The environmental protection departments (offices) of all provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government and sub-provincial cities, the environmental protection department of Sinkiang Production and Construction Corps., the Environment Protection and Afforestation Commission Office of the PLA; Shanghai Headquarters, all branches, business departments, central sub-branches in the provincial capital cities and sub-provincial cities of the People’s Bank of China; all banking regulatory bureaus, all policy banks, all state-owned commercial banks, and all joint-stock commercial banks:

For the purpose of implementing the Decision of the State Council on Implementing the Scientific View of Development and Strengthening Environmental Protection (No.39 [2005] of the State Council, hereinafter referred to as Decision) and the Notice of the State Council on Printing and Distributing the Comprehensive Work Scheme of Energy Conservation and Reducing the Discharge of Pollutants (No.15 [2007] of the State Council) in an all-round way, strengthening the coordination between environmental protection and credit administration, reinforcing environmental supervision and administration, strictly implementing the environmental protection requirements on credit, reducing the discharge of pollutants and preventing credit risks, we hereby put forward the following opinions:

I. Fully understanding the important significance of protecting environment by taking advantage of credit means

At present, China  environmental situation is particularly rigorous. In some regions, there is a serious problem of environmentally illegal behaviors committed in construction projects and by enterprises. Credit risks have increased for the closedown of polluting enterprises, which has seriously affected the social stability and economic security. It has become an urgent task to conduct strict environmental supervision and credit management over enterprises and construction projects. The environmental protection departments at various levels, people s banks, banking regulatory departments and financial institutions shall put the implementation of the Decision and the environmental laws and policies on the agenda of important issues, strengthen the cooperation and interaction between environmental protection departments and financial regulatory departments, improve credit security by making more efforts in environmental supervision, support environmental protection by exercising strict control over credit management, make more efforts in subjecting enterprises with environmentally illegal behaviors to economic restrictions and supervision, change the status that "enterprises" cost for environmental law-compliance is much higher than that for environmental violations," improve the general public"s awareness of administration by environment laws, facilitate the realization of the goal of energy conservation and reduced discharge of pollutants and do their best to construct a resource-saving and environment-friendly society.

II. Strengthening environmental supervision and credit management over construction projects and enterprises

We shall make more efforts in strictly conducting environmental supervision and credit management over newly-initiated construction projects in light of the requirements of the environmental protection laws and policies. The environmental protection departments at various levels shall exercise strict control over the environmental impact assessment of construction projects and strengthen the administration of "three simultaneousness" (safety facilities of a newly built, remodeled or expanded project shall be designed, built and put into production and use all simultaneously with the principal part of the project) over the sanitary facilities of construction projects. As for any illegal project which is commenced before approval or approved by exceeding the approval authority, whose sanitary facilities are not finished simultaneously with the principal part or which commences production before it is checked and accepted in environmental protection, the environmental protection departments shall investigate and punish the liable persons according to law, publicize the relevant information and notify the local people s banks, banking regulatory departments and financial institutions. Financial institutions shall, based on the administrative provisions of the state on environmental protection issues concerned in construction projects and the information provided by the local environmental protection departments, exercise strict control over the examination, grant, supervision and administration of loans and may not increase in any form the credit of any project failing to pass the examination of environmental protection or failing to be accepted for sanitary facilities. Financial institutions shall, on the basis of the state industrial policies, further strengthen credit risk management, actively give credit support to projects falling within the encouraged category under the precondition of putting risks under control, not provide any credit support for newly-initiated projects falling within the restricted and eliminated categories, continue giving credit support in accordance with credit principles to enterprises which have existing production capacity and are approved by the state to take steps to improve the production capacity within the prescribed time limit, and stop the credit support newly given in various forms to projects falling within the eliminated category and take measures to recover the already granted loans.

We shall strictly implement the current environmental supervision system over enterprises and fluid capital loan management. The environmental protection departments at various levels shall strengthen the supervision and administration over pollutant-discharging enterprises, severely punish those enterprises which discharge pollutants by exceeding the standard or surpassing the total volume, discharge pollutants before obtaining a discharge permit according to law, fail to discharge pollutants in accordance with the permit or fail to finish the pollution control task within the prescribed time limit, and notify the local people s banks, banking regulatory departments and financial institutions of the relevant information in a timely manner. The financial institutions at various levels shall, when examining enterprises applications for fluid capital .....