Foreign news
Environmental Protection And The Road To 2035
I’m Robert Lawrence Kuhn and here’s what I’m watching:
The critical importance of environmental protection in China’s 14th Five-Year Plan and in the country’s long-range, 15-year roadmap to 2035, when China intends to become, basically, a fully modernized, socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, cultural, advanced, harmonious and beautiful.
But a country cannot claim to be “beautiful” if its air, water and soil is severely polluted.
No amount of economic development is worth the cost of environmental degradation. Sustainable development is an absolute requirement for China to achieve its national goals.
In a recent meeting of the Central Committee for Comprehensively Deepening Reform, the Party’s most important policy-setting authority, CPC General Secretary Xi Jinping set as one of the four reform priorities for 2021, “promoting the shift to green development.”
In the past, the Chinese government always lauded the ideals of a clean environment, but when actual enterprises polluted, there were obstacles in making them stop: local officials were more concerned about GDP growth rates to bolster their careers, and corruption and bribery could divert or halt the enforcement.
Moreover, when enterprises were caught polluting, even when egregious, the fines were extremely low, a small fraction of what it would cost to stop the polluting. In fact, the fines were so tiny that they were, in essence, a financial incentive to continue to pollute!
No longer.
Officials at all levels, along with enterprise executives, now know that the new costs of polluting far outweigh the old benefits: financial fines will be punitive and painful, and careers can be put in immediate jeopardy.
It takes only a few expensive examples for everyone to get the message. Credit President Xi for making the cost prohibitive and the message unambiguous.
One lens through which to view China’s environmental protection is that of the New Development Concepts, which drives the 14th Five-year Plan. Of the five Concepts, “green development”, at number three, is right in the middle.
Government directives call for breakthroughs.
By 2025, a marked rise in green industries, a continued drop in major pollutants, and a slashed carbon emission intensity; the industrial, energy, and transportation structures significantly optimized; the proportion of green industries increased significantly; and the quality of green infrastructure enhanced.By 2035, energy and resource utilization efficiency in key industries and for key products reaching world-class standards.
The directives also include:
promoting wind and solar power, and natural gas infrastructure; limiting new coal power capacity; mandatory clean production audits; controlling highly polluting and energy-intensive products; local subsidies to stimulate green consumption; reducing food waste; and improved waste classification. But specific targets are not yet specified. They need to be – and I expect they will be.
I’m keeping watch. I’m Robert Lawrence Kuhn.
Scriptwriter: Robert Lawrence Kuhn
Cameraman: Morgan Compagnon
Video editor: Tao Chenwei
Foreign news
Court of Arbitration Declares Indus Waters Treaty Fully Operational Rejects India’s ‘Abeyance’
Cyril Ogar
The Court of Arbitration has unanimously reaffirmed that the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) remains fully in force, ruling that India cannot unilaterally place the 1960 agreement in “abeyance” or suspend its obligations under the treaty.
The decision represents a significant legal development in the longstanding dispute between India and Pakistan over the management and use of the Indus river system.
The Court’s finding addresses a fundamental issue at the heart of the dispute: whether either party can unilaterally suspend the treaty outside the legal framework agreed by both countries.
In its unanimous determination, the Court made clear that the IWT continues to bind both India and Pakistan and that its obligations cannot be set aside through a unilateral political declaration.
The ruling means India remains subject to the treaty provisions governing the use of the Western Rivers, including requirements relating to the design and operation of hydroelectric projects, as well as the dispute-resolution mechanisms established under the agreement.
The Court has also ordered interim measures concerning the Ratle Hydroelectric Plant, restricting specified construction activities while the broader dispute remains under consideration.
The measures are aimed at preserving the effectiveness of the arbitration process and preventing developments that could prejudice the outcome of the proceedings.
For Pakistan, the decision represents significant legal validation of its longstanding position that the IWT is a binding international agreement and contains no provision allowing either party to unilaterally place it in abeyance.
Pakistan has consistently maintained that disagreements over the treaty should be addressed through the institutional mechanisms established by the agreement, rather than through unilateral action.
The IWT provides a structured framework for resolving disputes through mechanisms including the Permanent Indus Commission, Neutral Expert and Court of Arbitration processes.
The latest ruling therefore reinforces the principle that treaty obligations cannot simply be disregarded because of deteriorating political relations between signatories.
The significance of the decision extends beyond the India-Pakistan dispute. It underscores the broader international-law principle that agreements governing shared rivers and other transboundary resources must be respected and disputes resolved through established legal and institutional channels.
The Indus river system supports agriculture, livelihoods, food security and communities across the region, making the stability of the treaty particularly important.
The ruling also highlights the distinction between seeking to amend an international agreement through mutually agreed procedures and attempting to alter its obligations unilaterally.
The IWT has endured wars, prolonged diplomatic tensions and periods of limited bilateral engagement. Its continued operation demonstrates the importance of rules-based mechanisms in managing shared resources when relations between neighbouring states become strained.
For Pakistan, the outcome provides an opportunity to frame the decision not merely as a bilateral legal victory, but as an affirmation of international law, treaty compliance and peaceful dispute resolution.
The central message from the ruling is clear: the Indus Waters Treaty remains in force, its obligations continue to bind both parties, and disputes concerning shared waters must be addressed through the legal mechanisms agreed by India and Pakistan.
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