要求暫時停產，這樣才能迫使各家公司嚴肅對待這一問題。”
黃安偉(Edward Wong)是《紐約時報》駐京記者。
As China’s Environmental Woes Worsen, Infighting Emerges as Biggest Obstacle
By EDWARD WONG March 22, 2013
BEIJING —
China’s state
leadership transition took place this month against an apocalyptic backdrop. More than 13,000 dead pigs
were found floating in a river
that provides drinking water to Shanghai. A haze akin to volcanic fumes
cloaked the capital, causing convulsive coughing and obscuring the
portrait of Mao Zedong on the gate to the Forbidden City.
So severe are China’s environmental woes, especially the
noxious air,
that top government officials have been forced to openly acknowledge
them. Fu Ying, the spokeswoman for the National People’s Congress, said
she checked for smog every morning after opening her curtains,
and kept at home face masks for her and her daughter.
Li Keqiang, the new prime minister, saying the air pollution had made
him “quite upset,” vowed to “show even greater resolve and make more
vigorous efforts” to clean it up.
What the leaders neglect to say is that
infighting within the government bureaucracy is one of the biggest
obstacles to enacting stronger environmental policies. Even as some
officials push for tighter restrictions on pollutants, state-owned
enterprises — especially China’s oil and power companies — have been
putting profits ahead of health in working to outflank new rules,
according to government data and interviews with people involved in
policy negotiations.
For instance, even though trucks and buses crisscrossing China are
far worse for the environment than any other vehicles, the oil companies
have delayed for years an improvement in the diesel fuel those vehicles
burn. As a result, the sulfur levels of diesel in China are generally
23 to 33 times that of the United States. As for power companies, the
three biggest ones in the country are all repeat violators of government
restrictions on emissions from coal-burning plants; offending power
plants are found across the country, from Inner Mongolia to the
southwest metropolis of Chongqing.
The state-owned enterprises are given critical roles in policy-making
on environmental standards. The committees that determine fuel
standards, for example, are housed in the buildings of an oil company.
Whether the enterprises can be forced to follow, rather than impede,
environmental restrictions will be a critical test of the commitment of
Mr. Li and
Xi Jinping,
the new party chief and president, to curbing the influence of vested
interests in the economy. Environmental decline is now one of the
primary concerns of ordinary Chinese.
Last month, after deadly air pollution hit record levels in northern
China, officials led by Wen Jiabao, then the prime minister, put forward
strict new fuel standards that the oil companies had blocked for years.
But there are doubts about whether the oil companies will comply,
especially since oil officials resisted a similar government order for
higher-grade fuel four years ago. State-owned power companies have been
similarly resistant. The companies regularly ignore government orders to
upgrade coal-burning electricity plants, according to ministry data.
And as with the oil companies, the power companies exert an outsize
influence over internal environmental policy debates.
In 2011, during a round of discussions over stricter emissions standards, the
China Electricity Council,
which represents the companies, pushed back hard against the proposed
limits, saying that the costs of upgrading the plants would be too high.
The head of the council, Wang Zhixuan, wrote in an editorial that the
government’s plans for environmental oversight would make it a
laughingstock.
“During the procedure of setting the standard, the companies or the
industry councils have a lot of influence,” said Zhou Rong, a campaign
manager on energy issues for
Greenpeace
East Asia. “My personal opinion is even if we have the most stringent
standards for every sector, the companies will violate those.”
On Feb. 28, Deutsche Bank released an analysts’ note saying that
China’s current economic policies would result in an enormous surge in
coal consumption and automobile sales over the next decade. “China’s air
pollution will become a lot worse from the already unbearable level,”
the analysts said, calling for drastic policy changes and “a strong
government will to overcome the opposition from interest groups.”
The report estimated that the number of passenger cars in China was on track to hit 400 million by 2030, up from 90 million now.
For the most part, Chinese automakers have supported upgrading cars
with cleaner technology, which makes them more marketable worldwide,
environmental advocates say. But better technology cannot operate
properly without high-quality fuel, and this is where the bottleneck
occurs.
The system of forging fuel standards has led to fierce bureaucratic infighting.
The
Ministry of Environmental Protection
is the main government advocate for both higher fuel standards and
better automobile technology. It has the power to force automakers to
use new technology by issuing stricter tailpipe emissions standards, but
it cannot unilaterally impose new fuel standards or enforce compliance
from the oil companies. Instead, it can merely lobby other relevant
ministries or agencies to take action.
When fuel standards do not keep pace with vehicle technology, the
environmental ministry has to delay issuing new tailpipe emissions
standards, and so cars do not get upgraded.
Fuel standards are issued by the
Standardization Administration of China, which convenes panels to research standards.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Standardization
Administration each has 30 to 40 members, almost all of whom are from
oil companies, said Yue Xin, a scientist who sits on one of the groups
on behalf of the Ministry of Environmental Protection.
The members from the oil companies “will represent more of the
company’s interests,” Mr. Yue said. Sinopec and PetroChina, two of the
biggest oil companies, have insisted that consumers or the government
pay to upgrade their refineries to produce cleaner fuel, and they have
delayed approving higher standards unless there is consensus on who
pays.
“Sinopec for years has never argued against the need to improve
China’s standards,” said David Vance Wagner, a senior researcher at the
International Council on Clean Transportation, who used to work under
the Chinese Ministry of Environmental Protection. “They’ve just argued
about the finance of it.”
In late January, Fu Chengyu, chairman of Sinopec, acknowledged that
the oil companies bore some responsibility for air pollution, but he
also argued that the government’s fuel standards were not high enough,
according to Xinhua, the state news agency. What Mr. Fu failed to
explain was that oil company representatives on the committees
researching fuel standards have been the main impediment to pushing
through better standards.
Mr. Yue and others say that because of constant haggling by the oil
companies, the government for years delayed issuing upgraded China IV
diesel standards that are on par with European standards. On Feb. 6,
after the uproar over record-breaking air pollution, the State Council,
China’s cabinet, broke the gridlock by putting out guidelines that
called for a nationwide adoption of the new diesel standards, known as
China IV, by the end of 2014.
It also set deadlines on the issuing and phasing in of even cleaner
China V standards. The next day, the Standardization Administration of
China issued the upgraded China IV diesel standards that the oil
companies had been trying to delay for years.
But the costs of upgrading could still lead the oil companies to
ignore the new standards, which is what they did when the State Council
in 2009 ordered a phase-in of the China III diesel standard.
In the Feb. 6 announcement, the State Council said the government
needed to create a fiscal policy to support the refinery upgrades, but
the Ministry of Finance has yet to make the policy.
Another big concern lies in the debate over the cleaner China V
gasoline standard, which the State Council said must be issued by
December and phased in by the end of 2017. In the committee debates,
Sinopec argues that it is expensive to meet the requirements for sulfur
levels.
Oil company representatives did not reply to requests for comment. In
public, oil company executives are trying to shift the blame. Mr. Fu
told reporters this month that “in fact the biggest killer is coal.”
Beijing officials have said that vehicle emissions account for 22
percent of the main deadly particulate matter in the air, known as PM
2.5, and another 40 percent is from coal-fired factories in Beijing and
nearby provinces.
In February, the Ministry of Environmental Protection issued stricter
factory emissions standards for six coal-burning industries. First on
the list is the power industry, which accounts for about half the coal
consumption in China.
But compliance by the state-owned enterprises could be a problem. The
environmental ministry publishes annual lists of factories that have
violated emissions regulations. A review shows that the factories are
all run by the biggest power companies.
The annual lists represent only a fraction of the plants in
violation, since installation by the factories of monitoring equipment
is spotty, and the equipment readings can be manipulated, said Kevin
Jianjun Tu, an energy scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for
International Peace.
Another problem is the low penalties: fines are generally capped
around $16,000, not much of a deterrent, said Ms. Zhou, the Greenpeace
representative. She said the violating factories “should be required to
stop production temporarily — that would then force companies to take
this seriously.”
Mia Li and Amy Qin contributed research from Beijing, and Chris Buckley contributed reporting from Hong Kong.
李爽和Amy Qin自北京對本文有研究貢獻，儲百亮(Chris Buckley)自香港對本文有報道貢獻。
翻譯：張薇、張亮亮
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