Economic Daily: Strictly crack down on the falsification of pollution discharge data by units | Pollutant discharge | Data
The Ministry of Public Security, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment recently jointly issued a notice to supervise 11 cases of automatic monitoring data falsification and environmental pollution by key polluting units, demonstrating the determination of relevant departments to work together to crack down on such suspected illegal and criminal activities, and also issuing a profound warning to relevant practitioners.
Environmental monitoring data is a barometer reflecting the pollution situation and an important basis for accurate decision-making in environmental protection work. Falsifying and tampering with monitoring data, interfering with the normal operation of automatic monitoring facilities, not only allows illegal pollution discharge to escape regulatory scrutiny, but also poses a risk of distorting the overall effectiveness of environmental governance.
In recent years, China has established a strict regulatory system based on "civil defense+technical defense" to ensure the authenticity and accuracy of environmental monitoring data, covering civil, administrative, and criminal responsibilities. However, there are still polluting units that are driven by economic interests and have "twisted their minds" in terms of data authenticity and accuracy. Some polluting units, in pursuit of short-term benefits, attempt to reduce operating costs by saving investment in pollution monitoring and control, while some small and medium-sized enterprises are constrained by insufficient funds and technology, and have low enthusiasm or fear of compliance with regulations. Therefore, while cracking down on cheating in environmental monitoring data, efforts should be made to supervise, assist, and guide polluting units to meet emission standards.
One must think deeply and think far. The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China proposes that promoting green and low-carbon economic and social development is a key link in achieving high-quality development. For enterprises, reducing pollution and emissions is not only a social responsibility they should bear, but also contains opportunities for transformation and upgrading, as well as business opportunities to cater to the trend of green consumption. Therefore, enterprises should change their thinking and seek high-quality and long-term development by taking compliant emissions as an opportunity.
Secondly, we should guide according to the situation. Improve market-oriented measures such as the emission trading system, explore ways to reduce corporate pollution control costs through tax, fee, and loan incentives, enhance green transformation willingness, and strengthen the positive feedback and sense of achievement of environmental governance policies on enterprises. At the same time, maintaining coordination between administrative law enforcement and criminal justice, forming a high-pressure situation of severe punishment for data fraud, and forcing polluting units to strictly implement their main responsibilities at high illegal costs.
Three must hold ten thousand with one. In practice, environmental data falsification involves multiple links, strong technical skills, and diverse methods of concealment. It is often carried out by third-party environmental protection service agencies under the instruction of pollutant discharge units. Therefore, it is necessary to seize the "key minority", ensure the independence of institutional practice through independent evaluation and big data supervision, and promote the standardization of monitoring work through a sound quality management system and access and exit mechanisms, without leaving room for fraud.
A tiny mistake leads to a thousand miles. Ensuring the authenticity of environmental monitoring data is not only the bottom line, but also the red line. Taking multiple measures and addressing both symptoms and root causes can ensure that the data does not deviate, in order to meet the common expectations of society.
