The Asian development bank's role in promoting cleaner production in the People's Republic of China

The People's Republic of China (PRC) has the fastest growing economy in the world and is the third largest producer and consumer of energy. At the same rime, the PRC's industrial sector contributes heavily to air and water pollution. Because of the linkages between the production and use of energy and environmental degradation, the PRC, with the active support of bilateral and multilateral aid agencies, including the Asian Development Bank (ADB), is adopting measures that link economic growth to improvements in the environment. The PRC is pursuing a two-pronged strategy that involves implementing priority investment programs and promoting economic reforms. The ADB's experience shows that the concept of cleaner production (CP) has been widely accepted but the widespread adoption of Cp requires a new way of thinking and new management capacities. In this regard the PRC is at an early stage of promoting CP, and inadequacies in coordination among relevant agencies remain a key obstacle. To support CP activities, the ADB is participating in a cluster of activities within China that include policy development, capacity building, and financing environmental investments. This article describes the ADB's current efforts to promote CP in PRC and analyzes the effectiveness of those efforts. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Inc.