Intense smog is a global problem, says China’s environment minister
Chen Jining says climate abnormalities are creating a lethal mix with polluting industries not just in China, but around the world
China’s environment minister said smog has become a global concern that was caused by climate abnormalities, comparing the nation’s air pollution problem to those in London and Paris.
Serious smog has loomed over Beijing and many other cities in North China, while Paris went through more than a week of the worst winter pollution in a decade last month and London breached annual air pollution limits in first week of 2017.
Officials have pledged to take new actions against pollutant emission this year, but the battle would be a long and difficult one.
In a meeting on Saturday, acting Beijing mayor Cai Qi said the city government would step up use of clean energy, phase out vehicles using dirty fuels and crack down on polluting factories.
Chen Jining, the Minister of Environmental Protection, told state media on Friday that winter heating, industrial emissions and automobile exhausts were major contributers to smog, but the low air quality was also caused by unfavourable weather conditions linked to a very strong El Nino over the Pacific from 2015 to last year.