Environmental protection a key growth driver: minister

China's Minister of Environmental Protection Chen Jining gives a press conference for the third session of the 12th National People's Congress (NPC), on environmental protection in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2015. (Xinhua/Li Ran)BEIJING, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Environmental protection is an important growth driver for China and the demand for investment would be huge in the years to come, Minister of Environmental Protection Chen Jining said here Saturday. Chen said at a press conference on the sidelines of the the National People's Congress annual session that total investment demand for environmental protection in China will be around 8 trillion yuan (1.3 trillion U.S. dollars) to 10 trillion yuan over the next few years. Such investment provides "good" momentum for economic growth as it has no repeated construction and yields long-term returns, Chen said. Currently the government funds accounted for 30 to 40 percent of the total input into environmental protection, said Chen, adding that social capital does not have full access to the market. The ministry will seek to advance price reform to build a mechanism for measuring project returns and further ease market access by means such as public private partnership, the minister said. Financing services will be improved, and regulation and oversight will be strengthened as well, he said. The world's most populous country, China has been seeking a "difficult balance" between economic and social development and ecological and environmental protection. Environmental deterioration is a blight on people's quality of life and a trouble that weighs on their hearts, Premier Li Keqiang said while delivering the annual government work report Thursday. "We must fight it with all our might," the premier said. Related: President Xi to give iron hand to polluters BEIJING, March 6 (Xinhua) -- President Xi Jinping vowed here Friday to give an iron hand to any polluters in the smog-choked country. "We are going to punish, with an iron hand, any violators who destroy ecology or environment, with no exceptions," said Xi, while reviewing the work report of the State Council together with National People's Congress (NPC) deputies from Jiangxi Province.Full story Legal construction of PX projects should continue: environmental minister BEIJING, March 7 (Xinhua) -- China's environmental protection minister Chen Jining said here on Saturday that the construction of city garbage incinerators and PX (paraxylene) projects should continue, but on the conditions that certain requirements are met. Chen made the remarks at a press conference in response to a reporter on the protests against the construction of PX factories or garbage incinerators. Full story Minister urges open information in pollution control BEIJING, March 7 (Xinhua) -- The government would enhance information transparency and guarantee the public's rights to supervise the fight against air pollution, China's environmental protection minister said Saturday. We would publish activities of the government and enterprises, leaving no space for violators to hide from the environmental protection law, said minister Chen Jining, at a press conference.Full story Extra efforts needed to battle smog: minister BEIJING, March 7 (Xinhua) -- China needs to make "extra efforts" to battle the grave air pollution that has raised public concern, the newly appointed Environmental Protection Minister said Saturday. More than 80 percent of about 300 cities failed to meet the official standard of air quality last year, with smog frequently hitting the Yangtze River and Pearl River deltas as well as the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, said minister Chen Jining, an environmental scientist and former president of Tsinghua University.Full story China vows active Int'l role in pollution fight BEIJING, March 7 (Xinhua) -- China on Saturday pledged to actively cooperate with other nations and International organizations in its battle against pollution. China's newly appointed Environmental Protection Minister Chen Jining made the remarks at a press conference on the sidelines of the ongoing annual session of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature.Full story