Environmental information disclosure in China: policy developments and NGO responses

In order to hold polluters accountable through stimulating public participation, the Chinese government has progressively strengthened its environmental information disclosure (EID) policy. This article sets out China's emerging EID policy before examining the implications for the country's environmental non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Government promotion of EID has created additional space for civil society. As well as promoting better access to information, environmental NGOs have started using disclosed information to pressurise local governments and enterprises. Although a stronger EID policy represents an important step towards a more vibrant civil society, NGOs are constrained in acting on information due to political and institutional limits.