Together with long-time partner, the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE), we released the 2016-2017 Pollution Information Transparency Index (PITI) report on September 7th at a press event attended by representatives from local environmental protection bureaus, academia, NGOs and media. This is the eighth annual assessment of over 100 key Chinese cities on their local governments' performance in disclosing critical pollution and environmental information to the general public. The report finds that Beijing and cities in the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta, and Shandong Province perform better than the western inland cities. PITI is expected to serve as the key indicator in fostering China's green finance development. When media recently asked Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) to comment on PITI report, the spokesperson welcomed NGO's participation in promoting environmental information disclosure, the first time the government has openly encouraged the assessment work.