VZCZCXRO3959
RR RUEHCN RUEHVC
DE RUEHGH #0309/01 1910848
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 100848Z JUL 09
FM AMCONSUL SHANGHAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8120
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUEAEPA/HQ EPA WASHINGTON DC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUEHGH/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI 8768

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 SHANGHAI 000309 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE PASS TO CEQ SUTLEY 
EPA FOR INTERNATIONAL - KASMAN/GIANNINI-SPOHN 
USDOC FOR MAC AND MAS 
USDOE FOR INTERNATIONAL 
NSC FOR LOI 
STATE FOR S/SECC-STERN/PERSHING 
STATE ALSO FOR EAP/CM-HABJAN, THOMAS 
STATE ALSO FOR OES-DAS MIOTKE, OES/EGC, AND OES/ENV 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV ETRD ENRG TRGY EFIN BEXP CH
SUBJECT: SHANGHAI AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 
 
REF: SHANGHAI 148 
 
SHANGHAI 00000309  001.2 OF 004 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: With the Shanghai 2010 World Expo approaching, 
Shanghai has been discussing environmental protection in several 
different fora.  Shanghai's experience with environmental 
protection has been quite different from other cities in China 
due to its rapid growth and expansion.  Because of this, 
officials have developed different approaches through action 
plans and multi-agency groups to address environmental 
challenges such as air and water pollution and transportation. 
In the past decade, the city has made great strides, spending 
three percent of GDP on environmental-related projects to 
address the city's waste and industrial pollution and to 
implement greenification projects.  The environmental action 
plans have helped to meet national targets, sometimes ahead of 
schedule.  In looking towards the future, city officials hope to 
make upcoming plans more objective-based rather than 
project-based.  Despite these great achievements, Shanghai still 
has much to do to ensure that the city continues on a path of 
sustainable development with environmental standards and quality 
of life comparable to other world megacities.  END SUMMARY. 
 
 
 
¶2.  (U) The Shanghai Municipal Government recently hosted 
several events and conferences on sustainable development and 
environmental protection, many with the underlying theme of the 
upcoming Shanghai 2010 World Expo, namely, "Better City, Better 
Life".  These conferences attracted experts from the United 
Nations, United States, Europe, Hong Kong, and Beijing, as well 
as from Shanghai and the surrounding provinces.  As a follow-up 
to these events, Post has met with Municipal Government 
officials and academics to discuss the environmental challenges 
faced by the city, plans for the environmentally-focused 2010 
World Expo, and Shanghai's environmental planning. 
 
 
 
SHANGHAI AND THE ENVIRONMENT - DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE, DIFFERENT 
APPROACH 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
 
 
¶3.  (SBU) According to Shanghai Environmental Protection Bureau 
(EPB) Deputy Director FANG Fang, Shanghai's experience with 
environmental protection has been quite different from other 
cities in China due to its rapid growth and expansion.  While 
others may have had time to consider the environment in their 
overall development plan, Fang noted that Shanghai's zero to 
rapid development gave Shanghai little opportunity to adequately 
factor environmental challenges into its development equation. 
According to Fang, in the 1990s, Shanghai's leadership realized 
the need for balance -- to grow the economy while decreasing the 
impact on the environment.  In the past decade and a half, this 
densely populated city has made great strides in mitigating 
pollution as evidenced by the city's cleaner air, water, and 
more abundant green spaces, said Fang.  With 18.58 million 
people living on an area of about 640 square kilometers, 
Shanghai's population continually puts enormous pressure on the 
city's environment and limited resources. 
 
 
 
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION COMMMITTE: A COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Recognizing the importance of a comprehensive approach 
to environmental protection, GAN Zhongze, Chairman, Urban 
Planning and Environmental Protection Committee, Shanghai 
Municipal Peoples Congress (SMPC) also lauded Shanghai's early 
regulations to improve environmental protection.  He said these 
laws have ensured that environmental protection has been 
mainstreamed and factored into Shanghai's various development 
plans.  Gan indicated that local regulations have reflected the 
Central Government's increased focus on the environment and its 
 
SHANGHAI 00000309  002.2 OF 004 
 
 
mandate that the environment and natural resources can no longer 
be sacrificed for economic growth.  To this aim Shanghai created 
the multi-agency Shanghai Environmental Protection Committee 
(SEPC). 
 
 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The SEPC is chaired by the Mayor with representatives 
from the EPB, the Shanghai Development and Reform Commission, 
and the Municipal Law Office.  The Committee has seven working 
groups (Water, Air, Solid Waste, Industry, Agriculture, Ecology, 
and Policy) and liaises with relevant government agencies, 
responsible entities, and local district governments to provide 
policy support and ensure comprehensive implementation of 
environmental plans and programs. 
 
 
 
SHANGHAI'S ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES 
 
----------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶6.  (SBU) EPB Director ZHANG Quan noted that Shanghai, with its 
limited natural resources, expanding population, and continuous 
economic development, faces numerous environmental challenges. 
Energy consumption (both residential and industrial) continues 
to rise, making it challenging to fulfill national energy 
reduction targets.  Zhang said that the growth in the number of 
automobiles on Shanghai streets exacerbates pollution problems 
as well.  He noted that by the end of 2008, total vehicle volume 
in Shanghai reached 2.6 million, resulting in increased vehicle 
emissions and noise problems throughout the city.  Industrial 
pollution in the suburban industrial zones is also a 
contributing factor.  Additionally, particulate concentration 
such as PM10 in Shanghai is 3 times greater than in other 
mega-cities (e.g., New York and Tokyo) similar to Shanghai, said 
Zhang. 
 
 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Officials at the Shanghai Environment Monitoring 
Center (SEMC) and CHEN Changhong, Director of the Atmospheric 
Environment Institute of the Shanghai Academy of Environmental 
Sciences, echoed Zhang's sentiments.  They noted that 
atmospheric pollution such as acid rain, photo-chemical 
pollution and regional haze have also contributed to Shanghai's 
overall air quality issues.  According to FU Qingyan, Assistant 
to the Director of the SEMC, while Shanghai's air quality 
standards (PM10) show that approximately only one-third of 
Shanghai's days each year have a rating of poor air quality or 
worse, if more stringent air quality indexes (such as PM2.5 - 
used by the U.S. EPA and some other countries and localities) 
were applied, more than half of the days of the year in Shanghai 
would have a poor or unhealthy air quality rating. 
 
 
 
LEARNING AND DOING AND DOING AND LEARNING: THE ACTION PLANS 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
 
 
 
¶8.  (SBU) With the creation of the EPB in the early 1990s, EPB 
Deputy Director Fang said its initial focus was on specific 
targets such as reducing industrial pollutants or greenification 
projects.  However, starting in 2000 the city adopted a 
multi-focus approach through Three-Year Environmental Action 
Plans (currently in their fourth round).  Through these action 
plans, Fang said that Shanghai has been `learning and doing and 
doing and learning' to improve Shanghai's environmental 
protection capabilities and record.  The first three-year action 
plan focused on water and air pollution control, solid waste 
disposal, greenery development and rehabilitation of old 
industries.  The second round added projects in the areas of 
agricultural/ecological conservation and the rehabilitation of 
key enterprises and regions.  Building on the first two rounds, 
 
SHANGHAI 00000309  003.2 OF 004 
 
 
the third round also focused on industrial pollution control as 
well as ecological conservation and infrastructure development. 
Since 2000, over 650 projects have been completed, including 
sewage treatment plants, cleaner fuel substitution for coal 
burning boilers and furnaces, and enhanced domestic waste 
management.  Through the plans approximately RMB 35-45 billion 
annually (approximately 3 percent of GDP) has been invested in 
environmental protection-related projects. 
 
 
 
THE 4TH ROUND OF THE THREE-YEAR ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION PLAN 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
 
 
 
¶9.  (SBU) EPB Director Zhang Quan indicated that in the current 
round of the Three-Year Environmental Action Plan (fourth round: 
2009-2011), Shanghai will undertake more than 200 projects with 
a total investment of over RMB 80 billion (USD 12 billion). 
Some of the key infrastructure projects will include:  building 
a drinking water source in Qing Caosha at the estuary of the 
Yangtze River; utilization of desulfurization technologies at 
all coal-burning power plants in the city; and utilization of 
denitrofication technology in several city power plants.  For 
waste disposal, Shanghai plans to complete its urban sewage 
collection network which will treat approximately 90 percent of 
residential sewage, and implement technology to effectively 
treat 85 percent of residential waste and 100 percent of 
hazardous waste.  The plan also includes clean energy projects 
including heat pumps utilizing river water as an energy source, 
photovoltaic technologies, and others that the city plans to 
showcase at the Shanghai 2010 World Expo (see reftel for more on 
the environmental focus of the Expo). 
 
 
 
¶10.  (SBU) To help curb air pollution, the action plan 
incorporates projects aimed at making public transportation more 
environmentally friendly.  In 2009, National IV (equal to Euro 
IV) Vehicle Emission Standard will be mandated for all new 
vehicles in Shanghai.  Shanghai has undergone a massive public 
transportation system overhaul over the past few years.  By 
2010, the total cumulative distance of local subway lines will 
be extended to approximately 400 km, making public transport 
more accessible to Shanghai residents (and for the seventy 
million visitors predicted for the 2010 World Expo).  By 2011, 
45 percent of all buses and taxis will be mandated to meet 
National III standards.  Shanghai will continue greenification 
projects and promote eco-agriculture in its suburban areas. 
 
 
 
SHANGHAI TO COMPLETE POLLUTION REDUCTION TARGETS ON TIME 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
 
 
 
¶11.  (SBU) In addition to the three-year environmental action 
plans, Shanghai also has a Five-Year Environment Protection 
Strategic Plan, tied more closely to the national five year 
planning cycle.  WU Jingsong from EPB's Comprehensive Planning 
Division which is responsible for the formulation, drafting and 
evaluation of Shanghai's five-year plan said that Shanghai 
ranked first in China last year in cutting down Chemical Oxygen 
Demand (COD), completing the 11th Five-Year Environment 
Protection Plan (2006-2010) target one year ahead of schedule. 
According to Wu, Shanghai should also be able to meet sulfur 
dioxide (SO2) reduction targets by 2010 as well. He said that in 
2005 and 2006, most of Shanghai's desulfurization projects were 
under construction and therefore the SO2 reduction rates were 
low.  Starting from 2007, with the completion of some projects, 
SO2 reduction has improved, with half the SO2 reduction target 
met by 2008. 
 
 
 
 
SHANGHAI 00000309  004.2 OF 004 
 
 
LOOKING TOWARDS THE FUTURE 
 
-------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶12.  (SBU) LIN Weiqing, Chief Engineer from the Shanghai Academy 
of Environmental Sciences, outlined plans for Shanghai's 12th 
Five-Year Environment Protection Plan which is now being 
researched and drafted.  EPB hopes to make this plan more 
objective-oriented rather than project-oriented as has been past 
practice, said Lin.  Some of the objectives under deliberation 
are reducing vehicle and volatile organic compound (VOC) 
emissions; reducing the risk to public health from ozone and 
haze conditions; cutting SO2, nitrogen oxide, and mercury 
emissions; focusing on eutrophication management and 
rehabilitation of the eco-system of Dianshan Lake; and reduce 
rainfall run-off and improve the overall water quality of the 
city's rivers and canals. 
 
 
 
COMMENT 
 
------- 
 
 
 
¶13.  (SBU) Shanghai is a frontrunner in China's environmental 
protection efforts.  The city's prosperous residents, 
traditionally more cosmopolitan and international, have perhaps 
a greater understanding than many Chinese citizens of the 
importance of environmental protection and overall public health 
and wellbeing.  In the recent past, Shanghai residents have 
voiced their concerns about environmental problems, urging the 
government to act.  Shanghai's leadership also recognizes the 
importance of protecting the environment, especially given the 
city's limited area and large population.  The 2010 World Expo 
has given Shanghai opportunity and a new motive force to move 
further and faster on air and water pollution reduction and on 
public transportation projects, much as the 2008 Summer Olympic 
Games wrought some industrial structure, pollution control and 
mass transportation changes in Beijing.  Despite substantial 
achievements to date, Shanghai still has much to do to ensure 
that the city continues on a path of sustainable development 
with environmental standards and quality of life comparable to 
other world megacities. 
CAMP