Beijing was again enveloped in heavy smog after just a one-week respite from the last bout of suffocating weather, when this year’s full session of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China’s top political advisory body, began in Beijing on March 3., the city was again enveloped in heavy smog after just a one-week respite from the last bout of suffocating weather.

Dense haze shrouded an area of 1.43 million square km, surrounding the cities of Beijing and Tianjin, as well as the neighboring Hebei Province from February 20 to 26. The pollution was so severe that on February 21, the Beijing Municipal Government, for the first time ever, issued an orange alert, the second highest in its four-level warning system for air pollution. The smog dissipated on February 27 due to favorable weather conditions.

In recent years, Beijing has found itself chronically plagued by recurring smog.

“We must wage a war against pollution, just as with the war against poverty,” said Premier Li Keqiang when delivering the government work report to lawmakers at the opening of the Second Session of the 12th National People’s Congress (NPC) on March 5.

Li admitted that increasing smog and salient pollution are warnings from nature regarding the extensive growth model. He said that China must strengthen environmental protection and be determined to crack down on pollution with tough tactics.

According to Li, a focus should be put on mega cities and regions frequently hit by smog. “We will start by reducing PM 10 (particulate matter less than 10 micrometers in diameter) and PM 2.5 (fine particles less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter),” he said, citing key measures such as improving the industrial structure, raising energy efficiency, reducing vehicle exhaust emissions and preventing and monitoring wind-borne dust.

Concerted efforts

“Smog must be tackled through coordinated efforts, as pollutants are transferred across regions by winds. Measures taken on by a single city will not achieve the desired result,” Yu Rucong, a CPPCC National Committee member and deputy head of the China Meteorological Administration, toldChinAfrica“For example, air pollutants from the coal-rich Shanxi Province can be easily carried to Beijing by southwestern winds, causing serious pollution around the capital city.”

“The China Meteorological Administration has established a smog monitoring network, which takes air visibility, moisture and PM 2.5 concentration into account,” Yu said.

In September 2013, the State Council, China’s cabinet, released an action plan for air pollution prevention and control, which requires smog-prone regions surrounding Beijing, the Yangtze River Delta area in east China and the Pearl River Delta area in the south to take coordinated actions against heavy pollution.

Gao Yubao, another CPPCC National Committee member and President of Tianjin Normal University, calls for the establishment of a state-level mechanism to conduct regional consultations on environmental impact evaluations, launch crackdowns on environmental offenses, as well as coordinate information sharing, early warning and emergency response systems for severe pollution. He said that cross-regional emergency drills and training should be conducted regularly.

Upgrading fuel quality

“Although the specific causes of smog are still being disputed, the general consensus is that vehicle emissions is a major source of air pollution,” Li Can, an academician with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, toldChinAfrica.

Li Can, also a CPPCC National Committee member, said that real-time data shows that PM 2.5 levels in downtown areas are remarkably higher than that in suburban areas. “Using low-sulfur fuel products can effectively reduce toxic substances in vehicle exhaust fumes, so the government should gradually raise fuel quality standards and demand oil companies use cutting-edge technologies to produce low-sulfur gas and diesel.”

In the government work report, Premier Li said that in 2014, 6 million old high-emission vehicles will be removed from the roads, and diesel meeting the National IV Emission Standard, which requires the maximum sulfur content to be no more than 50 parts per million (ppm), will be supplied across the country.

Diesel-burning vehicles are responsible for 70 percent of the total nitrate oxide emissions and more than 90 percent of total particulate matter emissions from automobiles in China, according to Xu Guanju, Chairman of the private Transfar Group in east China’s Zhejiang Province.

Xu, also a CPPCC National Committee member, said that more attention should be paid to truck emissions in tackling air pollution.

Data from the Ministry of Environmental Protection show that total nitrate oxide and particulate matter emitted by trucks, especially heavy duty vehicles, are apparently higher than that emitted by cars, Xu toldChinAfrica.

China has about 11 million trucks in operation. Xu said that stricter exhaust standards should be imposed on them and their operation efficiency should be improved.

Adjusting energy structure

In his government work report, Premier Li said that this year, China will cut its energy intensity by more than 3.9 percent, along with reductions in sulfur dioxide and chemical oxygen demand by 2 percent. He also pledged to increase the share of electricity from non-fossil fuels, develop smart grids, promote balanced distribution of energy resources, encourage the development of wind and solar power, as well as start construction of a number of hydropower and nuclear power projects.

Liu Zhenya, Board Chairman of the State Grid Corp., calls for speeding up the replacement of coal with electricity for household heating and industrial production, and vigorously promoting the use of electric vehicles as well as track traffic.

“Surplus electricity in China’s western and northern regions could be transmitted to its eastern and central regions through ultra-high-voltage power grids,” said Liu, also a CPPCC National Committee member.

“A major cause of China’s environmental deterioration is inefficient use of resources,” said Jia Kang, a CPPCC member and Director of the Research Institute for Fiscal Science under the Ministry of Finance.

Jia suggests pushing ahead with reform on the resource tax, which should be made an ad valorem tax that covers major energy sources including coal. He said that in this way, businesses and the general public will be motivated to cut energy consumption out of their own economic interests.

Improving legislation

In their separate interviews withChinAfrica, several CPPCC National Committee members unanimously urged the improvement of laws and regulations concerning air pollution.

Sun Taili, Board Chairman of Tianjin-based Qingda Group, said that China’s Air Pollution Prevention and Control Law, which took effect in December 1989, has not been amended since 2000. “The law mainly addresses pollutants from coal combustion such as sulfur dioxide and dust, but not yet PM 2.5,” he said. “It is imperative to amend the law.”

While the law should tackle such types of pollutants as photochemicals and PM 2.5, it should include regional joint prevention and control measures and industrial restructuring as well, said Liu Bingjiang, Director General of the Department of Total Pollutants Control under the Ministry of Environmental Protection. 

“Improving laws concerning environmental protection is very important and controlling pollution according to law should be a focus in the future,” said Vice Minister of Environmental Protection Wu Xiaoqing at a press conference on March 8.

Amending the Air Pollution Prevention and Control Law was listed on the NPC’s legislative plan in 2011. The draft amendment was deliberated by the NPC Standing Committee for the first time in August 2012, and for the second and third time in June and October last year. Wu said that the draft is currently being amended.