China took a step towards a smog-free future today with the announcement of a wide new set of pollution controls.
For the first time, the Ministry of Environmental Protection added ammonia nitrogen and nitrogen oxide to its list of reduction targets.
As part of efforts to cut these emissions by 1.5% this year, the ministry said greater efforts will be made to cut vehicles’ exhausts and to tackle the worst polluting industries, such as paper-making, textiles and chemical plants.
In a website report, environmental minister Zhou Shengxian said the government will increase investment in waste-treatment plants and tighten standards for approval of construction projects.
Few details were provided, but the announcement comes ahead of China’s new five-year economic plan, which is expected to ramp up environmental protection.
In the past two weeks, the government has also unveiled new measures to improve environmental monitoring and make the information quickly and widely available.
The nitrogen compounds - along with new chemical goals - will be added to existing goals aimed to lower sulphur dioxide (which causes acid rain) and chemical oxygen demand (a measure of water contamination).
It was only as recently as 2005 that bureaucrats first introduced numerical environmental targets in the state plan. Relatively modest goals were set to reduce sulphur dioxide and chemical oxygen demand.
Even though these were achieved ahead of time, the gains were apparent in the statistics rather than the sky. Beijing and other cities remain shrouded in smog for much of the year.
Having proved that success is possible, analysts believe bureaucrats now have the confidence to add other tougher targets that will make an evident impact.
“What they are trying to do this time is really push the ball forward to do enough to actually make a visible difference,” said Deborah Seligsohn of the World Resources Institute. “You are seeing a transition from showing effect to showing results.”
However critics say that if China wants to completely eradicate smog, it should also set reduction targets for persistent organic compounds, ozone and particulate matter.
