---
title: "China Plans “Punishment” for Officials Who Miss Pollution Goals"
description: "Local officials who don't meet Chinese pollution goals will face new punishments, a government official reportedly said on Monday."
date: "2019-01-21"
modified: "2019-01-21"
authors:
  - name: "Jon Christian"
    job_title: "Executive Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/chinese-pollution-punishment-missing-goals"
categories:
  - "Environment"
  - "Pollution"
  - "Science & Energy"
tags:
  - "china"
  - "pollution"
  - "smog"
  - "the digest"
---

# China Plans “Punishment” for Officials Who Miss Pollution Goals

![A government official in China said on Monday that the country was planning new punishments for local officials who don't meet air pollution goals. Chinese pollution](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/china-plans-punishment-for-officials-who-miss-pollution-goals.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: \<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pollution-in-china.jpg" target="\_blank"\>JungleNews\</a\>\</em\>*

## Crime and Punishment

A government official in China said on Monday that the country **i**s planning new punishments for local officials who don't meet goals to decrease air pollution, [according to *Reuters*](<https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-pollution/china-vows-no-leeway-for-underperformers-in-war-on-pollution-idUSKCN1PF083>) — the latest sign that the country is serious about improving its environmental track record.

"For those who failed to meet the targets, we will hold them accountable publicly and local governments will need to come out with detailed punishment measures," Liu Bingjiang, an official at China's environmental ministry, said according to the news service.

## Pollution Goals

After the media zeroed in on the [horrifying smog choking China's cities](<https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2014/dec/16/beijing-airpocalypse-city-almost-uninhabitable-pollution-china>) about five years ago, the nation declared a "[war on pollution](<https://futurism.com/china-takes-serious-anti-coal-stance-cancelling-104-new-coal-plants>)" designed to fight climate change and improve air quality.

China set ambitious goals, according to *Reuters*, that included cutting the concentrations of dangerous pollution-linked particulate matter in 338 cities. In some areas, government representatives have become suspicious that local officials are looking the other way as polluters continue to ignore new rules.

## New Rules

In addition to punishing offending officials, China is also planning to role out [new emission standards](<https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-pollution/china-to-cut-coal-use-curb-steel-in-2018-2020-pollution-plan-idUSKBN1JT12J>) in the steel and coal industries.

"We have to win the war against air pollution, no matter what happens," Liu said, according to *Reuters*. "There is no leeway for us and we will not retreat."

**READ MORE:** [China Vows No Leeway for Underperformers in War on Pollution](<https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-pollution/china-vows-no-leeway-for-underperformers-in-war-on-pollution-idUSKCN1PF083>) \[*Reuters*\]

***More on Chinese pollution: [China Takes Serious Anti-Coal Stance, Cancelling 104 New Coal Plants](<https://futurism.com/china-takes-serious-anti-coal-stance-cancelling-104-new-coal-plants>)***

## Author
I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/jonchristian.net>)