Thousands fall foul of nation鈥檚 pollution fight
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Around 8,500 people suspected of involvement in more than 4,500 crimes related to the environment were arrested last year, Environment Minister Chen Jining told lawmakers yesterday.
Addressing a bi-monthly session of the National People鈥檚 Congress Standing Committee, Chen said stricter enforcement of tough environmental laws were a key factor in driving down air pollution.
Environment authorities transferred more than 2,000 cases of suspected environmental law violations to the police, more than double the total over the previous 10 years, he said.
Close to 3,400 companies and 3,700 construction sites were found to have violated environment laws and more than 3,100 workshops were closed following air quality inspections by Ministry of Environmental Protection officials, Chen said.
Air pollution has become a major concern for the residents of China鈥檚 major cities.
According to a ministry communique released earlier this month, only 16 of the 161 major cities subject to air quality monitoring met the national standards for clean air in 2014.
However, Chen, who was appointed environment minister in March, said overall air quality had improved in 2014 and early this year.
Air quality improvements
Average PM10 readings in 338 cities monitored by the ministry dropped by 2.1 percent year on year in 2014 and 5.3 percent in the first four months of this year.
Readings of PM2.5 鈥 the smaller particles which pose an even greater health risk 鈥 fell 11.1 percent in 2014 and 15.2 percent from January to April this year across the country, the minister said.
Air quality improvements were particularly evident in the notoriously smoggy Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, where PM2.5 readings recorded drops of 12.3 percent in 2014 and 20 percent this year, Chen said.
He attributed the decrease to additional government financial support and enforcement of its policies, new technology and better coordination between ministries and among cities in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Pearl River Delta and the Yangtze River Delta.
The government earmarked 9.8 billion yuan (US$1.6 billion) for air pollution prevention and control in 2014 in addition to 2.5 billion in budget investment arrangements, Chen said, adding that government funds helped leverage private investment worth some 300 billion yuan.
He noted that China had managed to meet its target set in the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) to cut outdated capacity in the polluting steel, cement and glass sectors one year ahead of target, and that optimization of the country鈥檚 energy structure is already in motion.
Nationwide consumption of coal fell for the first time in 15 years in 2014, when it declined 2.9 percent. Meanwhile, clean energy sources such as hydroelectricity, wind energy, nuclear energy and natural gas saw their total share in the power mix rise by 1.3 points to 16.9 percent.
Discharges of key pollutants including sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOC) had been checked, while vehicle emissions had been curbed by pulling heavy-polluting vehicles off the road while promoting new energy cars.
The next step is to further optimize the country鈥檚 industrial and energy structure and cut back on discharges of air pollutants, Chen said.
Authorities will continue to cut outdated capacity this year, shut down 1,000 small coal mines, improve the quality of coal, ensure a stable supply of natural gas, and promote the use of clean energy and energy-saving buildings, Chen said.
They will aim to reduce discharges of SO2 and NOx by 3 and 5 percent respectively, and to 鈥渟trictly control鈥 VOC.
Chen said efforts will also be made to improve the evaluation of governments鈥 implementation of air pollution control measures, deepen regional coordination, step up technological research and sharpen laws and regulations to make polluters pay.
A new Environmental Protection Law came into effect this year. A daily fine system was incorporated to punish offenders and motivate companies to expedite the costly modifications needed to reduce pollutants. In cases where fined violators fail to rectify the problem, the fine can increase without limit.
Chen said environmental authorities would 鈥渂ring new tools introduced in the law into full play, conduct more covert inspections and seek heavier penalties for companies guilty of illicit or excess emissions and those which forge pollution data.鈥
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