BEIJING: China’s Cabinet has unveiled ambitious air pollution control targets for 2024, aiming to accelerate the country’s green transition and improve public health, China Daily reported.
An action plan aimed at improving air quality published by the State Council, China’s Cabinet, last month included key targets to reduce the density of air pollutants in cities and shore up green industrial shifts, build a cleaner energy mix and develop a low-carbon transport system.
The action plan also mapped out key regions for air quality improvement, including the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and surrounding areas, the Yangtze River Delta region and the Fenwei Plain, an area that comprises parts of Shaanxi, Shanxi and Henan provinces.
According to the plan, the nation is targeting a 10 percent reduction in the density of PM2.5 – particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers or less – in prefecture-level cities next year when compared with levels in 2020.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), exp
osure to PM2.5 can cause cardiovascular and respiratory diseases such as stroke, lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The density of PM2.5 in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and surrounding areas will be reduced by 20 percent, and that in the Fenwei Plain by 15 percent. Emissions of nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds will be cut by over 10 percent.
Liu Bingjiang, chief engineer with the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, told a news briefing last month that China was the nation that saw the quickest improvement in air quality over the past decade. “However, the nation is still yet to witness a turning point from quantitative change to qualitative change in terms of air quality,” he said.
He said severe pollution still occurs frequently, with the petrochemical sector making up a significant proportion of China’s industrial structure and coal still dominating its energy mix. China rolled out a national plan targeting pollutants including PM2.5 in September 2013 that included a
raft of measures to renovate or close coal-fired boilers and power plants and promote green transport methods.
The use of natural gas across the nation doubled from 2013 to 2020, while steel production capacity was reduced by 250 million metric tons and coal production capacity by 1 billion tonnes, according to the ministry.
Liu said the containment of PM2.5 remained the priority in the latest national plan, which also emphasised the need to promote the green and low-carbon transformation of transportation to reduce emissions of nitric oxide and volatile organic compounds. Based on years of meteorological monitoring and scientific research, the national plan now covers more cities in the area surrounding the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, Liu added. According to the plan, the nation will resolutely curb the launch of new projects with high energy consumption and carbon emissions, including steps to ban new steel production capacity, accelerate the removal of outdated capacity in key sectors and foster green
industries.
More will be done to develop new and clean energy to ensure that non-fossil energy will account for 20 percent of the country’s total energy consumption by next year. The nation’s total consumption of coal will be strictly contained, with the plan targeting a 10 percent cut in coal consumption – compared with 2020 levels – in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and surrounding areas, and a 5 percent cut in the Yangtze River Delta region. The development of a green transport system will be another policy priority, with the plan looking to increase cargo transportation via railways by 10 percent and waterways by 12 percent by next year compared with 2020. New energy vehicles will account for no less than 80 percent of new or updated buses, taxis and other urban public transport vehicles in key areas, the plan said.
He Kebin, from Tsinghua University’s Institute for Carbon Neutrality, emphasised the need to improve air quality to protect human health and promote economic growth. Despite progress, Chin
a’s air quality still falls short of health protection standards.
He also highlighted evolving challenges in the nation’s fight against air pollution and stressed the importance of green and low-carbon development as the fundamental solution.
Wang Jinnan, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering and former head of the Chinese Academy of Environmental Planning, said reducing PM2.5 concentrations will continue to be the primary focus and core objective of China’s air pollution prevention and control.
To ensure the full implementation of the national action plan, Wang said local authorities must come up with their own plans while putting in place effective mechanisms to meet air quality standards and respond to weather conditions conducive to severe pollution.
Chai Fahe, a researcher on air pollution at the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, highlighted the significance of adopting targeted, scientific and lawful measures for air pollution control.
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