The China Environmental Management Program seeks to enhance China’s capacity to facilitate the development and implementation of effective sustainable energy policies and climate-change mitigation strategies. Our grants target high-leverage national and regional policy opportunities for tightening overall environmental controls and air quality regulation.

China’s environmental laws and regulations are neither ideal nor well implemented, and the government agency responsible for environmental protection is understaffed and lacks sufficient authority. This greatly hinders the effective implementation of the policies required to promote environmental protection and address climate change. China also faces severe air pollution and significant associated public health issues. The country’s increasing focus on air pollution will play a tremendous role in promoting climate-change mitigation policy. Integrated strategies to address both air pollution and climate change can maximize emissions reductions and environmental benefits with limited investment, while protecting public health.

The Environmental Management Program provides support for the informed development and implementation of environmental laws and regulations, such as the amendment of China’s Atmospheric Pollution Prevention and Control Law and China’s first Regional Air Quality Management Rule. The program also supports capacity-building within China’s highest environmental management authority—the Ministry of Environmental Protection—and improvement of China’s air quality management systems via local air quality management pilots.

The Environmental Management Program is particularly interested in efforts to:

• Promote the development and enforcement of environmental laws and regulations, particularly those related to energy policy and climate change mitigation strategies;
• Support capacity-building and institutional reform for China’s environmental management authority;
• Establish stringent air quality standards and emissions standards;
• Advance integrated strategies for climate mitigation and air pollution control, and practical climate-friendly air quality management tools; and
• Develop sectoral and municipal pilots for climate-friendly air quality management.