Will domestic financial incentives for pollution controls also apply to Chinese export credits?

(IPS, Beijing, 5 July 2007) After a series of failed administrative campaigns to enforce pollution controls, China is now hoping to use financial means to restrain its big polluters. A new green credit policy would evaluate the eligibility of companies for loans based on their environmental performance. About 460,000 Chinese die prematurely each year from breathing polluted air and drinking dirty water, says a preliminary version of new World Bank study. Two of China’s three policy banks under the direct jurisdiction of the State Council, have adopted environmental financing standards: the China Development Bank is responsible for raising funding for large infrastructure projects, while the China Exim Bank is China’s official export credit agency. China Exim Bank adopted an environmental policy in 2004 and made it public in April this year, following a spate of international criticism about its role in funding controversial projects in Africa and other countries. "The policy espouses strict principles, but does not elaborate them in much detail," Peter Bosshard, policy director of the U.S.-based NGO International Rivers Network, commented after the publication of the policy.