Chinese officials point fingers as gasification crisis worsens

FE Team | Published: December 22, 2017 21:07:33

BEIJING, Dec 22 (Reuters): When an inspector from a local environmental protection bureau visited a small village in China's Shandong province in October to check on a gasification project, she said village officials became tearful in lamenting how far behind schedule they were.
For years, the village has been haunted by pollution from nearby coal mines and chemical plants. The village had been rushing to finish installing new gas boilers for residents as they ditched their old coal stoves, the inspector told Reuters.
The boilers are part of an ambitious gasification programme under which millions of households, and some industrial users, are switching from coal to natural gas for heating, as Beijing tries to clean the tainted air in northern China after decades of galloping growth.
The effect of the dramatic switch has been felt globally, with internationally shipped gas prices almost doubling this year to more than $10 per million British thermal units, the highest since the end of 2014.
It has also been felt locally due to poor coordination among government bodies and gas producers, and miscalculations in demand, which have sent gas prices soaring, left many residents freezing in their homes, and shuttered factories.
Where there is gas supply, it cannot reach homes in some cases as the replacement gas infrastructure has not been installed.
"Everyone's job is linked to whether we can meet the target," the environmental protection inspector said, declining to be named and refusing to identify the village due to sensitivity of the matter.
In China, policy targets are trickled down to the village official level with the objectives generally understood to be the minimum to be achieved.
"If we did not meet the target, we will get bad performance reviews and we will start worrying about our careers," the inspector said. She declined to specify the targets.
As the crisis escalates with China entering the coldest weeks of the year, local officials and fuel suppliers have started to point fingers, according to officials with whom Reuters spoke.
It is not uncommon for policies formulated by Beijing to be interpreted differently by local authorities and implemented in varying degrees and at varying speeds.
After coming to power in late 2012, President Xi Jinping warned local governments against taking measures at the grassroots level that are not aligned with national policies.