Practical environmental measure

The general offices of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council, China's Cabinet, recently published a document stipulating that officials must receive an audit of natural resources when leaving office.

The move means outgoing officials will face a new environmental accountability audit aside from the previous economic responsibility audit.

In the past, officials' economic achievements came under strict scrutiny when they were promoted, moved to other positions, or retired, while not enough attention was paid to their environmental protection achievements. As a result, it was natural for officials to leave environmental problems to their successors.