Smog is result of 'failed growth model'

Greenpeace says Beijing's develop first, clean up later plan is not working

The persistent smog that has shrouded the Olympic host city for the past five days despite sweeping contingency measures to cut pollution was the result of a decades-long pursuit of development at the expense of the environment, an international green group said.

In a report on Beijing's environmental performance for the Games issued yesterday, Greenpeace expressed concerns over the impact of pollution on competing athletes, who are much more sensitive to air-quality problems than the public.

Entitled 'China After the Olympics: Lessons From Beijing', the report gave a mixed assessment of the capital's environmental efforts over the years, compiled a long list of missed opportunities for the host city and voiced dismay at authorities' lack of transparency in handling environmental information.

It came as the city was shrouded in heavy smog again yesterday, which left the Games' organisers struggling to find a solution with 10 days left before the opening ceremony. 'Despite all the efforts, Beijing's air quality today is probably not yet up to what the world is expecting of an Olympic host city,' said Lo Sze-ping, campaign director of Greenpeace China.

'This shows China's growth model of 'develop first and clean up later' is wrong and should be dropped as soon as possible. It is easy to pollute but much harder to clean up the damage.' Beijing's smoggy skies for the past five consecutive days were a good case in point.