Not at the table but stuck paying the bill: perceptions of injustice in China’s Xin’anjiang eco-compensation program

Figures & data

Figure 1. Map of the Xin’anjiang River.

Figure 2. GDP Composition of Huangshan Prefecture (2005–2018).

Table 1. Environmental Targets in Anhui and Zhejiang (13th FYP).

	Energy Consumption Control Targets based on the Consumption Level of 2015			Emission Control Plan: Reduction based on the Pollution Level of 2015
		Reduction in Energy Intensity per Unit of GDP (in %)	Control Target in Energy Consumption Increase (in 10,000 tons of standard coal)	COD (in %)	Ammoniacal Nitrogen (in %)	Sulphur Dioxide (in %)	Nitrogen Oxide (in %)
Anhui	Hefei	17.0	290.0	9.9	25.0	23.1	24.2
	Huaibei	16.0	87.0	9.9	20.0	17.6	16.0
	Bozhou	14.0	70.0	15.0	14.3	11.0	8.8
	Suzhou	14.0	115.0	9.9	11.0	12.1	11.0
	Bengbu	16.0	80.0	8.0	11.0	15.4	13.2
	Fuyang	14.0	155.0	15.0	14.3	11.2	14.4
	Huainan	16.0	103.0	10.0	14.3	17.9	17.6
	Chuzhou	16.0	100.0	16.0	20.0	13.2	15.4
	Lu'an	14.0	90.0	5.0	11.0	8.8	8.0
	Ma'anshan	17.0	230.0	12.0	16.0	23.1	14.2
	Wuhu	17.0	163.0	8.0	16.0	17.9	17.6
	Xuancheng	16.0	85.0	5.0	11.0	8.5	10.0
	Tongling	17.0	97.0	5.0	11.0	17.6	17.6
	Chizhou	16.0	65.0	5.0	8.0	5.0	6.0
	Anqing	16.0	110.0	5.0	11.0	16.0	14.4
	Huangshan	10.0	30.0	5.0	8.0	2.0	2.0
		Reduction in Energy Intensity per Unit of GDP (in %)	Control Target Energy in Consumption Increase (in 10,000 tons of standard coal)*	COD (in %)	Ammoniacal Nitrogen (in %)	Sulphur Dioxide (in %)	Nitrogen Oxide (in %)
Zhejiang	Hangzhou	22.0	N/A	22.4	18.1	23.0	23.0
	Ningbo	19.5	N/A	21.0	15.0	17.0	17.0
	Wenzhou	15.5	N/A	20.1	16.6	15.0	15.0
	Huzhou	18.5	N/A	16.3	16.3	23.0	23.0
	Jiaxing	18.5	N/A	22.7	23.3	21.0	21.0
	Shaoxing	19.5	N/A	23.6	22.7	22.0	22.0
	Jinhua	18.5	N/A	16.8	16.8	21.0	21.0
	Quzhou	20.5	N/A	13.4	15.6	15.0	15.0
	Zhoushan	18.5	N/A	8.8	10.6	3.0	3.0
	Taizhou	15.5	N/A	21.2	20.3	13.0	13.0
	Lishui	15.5	N/A	7.8	7.9	8.0	8.0

* Zhejiang did not include the data for control on energy consumption increase in the document.

Source: The Implementation Plan of Anhui Province for Energy Saving and Emission Reduction under the 13th FYP and The Implementation Plan of Zhejiang Province for Energy Saving and Emission Reduction under the 13th FYP.

Table 2. Huangshan and Hangzhou Prefectures’ 13th FYP Environmental Targets

		Huangshan			Hangzhou
		12th FYP Target	12th FYP Achieved	13th FYP Target	12th FYP Target	12th FYP Achieved	13th FYP Target
Water and Air Quality	Percent of category III and higher surface water under the prefectural monitoring (in %)	No Target	N/A	100.00	From 66.07 to > 75.00	85.10	> 87.20
	Percent of category III and higher surface water under the national monitoring (in %)	No Target	100.00	100.00	No Target	92.30	> 92.30
	Percent of category V surface water (in %)	No Target	N/A	0.00	From 9.67 to < 5.00	6.40	0.00
	Percent of qualified water bodies under the surface water function zone (in %)	100.00	100.00	100.00	80.00	87.00	No Target
	Percent of days of good air quality (in %)	No Target	N/A	> 90.00	From 91.57 to > 90.00	92.60	From 72.00 to > 81.00
Emission Control	COD Emission Reduction (in %)	5.30	12.67	5.00	12.60	21.75	22.40
	Ammoniacal Nitrogen Emission Reduction (in %)	6.70	14.65	8.00	13.10	17.16	18.10
	Sulphur Dioxide Emission Reduction (in %)	2.00	4.13	2.00	14.80	21.89	23.00
	Nitrogen Oxides Emission Reduction (in %)	2.00	14.46	2.00	17.30	26.53	23.00

Source: Huangshan and Hangzhou's 13th Environmental FYP.

Table 3. Sequence of Events during Negotiations for the First Agreement.

Year	Phase	Event
2005–2006	Proposal	Anhui representatives at the NPC submitted proposals demanding cooperation from Zhejiang.
2007–2008		The MEE and the Ministry of Finance approved the proposal and started working on the terms of agreement.
2009	Negotiation	Zhejiang and Anhui started first round of negotiation, coordinated by the MEE and the Ministry of Finance.
2009		Zhejiang officials visited the MEE to reaffirm their stance on water standards.
2010		The NDRC released the zoning map and Huangshan faced more constraints on development.
2010–2011		Representatives from the central government visited Zhejiang again for another around of negotiation and submitted a report to the central government.
2011		The then vice president Xi Jinping made the comment after reading the report: ‘Zhejiang and Anhui should cooperate and control the pollution from the source.’
2012	Signing agreement	Anhui and Zhejiang signed the first round of agreement, lasting from 2012 to 2014.

Table 4. Xin’anjiang Eco-compensation Agreement’s Funding Composition, Pollutant Weight in Assessment, Standards of Assessment, and Scheme for Payment.

		First Round (2012–2014)	Second Round (2015–2017)	Third Round (2018–2020)
Funding (yuan)	Central Government	300 million/year	400 million in 2015, 300 million in 2016, 200 million in 2017	0
	Zhejiang	100 million/year*	200 million/year**	200 million/year**
	Anhui	100 million/year	200 million/year	200 million/year
Major pollutants’ weight in assessment	Potassium permanganate index	0.25	0.25	0.22
	Ammonia nitrogen	0.25	0.25	0.22
	Total phosphorus	0.25	0.25	0.28
	Total nitrogen	0.25	0.25	0.28
Assessment standards	Standard level	Average level of pollutants between 2008 and 2010	Average level of pollutants between 2012 and 2014	Average level of pollutants between 2015 and 2017
	Fluctuation range	15%	11%	10%
P-value standard		1*	P ≤ 0.95; 0.95 < P ≤ 1; P > 1**	P ≤ 0.95; 0.95 < P≤ 1; P > 1**
P-value achived		2012: 0.833 2013: 0.828 2014: 0.825	2015: 0.886 2016: 0.852 2017: 0.895	N/A

* if P > 1, Anhui pays Zhejiang 100 million. If P≤1, Zhejiang pays Anhui 100 million. 300 million from the central government belongs to Anhui regardless of Anhui's performance.

** if P > 1, Anhui pays Zhejiang 100 million. If 0.95 < P≤1, Zhejiang pays Anhui 100 million. If P≤0.95, Zhejiang pays Anhui 200 million. Anhui's extra 100 million and the funding from the central government go to Anhui unconditionally.

Source: Zhejiang Provincial Bureau of Ecology and Environment Report 2019, requested in person on 3 December, 2019.

Figure 3. The Change in the Level of Pollutants in Xin’anjiang River (2012–2017).