China to ‘make our skies blue again’ despite economic challenges

The prime minister listed a series of measures China will take this year to help clear the air, including upgrading coal-fired power plants to make them less polluting, reducing coal-fired heating, and implementing 'round-the-clock monitoring' of industrial pollution.

A woman wearing a mask as she rides her bicycle along a street near Tiananmen Square on December 21, 2015 - the third day of a 'red alert' for pollution in Beijing. Premier Li Keqiang has pledged to make China’s smoggy skies blue again during his opening address to the National People's Congress on Mach 5, 2017. Wang Zhao/AFPShow less

BEIJING // Premier Li Keqiang pledged on Sunday to make China’s smoggy skies blue again and “work faster” to address pollution caused by the burning of coal for heat and electricity.

Mr Li’s words at the opening of the annual National People’s Congress highlight how public discontent has made reducing smog, the most visible of China’s environment problems, a priority for the leadership. The 10-day event got under way under a sunny blue sky, thanks to heavy gusts from the north that cleared away the unhealthy grey from the day before.

But swathes of northern China were blanketed under toxic smog this winter, affecting more than 100 million people and forcing government agencies to take emergency measures to curb pollution.

“Environmental pollution remains grave, and in particular, some areas are frequently hit by smog,” Mr Li told almost 3,000 delegates to the rubber-stamp NPC.

But “we will make our skies blue again”, he said in the annual state-of-the-nation speech.

Protests have increasingly broken out in cities where residents oppose the building of chemical plants and rubbish incinerators, as China’s middle class grows increasingly vocal in awareness of the dangers of pollution.

Pollution has plagued China for years, with the dramatic fouling of the country’s air, water and soil representing the dark side of breakneck economic growth that has lifted hundreds of millions out of poverty.

Mr Li listed a series of measures China will take this year to help clear the air, including upgrading coal-fired power plants to make them less polluting, reducing coal-fired heating, and implementing “round-the-clock monitoring” of industrial pollution.

He said China would scrap all high-emission vehicles and pursue a three per cent cut in emissions of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide — key components of the country’s toxic smog.

“Faster progress in work to improve the environment, particularly air quality, is what people are desperately hoping for,” he said.

China also will decrease its energy consumption per unit of GDP by 3.4 per cent and reduce coal-fired power capacity.

China has long promised to clean up its act, but the pledges have taken a back seat to ensuring rapid economic growth, which the government sees as critical for guaranteeing social stability.

* Associated Press and Agence France-Presse