He came to the environmental agency in March last year after a 20-year government career, much of it working as a journalist at different state-controlled newspapers. The environmental agency had -- indeed, it still has -- a reputation as well-intentioned but often powerless.
Pan has called for more power for regulators. He said the current system is designed so that local environmental officials often report only to local authorities -- not to the central agency. He said those officials often disregard concerns about pollution to push for economic growth, at any cost.
"The serious problem we're facing is not lack of people," Pan said. "More important is we need the laws and power to enforce environmental protection. This requires systemic reform."
He has pushed for aggressive exploration of new energy sources, noting that China's growing dependence on coal is environmentally unsustainable. He wants tax penalties on heavier polluting industries and tax rewards for industries that conserve. And in October, environmental officials will begin preparations for trying out the so-called "green" gross domestic product, a new formulation that would reflect environmental costs in calculating economic growth.
A pilot program in certain cities and provinces will begin next year.
Whether it will all result in nothing more than a lot of words, or the beginning of real action, remains to be seen.
Engineer's son
Born in Jiangsu Province, Pan is the son of an engineer general in the People's Liberation Army. He considers himself a member of China's intellectual class as well as a government official, and his early work in media jibed neatly with his appetite for issues and debate.
In his latest post, Pan seems to understand the shock value of saying in public what many Chinese environmentalists, and even some officials, are saying in private.
He has pushed for greater grass-roots activism and helped the environmental agency organize student groups at 174 universities.
He said such public activism, as well as new government policies, are essential for China's future. "There's not a third road on this issue that is available to China," he says.
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