China targets elimination of severe air pollution by 2025

China aims to essentially eliminate severe air pollution by 2025, the final year of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025), said Li Tianwei, an official with the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, on Monday.

To reach this goal, China will ramp up efforts in pollution control and emission reduction, improve its air quality forecasting and early warning systems, and enhance coordinated management of PM2.5 and ozone pollution, Li told at a press conference.

In 2024, China's air quality continued to improve significantly. The average concentration of PM2.5 in cities at or above the prefecture level was 29.3 micrograms per cubic meter, a year-on-year decrease of 2.7 percent.

The proportion of days with good air quality reached 87.2 percent, up by 1.7 percentage points year on year.

"The blue sky is not given; it is earned," Li said.

In China, mobile sources are a significant contributor to air pollutant emissions, accounting for roughly 60 percent of the national nitrogen oxides and 24 percent of the volatile organic compounds.

To effectively tackle mobile source air pollution, it is crucial to expedite the development and revision of relevant standards, the official said, adding that China plans to introduce new emission standards that align with global best practices.

China will also boost the share of new energy vehicles and machinery in airports, ports and logistics parks, along with accelerating the transition of long-haul bulk cargo transportation from road to rail and waterways, Li concluded.