Faced with a worsening situation, the government’s environmental watchdog pulled the plug on 163 projects worth billions of dollars that posed risks to the environment. Many of the projects suspended by the State Environment Protection Administration (SEPA) were heavily polluting and energy-guzzling such as steel and power plants. In the past week, the central People’s Bank of China joined the crackdown. It said companies with bad environmental records would find it harder to get loans. … Read the full story.