Chen Jining: "The effects of the 'Air Ten-Year Plan' have already been observed. The direction of the governance is correct, but there are still many challenges."
On January 6th, Minister of Environmental Protection Chen Jining held a media briefing to introduce issues related to air pollution control to the journalists and answer their questions. Nearly 20 reporters from central, local and online media attended.
Chen Jining said that the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council attach great importance to ecological civilization construction and environmental protection work. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, ecological civilization construction has been regarded as an important part of the "Five-Sphere Integrated Plan" and has been promoted from a strategic perspective. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council have a firm determination and resolute actions to address environmental issues such as air pollution.
Chen Jining stated that this year marks the收官year of the "Air十条" plan. Since its implementation over three years， the air quality has improved. In 2016， the average PM2.5 concentration in Beijing was 73 micrograms per cubic meter， with a decrease compared to previous years. It was the year with the greatest improvement in three years. The average PM2.5 concentrations in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region， the Yangtze River Delta region， and the Pearl River Delta region were 71， 46， and 32 micrograms per cubic meter respectively. The data showed a significant decrease compared to previous years. The air quality of 338 prefecture-level and above cities across the country has also been continuously improving.
Chen Jining pointed out that compared with developed countries at the same period， our environmental quality improvement speed is not slow. This indicates that the direction of our atmospheric governance is correct. However， due to our more economically weighted structure， more energy structure relying on coal-based fossil fuels， and higher human activity intensity and pollution emission intensity per unit area， environmental protection work is still in the stage of moving forward under heavy burdens. Taking the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region as an example， this region accounts for 7.2% of the national land area but consumes 33% of the coal， and the average emissions of major air pollutants account for about 30% of the national total. The unit area emission intensity is about 4 times the national average. The large concentration of high-pollution， high-energy-consuming industries and centralized emissions of coal and fuel combustion are the direct causes of the air pollution in this region.
Another prominent issue in air pollution control is the problem of heavy pollution in winter. It requires further strengthening of pollution control measures and also has objective reasons such as continuous unfavorable meteorological conditions. Since 2013， the overall winter meteorological conditions have been unfavorable. This year is the second year after a strong El Niño phenomenon， and it still continues the abnormal climate influence. Since autumn and winter， global regions have generally experienced abnormal climates， and several countries including those that have basically solved the problem of severe air pollution， such as the United Kingdom， France， and South Korea， have successively experienced severe pollution events of high intensity and large scale. During the same period， China also experienced very unfavorable pollution meteorological conditions. Especially in the northern region， the cold air was not active， weak in intensity， and the wind speed was small， with a significantly higher temperature. Unfavorable meteorological conditions were not only very unfavorable for pollutant dispersion but also conducive to the secondary generation of PM2.5， exacerbating the severity of pollution.
Chen Jining said that adjusting the industrial structure and energy structure involves all aspects of social life and requires a long process. Therefore， air pollution control cannot be achieved overnight. Air pollution control is a battle and also a protracted battle. Next， the Ministry of Environmental Protection will jointly with relevant departments further strengthen pollution control measures. Fully increase the elimination of coal-fired boilers， switch to centralized heating by thermal power generation， gas heating， or electricity heating； actively promote the governance of scattered coal in urban villages， urban-rural fringe areas， and rural areas； increase the intensity of winter production suspension for industrial enterprises； improve industry emission standards， strengthen pollutant discharge permit management， and strictly enforce production suspension rectification for enterprises that violate regulations； rely on technological means and grid-based supervision to intensify the investigation and rectification of "small， scattered， and polluting" enterprises； strengthen the supervision of high-emission vehicles， strictly control the pollutant emissions of heavy-duty diesel vehicles and frequently used taxis， and accelerate the elimination of yellow-label vehicles and old vehicles.
Chen Jining concluded by saying that the Ministry of Environmental Protection will take more effective measures with a firmer will， stricter measures， and more solid actions to focus on solving the prominent environmental problems affecting the production and life of the people. Let the people have more获得感from the improvement of environmental quality. At the same time， it is hoped that the public will widely participate in environmental protection， practice green lifestyles， supervise environmental problems around them， and fulfill citizens' rights and obligations to protect the environment. Work together with us to contribute to a clearer sky and cleaner air.
Source： China Environmental News
