China
11:11, 01-Sep-2017
China says local governments not pulling their weight in pollution offensive
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Some local governments in China are not doing enough to combat air pollution, says the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP).
It comes as Beijing gears up to launch a tough new campaign to curb winter smog and meet air quality targets.
The MEP announced last week that it would step up efforts to bring smog under control this winter and force up to 28 northern cities to reduce concentrations of hazardous particles by at least 15 percent compared to 2016’s numbers in the coming months.
The environment ministry says some local governments aren't pulling their weight in the fight against air pollution. /AFP Photo
The environment ministry says some local governments aren't pulling their weight in the fight against air pollution. /AFP Photo
The MEP’s plan of attack is part of a year-long campaign launched in April, aimed at ensuring the heavily polluted Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region meets targets set in 2013 to improve air quality and head off growing public unrest.
But according to the ministry, a small number of local government bodies at the county level or below still “did not show sufficient awareness of the importance, difficulty and urgency of air pollution prevention work.”
It said that out of more than the 38,000 enterprises that have been inspected in the region since April, 57 percent were found to have “problems”.
Readings of tiny PM2.5 particles rose 11.3 percent in the first seven months of the year in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, caused by near record smog levels in January and February.
Average PM2.5 readings stood at 69 micrograms per cubic meter, nearly double the state standard of 35 micrograms.
Clear blue skies over the capital is what the government wants to see much more of. /AFP Photo
Clear blue skies over the capital is what the government wants to see much more of. /AFP Photo
The central government had ordered the region to lower PM2.5 by more than 25 percent across the 2012-2017 period.
To ensure targets are met and winter policies properly implemented, the ministry said it would dispatch 102 inspection teams to 28 cities in the region beginning September 15.
The teams will assess action needed to meet winter targets and review efforts made earlier in the year to “rectify” non-compliant firms and ensure that problems do not recur, the MEP said.
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Source(s): Reuters