Zhang Lijun, vice minister of China's Ministry of Environmental Protection, stated at a recent working conference that implementing environment taxes and carrying out ecological compensation on a trial basis will be one of the most important tasks for MEP in 2009.

Zhang stresses that 2009 will be an important year for realizing the energy saving and emission control goals of the 11th Five-year Plan. MEP will focus, in the main, on six area: enhancing the review of responsibilities related to emission reduction; strictly controlling new emissions; encouraging project emission reduction and structural emission controls; strengthening supervision of emission controls; implementing environmental and economic policies; and strengthening the basic infrastructure for emission controls.

Zhang estimates that total emission of sulfur dioxide will continue to decline in 2009 and the goals set at the beginning of 2008 will be realized.