China took a big step toward dealing with its environmental woes at the beginning of 2007, after Pan Yue, Vice Minister of the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA), put his foot down and refused to approve any future industrial projects that consume large amounts of resources or produce high levels of pollution.

Pan announced a suspension of 82 projects worth a total investment of 112.3 billion yuan that were considered to have violated the standards of SEPA's environmental impact assessment, covering the steel, power, metallurgical and chemical sectors. Meanwhile, the authority forced the most polluted cities to crack down on projects that have failed to comply with the rules of environmental protection by halting all new projects in the areas. A further four big electric power groups causing serious environmental pollution were also blacklisted.

"All the new projects of the parties concerned will be suspended until they have rectified their environmental transgressions. Only environment-friendly recycling projects will be exempted from the ban," said Pan, warning of an increasingly grave risk of an environmental crisis.

The new strict moves came after the Central Government appointed Pan first vice minister of the SEPA, the country's environmental watchdog, indicating its firm attitude toward saving the rapidly deteriorating environment.

Caught between a rock and a hard place, the 47-year-old Pan has to balance the need to maintain high-speed economic growth with the mounting costs of environmental degradation. But he is under no illusions and admits if he does not succeed he will resign. "They (industrial enterprises) must find ways to curb pollution and bring it under control before the projects proceed," he said.

According to Pan, the government has failed to achieve the goal set in 2006 to achieve a green GDP growth with energy saved and emissions cut. "Environmental problems have been bottlenecks in the run-up to further development. We must look for renewable resources and green technology to reconcile economic growth and environmental conservation," he continued.