China faces protracted battle against choking pollution
Andrew Leung says despite the government's best intentions, China's major cities face many more years of choking pollution, given the massive problems created by breakneck growth
Last year, China suffered the worst air pollution in 52 years, according to the Ministry of Environmental Protection. Outdoor air pollution, a leading cause of cancer, contributed to 1.2 million premature deaths in China in 2010. Industry and transport account for nearly 80 per cent of such pollution. There are now increasing calls for action.
The State Council issued an action plan on the prevention and control of air pollution last September, to be led by the state and driven by the market, based on the principle of polluters pay and using both sticks and carrots.
Beijing will reduce the issue of licence plates for petrol-fuelled cars by 40 per cent, to 150,000 a year by 2017, to be offset by an equivalent increase of licences for electric cars and hybrid vehicles. "China IV" vehicles of less stringent emission standards will be replaced nationwide by "China V" greener models.
New coal-fired power plants have been banned in the three main industrial regions. Nuclear installed capacity is to reach 50 million kilowatts by 2017, increasing the share of non-fossil energy consumption to 13 per cent, from 8.6 per cent in 2010. The State Council is to sign target responsibility letters with all provincial governments, conduct annual inspections and enforce accountability. The 10 best and 10 worst air-quality performers will be named each month.
So, the right boxes appear to have been ticked. However, decades of breakneck industrial growth have created such massive problems that an early transformation seems elusive.