China struggling to meet pollution targets
Print Edition
China is struggling to meet its 2011-2015 targets to reduce pollution, cut greenhouse gas growth and introduce cleaner sources of energy, a report submitted to the country’s legislature said yesterday.
The report, which covers the 2011-2012 period, said faster-than-expected economic growth is to blame for China’s failure to meet environmental targets ranging from energy use to nitrogen oxide emissions.
The state of China’s environment has come into particular focus this year, with most major cities engulfed by hazardous smog during the course of the year, including Beijing in January and Shanghai earlier this month.
Determined to alleviate the country’s air, water and soil headaches, the government has promised to put an end to its “growth at all costs” economic model. It has already introduced new policies aimed at reining in polluting industries, cutting coal use and thinning traffic.
But the government report said China was already playing catch-up, Xinhua news agency reported.
China wants energy intensity — the amount of energy consumed per unit of gross domestic product — to fall by 16 percent over 2011-2015, but it had dropped by just 5.54 percent by the end of last year.
Efforts to reduce the amount of carbon emissions per unit of GDP by 17 percent over the same period were also behind schedule, with the actual decline over 2011-2012 standing at just 6.6 percent.
China also aims to raise the share of non-fossil fuels in its total primary energy mix to 11.4 percent over the 2011-2015 period, but it had reached just 9.4 percent by the end of last year, up only 0.8 percentage points since 2010.
The slow progress made over 2011-2012 could put additional pressure on local governments to implement tougher measures against polluters, and even shut down energy-intensive industries such as steel or cement.
At the end of 2010, north China’s Hebei Province and several other provinces ordered dozens of steel mills to close down in a last-ditch attempt to meet a binding 2006-2010 energy intensity target.
This month, several steel production facilities have already been temporarily closed in Hebei in order to cut pollution, and more closures are expected next year.
The spread of suffocating smog to more Chinese cities this winter came as another warning for the country to intensify its campaign against environmental damage caused by three decades of rapid growth.
In the latest attack, the smog hit 16 out of 74 monitored cities on Tuesday. The smog readings of the cities exceeded 300, or about six times the level deemed safe. A dozen cities measured “beyond index” on the pollution scale.
Most soggy days in 52 years
A post on Sina Weibo joked that “Christmas has to be canceled because Santa Claus fell in the snow and failed to get help on his gift-buying trip in China due to the smoggy weather.”
Official data showed that 2013 has had the most smoggy days of any year in the past 52 years.
Since the beginning of December, at least 25 regions and provinces have reported high pollution levels, particularly of PM2.5, tiny particles that can lodge in the lungs and cause respiratory diseases.
The smog plague reflects the dual effects of China’s unchecked economic expansion, raising the pivotal issue that a new balance needs to be reached between economic growth and environmental protection.
The country has announced measures over the years to tackle pollution, but has made little apparent progress.
Local officials usually overlook the environmental good to go after short-term economic benefits, which will help their political careers.
Meanwhile, dispersed environmental responsibilities across government departments have led to poor handling of policies.
The shutdown of factories and coal-fired power plants as well as the stricter environmental standards have also met strong opposition in industry circles.
The government that took office in March has moved to steer the economy away from a growth-at-all-costs pattern and is rolling out measures to strengthen the campaign against pollution.
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