Chinese Cities to Coordinate Efforts to Clear up the Sky

Regional air pollution, including acid rain, haze and smog, is posing a severe threat to people's health in China.

For the first time, the central government has issued a plan requiring Chinese cities to coordinate their efforts to clear up the sky.

Zhang Ru has more.
With the development of regional economies and the acceleration of urbanization, the levels of air pollution in China have become increasingly hazardous.

Zhu Tong, Professor of Environmental Sciences at Peking University, says most cities cannot do enough to control air pollution on their own.

"When tackling air pollution, a single city will often ignore the pollutants that travel from nearby cities. So to essentially improve air quality, cities need to coordinate their efforts to ensure that they can not only cut their own pollutant emissions but also mitigate the impact of pollution caused by other cities."

Chai Fahe, Assistant Director of the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, says the central government's new policy is a breakthrough in existing pollution control policies.

"The current law on the prevention and control of atmospheric pollution only stipulates the government's responsibility at a city level or provincial level. Now the plan stresses regional cooperation."

The new plan lists China's three major industrial hubs—the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta and Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region—as the "key air polluting areas" in the implementation of regional air pollution control programs.

An official from the Ministry of Environmental Protection says the three regions have recorded more than 100 hazy days annually in recent years.

Zhu Tong says that scientific research is necessary to better implement the program.

"We should make a regional air pollution control plan based on scientific study. For example, the plan should set different pollution emissions standards for different cities. So a regional study center for air pollution control is needed."

Zhu also says that a cross-regional management committee should be set up to supervise and coordinate the local governments.

He says during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, the Beijing municipal government worked with nearby cities and provinces such as Tianjin and Hebei to improve air quality, and got good results.

Chai Fahe says China can also learn from the successful experiences of other countries.

"Europe basically conducts air pollution control at a continental level. Take the control of acid rain as an example. Europe differentiates each county's obligation to cut sulfur dioxide emissions and other nitrogen oxides emissions based on their different contributions to acid deposition."

The new plan pledges to set up a new mechanism within five years to improve air quality. Besides the existing pollution control program for sulfur dioxide, regional emissions caps for nitrogen oxides will also be established.

For CRI, I'm Zhang Ru.