Local Gov'ts Use Newfound Power to Approve Dirty Coal-Fired Power Plants

(Beijing) – A decision by the central government to grant more power to local governments regarding decisions on new power plants appears to be backfiring, as local officials have interpreted the move as a green light to build highly polluting facilities.

As part of reform efforts to decentralize power, the Ministry of Environmental Protection in March 2015 handed authority for vetoing power projects on the grounds of environmental concerns to provincial governments.