Construction started recently of a 100-billion-yuan nuclear power plant in the coastal city Fuqing, Fujian province, in order to improve the green power supply situation across eastern China. The first two reactors will become operational in 2013 and 2014. [China Daily]

Chinese local governments may speed up environmental degradation in the name of maintaining stable economic growth in order to launch investment projects to keep economy humming.

A top-notch advisory council has given that warning to the central government, which was urgently asked to prevent the possibility.

The expert panel of China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development has submitted a suggestion package to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and listed the local governments' poor environmental awareness as a "major risk".

"The central government should strengthen inspections to prevent the local governments from taking risks of stabilizing economic growth at the cost of environmental protection," the suggestion package, exclusively obtained by China Business Weekly last week, is cited as saying.

The panel has contributed its concerns to the situation that local governments in parts of China are still holding the old mindset that higher economic growth is a priority despite the fact that a nationwide campaign to promote sustainable development and harmony has been launched for years.

During an interview with China Business Weekly, the panel's member Daniel Dudek says Wen paid great attention to the panel's suggestions when he chaired a recent discussion with the foreign experts of the advisory body.

When meeting Dudek, chief economist of the United States-based Environmental Defense Fund and other experts at the panel, Wen says that the threat of a global recession should not shift China's focus from the long-run goals of energy conservation and emissions reduction.

Dudek cites Wen as saying: "The current financial crisis represents a "golden opportunity for economic development and environmental protection".

Following Wen's assessment, National Development and Reform Commission said recently that China will invest an additional 350 billion yuan in environmental protection by the end of 2010 and ruled out the possibility of investing in energy-crunching and polluting industries.

"The increased and speedy investment has offered real stimulus for green industries and green jobs, if the government takes measures to combine near-run remedies and long-run goals together," says Dudek.

Dudek says the Chinese government should take more concrete actions to procure "green products" while implementing its 4-trillion-yuan economic stimulus plans. "That will shore up the confidence of green industry and create more jobs," says Dudek.

The panel has also warned that many signs have shown that globally, environmental protection is probably becoming prey to rebuilding financial markets and stabilizing economic growth, which are undoubtedly the priorities of the world.

"While stabilizing economic growth, China should upgrade its economic structure, develop low-carbon economy and bolster international competitiveness," the panel suggests.

The panel asks China to make technological and policy preparations in the endeavor and when it drafts its 12th five-year program (2011-15), the goals of low-carbon economy should be considered.

"The financial risk and economic downturns have triggered new thoughts and trends in China and they should be carefully evaluated," says Dudek. "But at the heart of them, is sustainable development."