China to give green watchdog more clout

The Chinese government is expected to underline its newfound commitment to environmental issues by upgrading the status of its main environmental watchdog this spring.

Reuters reports this week citing several energy industry sources claim that the government is planning to provide the State Environmental Protection Administration with full ministry status in a move that would likely see its budget and influence extended. It is also expected to introduce a new energy ministry that will bring responsibility for energy policy under the auspices of one department.

"The energy ministry I think is highly likely... and I would say it is 99 percent [sure] that SEPA will become a ministry," an energy industry source told Reuters.

The moves are likely to be welcomed by green business leaders and environmentalists who have been calling for the Chinese government to take a more unified approach to delivering on its recent flurry of environmental commitments, such as plans announced earlier this month to ban free plastic bags.

The changes are expected to be rubberstamped at the annual session of the country's Parliament, the National People's Congress, which will be held in Beijing from March 5.

In related news, SEPA this week announced plans to invest in a number of projects to develop new technologies for treating polluted water. The agency said that recent research had shown that over a quarter of surface water in China is totally unusable, while 62 per cent is unsuitable for fish.

Meanwhile, Virgin boss Richard Branson has revealed plans to launch a China-based cleantech company, which he said he intended to "invest quite heavily in".