Pollution has become a cause of concern for the Chinese government, so much so that early this month the creation of a compulsory insurance program for heavy industries and other big-polluting enterprises was proposed.

The initiative aims to induce the most polluting industries to increase their safety levels and to reduce polluting emissions. At the same time it would ensure an adequate compensation for damage in case of serious environmental accidents.

The scheme would include mining and smelting industries, lead battery manufacturers, leather goods firms and chemical factories, together with petrochemical companies and firms that produce hazardous chemicals and hazardous waste.

Companies subscribing to the environmental insurance would receive special funds from the government and be given priority for bank lending, while those refusing could incur in negative environmental impact assessments and credit downgrades.

Pilot environmental pollution liability insurance schemes have already had success in Hunan, Hubei and Jiangsu provinces.

For more information please visit the Ministry of Environmental Protection fo the P.R. of China official website.