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Viola Zhou

China will set up a no-coal zone in cities around Beijing next year in efforts to tackle the capital’s hazardous smog.
The ban, if effectively enforced, could reduce the region’s air pollution, but more has to be done in other areas, especially by steelmakers, experts say.
Appalling air quality: Beijing takes deep breath as smog season sets in
Starting from November 2017, factories as well as households in 18 districts and towns in Hebei province would not be allowed to burn coal or build new power generators powered by petroleum coke, Xinhua reported.


However, the restriction will not cover coal-fired electricity generators and centralised heating in the 7,148 square kilometres area, the report said.
Hebei, which surrounds Beijing, has been the centre of China’s efforts to combat pollution as the home of seven of the country’s 10 smoggiest cities.

More than one million households in the villages of the future no-coal zone still use coal-fuelled heating units, which has led to severe air pollution problems, according to Hebei government’s official website.
To replace coal consumption with cleaner fuels, the provincial government will provide allowances for villages to pay for electricity and natural gas, as well as upgrade their heating systems.
Smog could shrink Chinese economy by up to 2.6 per cent by 2060: study
Ma Jun, director of the Beijing-based Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, said the new move could reduce air pollution by replacing coal-fired boilers with more efficient coal-fired electricity.
However, he said the ban on household coal-fuelling heating might not be easy to enforce because some people would still opt for cheap coal, even after they received allowances.

The clean-energy zone also failed to cover cities where most of Hebei’s heavily-polluting steelmakers were located, Ma said.
“To set up a no-coal zone can reduce some pollution in the region,” he said. “It is an important step, but many more steps need to be taken to solve the problem.”
Who is that unmasked man? Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg shrugs off Beijing’s smog on Tiananmen Square run
The central government has grown increasingly concerned by the notorious smog problems in and around Beijing, which have caused public discontent and tarnished the image of the country’s political centre.

Various methods have been taken to make the sky blue in the capital.
In February, the city announced a plan to develop a network of “ventilation corridors” to help disperse smog.
China’s smog clouds have a silver lining: they may help prevent global warming, claims new study
Air quality in the capital usually grows worse in autumn and winter.
Beijing considers classifying worst smog events as natural disasters
On Sunday, Beijing authorities issued a yellow alert for poor air quality and said the smog had ushered in the start of the pollution season.


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China pollution

China to set up no-coal zones in cities around Beijing to tackle hazardous smog

From November 2017, factories and homes in Hebei will be banned from burning coal or building new petroleum-coke-powered generators

Chinese commuters wear face masks as heavy air pollution continues to shroud Beijing on February 25, 2014. China's cities are often hit by heavy pollution, blamed on coal-burning by power stations and industry, as well as vehicle use, and it has become a major source of discontent with the ruling Communist Party. AFP PHOTO/Mark RALSTON / AFP PHOTO / MARK RALSTON

FILE - In this Dec. 3, 2009 file photo smoke billows from a chimney of the cooling towers of a coal-fired power plant in Dadong, Shanxi province, China. The International Energy Agency says the world's energy-related carbon dioxide emissions rose 1.4 percent in 2012 to a record high of 31.6 gigatons, even as the U.S. posted its lowest emissions since the mid-1990s. In a report released Monday June 10, 2013, the IEA says China saw the largest emissions growth last year, but the increase was among the lowest seen in a decade amid investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)

In this photo taken on November 20, 2015, a worker sorts coal on a conveyer belt, near a coal mine at Datong, in China's northern Shanxi province. A Chinese pledge to upgrade the nation's coal-fired power plants to cut pollution is aimed mainly at soothing domestic fears over dangerous smog, rather than tackling climate change emissions, analysts said on December 3. AFP PHOTO / GREG BAKER / AFP PHOTO / GREG BAKER

A combo photo shows, left, a view of the Corner Tower of the Forbidden City and, right, the same spot in a heavy smog day. 01DEC15 SCMP/Simon Song

Buildings stand shrouded in smog in Beijing, China, on Wednesday, March 2, 2016. Obscured by the focus on the accuracy of China's growth figures is a tumble in estimates for the economy without adjusting for inflation -- a slide that gives a clearer picture of why the country's slowdown has stoked rising concern about its debt burden. Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg ORG XMIT: 608097755

In this photo taken on November 20, 2015, a worker clears a conveyer belt used to transport coal, near a coal mine at Datong, in China's northern Shanxi province. A Chinese pledge to upgrade the nation's coal-fired power plants to cut pollution is aimed mainly at soothing domestic fears over dangerous smog, rather than tackling climate change emissions, analysts said on December 3. AFP PHOTO / GREG BAKER / AFP PHOTO / GREG BAKER

A photograph, combining two images, showing Beijing from the top of Jingshan Park – one with blue sky (left) taken on December 2, 2015, and the other with serious smog taken one day before, on December 1. Photos: Simon Song

Appalling air quality: Beijing takes deep breath as smog season sets in

A pall of air pollution hangs over Tiananmen Square in the capital yesterday as visitors admire a huge flower display. Photo: Xinhua

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From November 2017, factories and homes in Hebei will be banned from burning coal or building new petroleum-coke-powered generators
