China sets roadmap to curb major pollutants
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China will continue its efforts to curb emissions of major pollutants and improve the environment in the coming decades, according to a study, jointly released by the Ministry of Health and the Chinese Academy of Engineering on Thursday.
In a three-step roadmap, as pointed out by the study, China will effectively curb the emission of major pollutants and ensure the nation' s environmental safety by 2020. By the end of 2030, the emissions volume of all pollutants will be "under full control" and improvements will have been made in overall environmental quality.
In the final stage, environmental quality should be compatible with people's increasing quality of living and China's rapid economic development by the end of 2050.
"China now faces more pressure on pollution control than any other country in the world. Challenges facing the environment and natural resources are among the harshest," said Zhou Shengxian, environmental protection minister, at the study's launch ceremony.
According to Zhou, the Chinese government will cut the emission of four major pollutants, sulfur dioxide, chemical oxygen demand, ammonia nitrogen and nitrogen oxide, by 1.5 percent from the 2010 level.
And by the end of 12th Five-year Plan period (2011-2015), emissions of sulfur dioxide and chemical oxygen demand will decrease 8%, while the ammonia nitrogen and nitrogen oxide will decrease by 10%.
Ammonia nitrogen and nitrogen oxide were newly added to the country's major pollutants monitoring list in accordance with the environmental protection plan for the 12 Five-Year Plan.
The government will also make and improve policies for emission reductions, such as favorable prices for electricity used during industrial pollutant disposal and higher fees for urban sewage emissions, Zhou said.
Zhou Ji, head of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said that the country must utilize limited natural resources in an efficient and sustainable manner through improving production and other technologies.
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