Is the pollution discharge right allocated free of charge when attracting investment the "private property" of the enterprise?
Jiangsu Sea Arrangement Pilot Reform of Pollution Rights: Despite Confusion, Resolutely "Breaking the Ice"
Our reporter Zhu Xudong
"Sewage rights are a very scarce public resource for textile printing and dyeing enterprises. It is a waste for enterprises to use them in their hands."
"When I chose to invest in Nantong Haian, I came here to obtain pollution discharge rights for free."
"When the emission rights were initially allocated, the company believed that the emission rights were allocated once and could be owned for life."
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Recently, Hai'an Chang'an Textile Industrial Park took the opportunity of Jiangsu Province's ecological environment policy integration reform pilot and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment's pollution discharge permit pilot as an opportunity to dynamically allocate pollution discharge rights based on the performance evaluation results of enterprises in the park.
This reform has touched the emission rights of enterprises. Many companies agree with the evaluation indicators, but there are differences in the specific application of emission rights.
Part of the emission rights are abandoned or leased
Chang'an Textile Industrial Park is a "North-South Co-construction Park" of Jiangsu Province established by Suzhou Changshu and Nantong Haian in 2012. At present, 38 high-end textile projects have been settled in the first phase.
In recent years, by actively promoting the integrated reform of ecological policies, the park has made substantial progress in encouraging green transformation of enterprises and improving regional environmental quality.
In order to solve the financing problems of enterprises in the park, the park actively promotes the mortgage loan of emission rights, and the funds are mainly used for energy saving and emission reduction, industrial upgrading, environmental protection and other related projects.
At present, 5 enterprises in the park have obtained loans totaling about 30 million yuan using pollution discharge rights.
After being approved for the pilot reform of ecological and environmental policy integration in Jiangsu Province, Haian City issued the "Comprehensive Evaluation of Enterprise Performance in Chang'an Textile Industrial Park and Opinions on Implementation of Differentiated Policies (Trial)", which conducts comprehensive evaluation of enterprises every year, and "rewards and punishes" in terms of industrial policies. inferior".
Zhang Xiaofei, executive deputy director of the Chang'an Textile Industrial Park Management Office, introduced that the park's evaluation indicators for enterprises cover 6 first-level indicators such as economic benefits, independent innovation, green and low-carbon, intelligent manufacturing, opening to the outside world, and safety management, and a total of 41 second-level indicators are set. assessment indicators.
According to the assessment results, differentiated financial support, land use guarantee, fiscal and tax incentives, resources and energy, and government management policies will be implemented for the four types of enterprises A, B, C, and D. Factors are concentrated in high-efficiency, high-tech and high-growth enterprises.
"Performance evaluation is to provide a basis for the dynamic allocation of emission rights." Zhang Xiaofei said that the indicators of performance evaluation are open and fair to all enterprises, and enterprises have no objection to this, but in the specific application of emission rights , a disagreement arose.
During the performance evaluation process, the park found that some enterprises did not reach 100% production capacity, which resulted in wasting valuable emission rights, and some companies simply made profits by renting out emission rights.
"The right to discharge pollution is a very scarce public resource for textile printing and dyeing enterprises. It is a waste if the enterprise does not use it." Zhang Xiaofei said that Aokelai Textile was the first batch of enterprises to enter the park. However, after entering the park, the enterprise did not operate normally, but made profits by renting out factories and renting sewage rights, and became a hands-off shopkeeper.
In the performance evaluation in 2020, Aokelai Textiles was listed as the only D-type enterprise, and the park recovered 1,100 tons/day of permitted discharge of wastewater.
"If Aokelai does not change the status quo, it does not rule out taking back all its pollution rights."
The park has studied and formulated the "Measures for the Dynamic Management of Total Wastewater Discharge and Total Water Pollutant Discharge (Trial)", vigorously promoting the centralized collection and storage of total wastewater in the park, and the internal dynamic management and supervision mode. The park will be recovered in a unified manner, and the intensive utilization of total resources will be realized through recycling and redistribution, and the emission rights trading system will be transformed from the basis of total control to the goal of improving the performance of environmental resources.
"For Class A and Class B enterprises, priority will be given to the supply of emission rights. For Class C and D companies, the park will tighten their emission rights and implement precise control through platform monitoring and electronic valves." Zhang Xiaofei introduced that the dynamic allocation of emission rights not only It can reward the good and punish the bad, and it can also release environmental capacity for new projects in the park.
Confusion in the Reform of Pollution Right
The park's move to recycle and redistribute pollution rights has caused confusion and anxiety among some enterprises.
Wang Bojiang, chairman of Leda Textile, who was listed as a Class A enterprise in the performance appraisal, said: "If the right to discharge pollution is taken away, it will definitely cause contradictions."
Leda Textile has an annual sales volume of 430 million and a daily sewage discharge of 2,000 tons. It has been stationed in the park for 6 years.
Wang Bojiang said that when he chose to invest in Nantong Haian, it was for the purpose of obtaining pollution discharge rights for free, and it was also a preferential policy of the local government for investment enterprises.
Enterprises determine production capacity, build factories, and buy equipment according to the assigned pollutant discharge permit.
"Printing and dyeing enterprises are a special industry, and they cannot produce without the right to discharge pollutants. There are always ups and downs in doing business. If the operation is not good this year, it does not mean that the operation will not be good next year. If the emission rights are tightened, it will tie the hands and feet of the enterprise. ."
Yuecheng Textile is listed as a Class B enterprise. Zhang Yunshui, the chairman of the board, believes that the dynamic management of pollution rights is an ideal idea, which is not conducive to the development of the enterprise and the development of the park.
Both enterprises and the park are willing to compare the emission rights to "movie tickets" - when the "movie theater" in the park was originally planned, the government allocated the corresponding "movie tickets" to the enterprises entering the park according to the number of seats in the "movie theater", that is, sewage discharge. rights, and free gift.
After entering the park, enterprises can discharge pollutants with "tickets".
Because the seats are fixed, the "movie tickets" are also fixed.
After the "movie tickets" are given away, there will be no tickets available for later-entered enterprises.
The companies that enter the park first often have excess "movie tickets" in their hands because of insufficient production capacity.
What Wang Bojiang is worried about is, "If all the movie tickets are taken back by the government and redistributed, will I still have so many movie tickets?"
According to the introduction of the local ecological environment department, the initial allocation of emission rights starting in 2014 was arranged by the local governments. The emission reductions formed in the previous year are the resources in the government's pocket. Enterprises can purchase them from the government. .
"When the emission rights were initially allocated, the company believed that the emission rights were allocated once and could be owned for life," said Yang Xiaoyan, chief of the comprehensive section of the Haian Ecological Environment Bureau.
In 2019, the government began to encourage emissions trading between companies.
After going to the city, the trading price of pollution rights is getting higher and higher.
Currently, the highest transaction price in Nantong is usually around 10 times the benchmark price.
"From the perspective of the park managers, it makes sense to take back the emission rights and redistribute them. I have no problem with classifying enterprises into four categories: ABCD and ABCD. But I am an enterprise and I have to consider myself." A native of Shaoxing, Zhejiang, he understands that the market in Zhejiang is that the transaction price of each ton of pollution rights is 23,000 yuan.
"I have 2,000 tons of pollution discharge rights. If I can't do it in the future, the transaction price will be 46 million yuan. The pollution discharge rights are my development rights. I admit that it is more difficult to touch the interests than to touch the soul. I really care about the pollution rights. Not in my hands."
Reforms move forward in breaking the ice
Chang'an Textile Industrial Park was included in the Jiangsu Province Industrial Park Ecological Environment Policy Integration Reform Pilot Project in 2019, and in 2021 by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, it was included in the pilot project for the verification of permissible emissions based on the quality of the water ecological environment. Policies are the core and soul of reform pilots.
In response to the confusion of enterprises, the park has fully understood in the early stage.
Zhang Xiaofei said that according to the existing policies, the park does not actually restrict the development of enterprises. For example, Class A and Class B enterprises that have reached production capacity will not reduce emission rights, and Class C companies that have not reached production capacity will only use the currently idle emission rights. However, there is only one Aokelai Textile in Category D, which has a low comprehensive score and makes profits by renting out pollution discharge rights. The park has imposed restrictions on it, and has been forced to withdraw some of its pollution discharge rights.
The reporter's investigation found that MSC implements "dual differentiation" management of pollutant discharge indicators and pollutant discharge costs through performance evaluation, and most enterprises in the park still accept it.
"The emission rights of enterprises have been dynamically allocated to a certain extent, and the park has also promoted the agglomeration of elements to high-efficiency, high-tech, and high-growth enterprises." Zhang Xiaofei said.
This policy coincides with the limit and limited management of industrial parks being implemented in Jiangsu Province. On the basis of the total control of the park, it is the first to explore the optimal allocation of internal resources.
In fact, in the process of promoting the policy, the park also fully listens to and respects the opinions and suggestions of enterprises, and optimizes and improves it simultaneously.
For example, mid-term evaluation of enterprises is carried out every year, and enterprises are given the right to appeal. After verification by the park, there is still a chance to apply for the original total amount.
In fact, when attracting investment, many places regard the free allocation of pollution discharge rights as a preferential condition. Many companies readily accept it, and even regard the "numbers" written on the pollution discharge permit as their own private property, which they think can be freely managed.
Dai Mingzhong, director of the Environmental Assessment Division of the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment, said that the environmental capacity of each region is limited, and the "first come, first served" initial allocation method of pollution rights is unfair to latecomers and makes local governments less an effective maneuvering tool.
Textile printing and dyeing enterprises have passed the stage of "barbaric growth", and related enterprises can no longer "lie down and make money". The strictures of environmental protection, taxation, safety, and energy consumption management will become more and more tight, and whether the right to discharge pollution can still be firmly established. In the hands of enterprises, the answer is no.
Is it possible to realize "recovery of emission rights and redistribution dynamically"?
At present, Hai'an City is still trying out feasible methods.
How to realize the effective management of pollution rights is being explored everywhere.
Some respondents said that emission rights are a precious and scarce public resource, not the private property of a certain company. To achieve the goal of dynamic allocation, the state needs to implement unified management of emission rights, and it needs the support of laws and regulations to achieve a balance on the surface. Don't let the first testers "become cold at the heights".