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Climate change: can China eliminate heavy air pollution by 2025?
- Beijing’s ambitious new plan will cover more than 230 cities and target emissions from heavy industry and transport
- The plan also aims reduce ground-level ozone, now the biggest source of air pollution in major urban centres
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China’s government has set an ambitious target that would essentially eliminate the country’s notorious heavy pollution days by 2025.
In a joint action plan issued by 15 central government agencies on Friday, authorities said they aim to eliminate heavy air pollution in more than 230 cities across the country by 2025.
The plan also intends to cut the emissions of two ozone precursors – volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides – by more than 10 per cent by 2025 compared with 2020 levels.
China defines heavily polluted days as periods with an air quality index (AQI) level over 200, which is considered “very unhealthy” or “hazardous”. On Friday afternoon, six cities in northern China recorded AQI levels above 200, according to the China National Environmental Monitoring Centre.
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Ma Jun, director of the Beijing-based Institute of Public & Environmental Affairs, said: “It is an urgent problem that needs to be solved in tackling air pollution, and it has the greatest impact on the public’s health and quality of life.
“The [2025] goal is challenging, but it is very significant.”
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China’s air quality has improved significantly over the past decade, especially after a campaign launched in 2013 to tackle smog and air pollution.
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