Does the Central Environmental Inspection actually work?

Area of Science:

• Environmental governance
• Policy analysis
• Sustainable development

Background:

• China's Central Environmental Inspection (CEI) is a key strategy for environmental governance reform.
• The first round of CEI concluded in 2017, necessitating performance evaluation.
• Assessing CEI effectiveness is crucial for optimizing environmental management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To comprehensively evaluate the performance of China's Central Environmental Inspections (CEI).
• To analyze CEI effectiveness across multiple dimensions including target achievement, local rectification, direct effect, and social involvement.
• To identify provincial variations and provide policy recommendations for future CEI optimization.

Main Methods:

• Development of a multi-dimensional index system based on the Balanced Scorecard framework.
• Application of content analysis to evaluate CEI performance in all inspected provinces.
• Identification of provincial shortcomings and formulation of targeted policy recommendations.

Main Results:

• CEI has demonstrated encouraging progress in environmental governance, with accumulated experience enhancing subsequent performance.
• Provincial performance in central regions significantly outperformed other regions.
• CEI has successfully promoted public environmental awareness and participation, though feedback mechanisms require improvement.

Conclusions:

• CEI is a successful strategy for advancing environmental governance in China.
• While target achievement is largely realized, enhancing official accountability and feedback loops is essential.
• Policy recommendations are provided to guide future improvements in local environmental governance and CEI practices.