PM2.5 density in Chinese cities drops

PM2.5 density, a main measure of air pollution, dropped by 7.9 percent in 74 major Chinese cities in the first half of 2014 compared with the same period last year.
The density of PM10, particles under 10 microns in diameter, was down by 6.5 percent, according to a report on the enforcement of the Law on the Prevention and Control of Atmospheric Pollution, which was submitted to the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, China's top legislature, for deliberation on Wednesday.
China has vowed to strengthen air pollution control. Smog-prone Beijing will adopt a special air pollution control plan for the upcoming APEC meetings, featuring temporary closure of factories in the event of a pollution warning.
Shen Yueyue, NPC Standing Committee vice-chairwoman, told lawmakers that China has continuously increased charges for emissions of major pollutants, with charges in key cities such as Beijing and Tianjin increasing five- to 15-fold.
The newly released air quality standard covers more indices, such as those for fine particles, ozone and carbon monoxide, she added.
The report said the government has enhanced efforts in industrial restructuring, restricting the capacity of high-polluting, energy-intensive industries, eliminating obsolete productivity and dissolving surplus capacity.
Prevention and control of industrial and traffic pollution has been strengthened, it said, adding that new energy vehicles and urban afforestation have been promoted widely.
However, the report pointed out that the country's energy structure is unreasonable, with "coal consumption causing serious pollution during north China's heating period each winter."
Incompetent supervision by local governments is also to blame, it said. Of all reported cases received by the Ministry of Environmental Protection last year, 73 percent were about air pollution, but only 12 percent of cases dealt with by the ministry each year were air pollution cases, the report said.
Some enterprises even conceal or falsify monitored data in order to evade legal punishment, the report said, adding many companies prefer paying fines to actively treating pollution because "fines are far lower than the cost of pollution treatment."
It proposed seriously cracking down on law violations in environmental fields, developing clean energy, including wind, solar and nuclear power, and promoting public transport.
(To stay up to date with the latest China news, follow XHNews on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/XHNews and Xinhua News Agency on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/XinhuaNewsAgency.)