The General Office of the State Council recently issued the "Key Points for Opening Government Affairs in 2017" (hereinafter referred to as the "Key Points") to deploy and promote the work of opening government affairs nationwide. In particular, it is necessary to further promote the disclosure of environmental protection information.

The "Key Points" stipulates that the system of regular press conferences on environmental protection should be implemented, and information on environmental policies and measures and progress of environmental control should be made public in a timely manner. In particular, efforts should be made to publicize information on control measures, progress and results of heavy pollution weather and to respond to hot issues of social concern.

We will carry out the ranking of urban water quality and publish the list of the best and worst cities every year. Continue to promote centralized drinking water source monitoring information disclosure.

A unified platform for environmental information disclosure of enterprises is established to centrally release environmental information of key pollutant discharge units. According to law, information such as the findings of the investigation of major or sensitive environmental emergencies, the assessment results of environmental impacts and losses, etc. shall be made public.

Promptly and publicly implement the implementation plan, management and protection objectives and protection of rivers and lakes.

Information on major construction projects and public resources allocation should be promoted. Around major construction projects such as ecological and environmental protection, the results of examination and approval, approval and filing should be made public, responsibilities should be fulfilled, and information disclosure in the implementation process should be promoted. Carbon emissions and emission rights will be included in the national public resources trading platform. It is reported that this is the sixth consecutive year the State Council issued the "main points of work". What are the highlights of this year's work? What are the trends in the openness of government affairs?

Open government affairs is not like appearance.

Documents published in government affairs are not issued in the name of the State Office at the beginning of the year, but through the issuance of key points in the name of the State Office, the implementation of each item in the middle of the year, the supervision at the end of the year and the third-party assessment, to promote the publicity of key areas of information, policy interpretation, response to concerns, and the construction of institutional mechanisms. For example, the key areas of open government continue to deepen, understand the response work more precise and initiative. According to statistics, 92% of the State Council departments and 87% of the provincial governments can publish the reading materials to the public within three working days after the publication of the documents. Many local governments and principal responsible persons of the State Council departments take the lead in interpreting important policies and measures and act as "first interpreters". Especially for public opinion hot events and network hot spots, the response speed and sensitivity of governments at all levels have been significantly improved.

Public consensus is expected.

Openness of government affairs is not only about information disclosure, but also actively promoting economic and social development in system construction. We will focus on promoting the development of new industries, fostering new momentum, resolving excess capacity, upgrading consumption and improving product quality. We will help people's livelihood by making government affairs public, and we will focus on promoting public work in the areas of poverty alleviation and social assistance, environmental protection, education and health, food and drug safety.

Fully anticipate development risks

This year's work highlights some important areas of data disclosure. When formulating regulatory policies on new industries, new formats and new models, we should enlarge the participation of relevant market participants by means of consultation, hearing and discussion. Xiao Weibing, an associate professor of Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, believes that this fully embodies the trinity of openness, interpretation and response. He urges people to interpret well on an open basis so that the masses can understand, see and have a sense of acquisition. He also needs to understand social concerns in a timely manner and respond actively and accurately. This shows that public work is no longer passive and open, but to take the initiative to attack, identify the needs of the masses, improve the public effect.

In addition, the Key Points of Work also calls for greater public participation, public lists to consolidate the results of simplification and decentralization, and increased concentration of information disclosure. Wang Jingbo, Dean of the Institute of Rule of Law, China University of Political Science and Law, told reporters that this shows that government affairs openness has entered the stage of improving quality and efficiency. It is gradually expanding the depth and breadth of government affairs openness, focusing on platform construction, enhancing platform thinking, and enhancing public access to government information openness.

It is understood that the Ministry of Environmental Protection is currently in the process of revising the "Environmental Information Disclosure Measures (Trial Implementation)" to strengthen the construction of environmental information disclosure system.