A member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference: Resolutely win the battle to protect the blue sky

Recently, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment released the national air quality situation for the first six months of 2019. The national air quality continued to improve, especially in Beijing, where the proportion of good days was 62.4%, an increase of 2.7 percentage points compared with the previous year; the concentration of PM2.5 was 46 micrograms per cubic meter, a decrease of 13.2% compared with the previous year, showing a significant improvement. However, it should also be noted that the improvement degree of national air quality varies, and some cities have experienced a serious rebound in air pollution, especially in non-key areas. For example, the "2+26" cities in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and surrounding areas, the average proportion of good days was 47.5%, a decrease of 2.3 percentage points compared with the previous year; the concentration of PM2.5 was 66 micrograms per cubic meter, an increase of 4.8% compared with the previous year; the 11 cities in the Fen River Plain had an average proportion of good days of 54.4%, a decrease of 0.7 percentage points compared with the previous year; the concentration of PM2.5 was 65 micrograms per cubic meter, an increase of 4.8% compared with the previous year, etc. 

Therefore, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment specially held a warning meeting on environmental air quality for the first half of 2019. Fivety-two cities with a non-decreasing but increasing trend in the concentration of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and the comprehensive index of environmental air quality were warned and reminded. 

Minister of Ecology and Environment Li Ganjie pointed out that the foundation for the continuous improvement of China's ecological environment quality is not yet stable. It is greatly affected by natural conditions. In particular, the air quality is still in the "weather influence type" stage. Moreover, the economic downturn pressure is significant, and the importance of ecological environment protection in some regions has weakened, environmental supervision requirements have been relaxed, resulting in repeated fluctuations in air quality.

The battle to protect the blue sky is not only a tough battle but also a protracted one. It requires sustained efforts and perseverance over a long period. 

We must maintain strategic determination. We must resolutely overcome "four negative emotions and mindsets": First, there is the sentiment and mindset of complacency and slackness. Some cities have a "the victory is just around the corner, just one step away" sense of pride and complacency, as well as "it's almost done, it's time to take a break and rest" sentiment of slackness and fatigue. Second, there is the sentiment and mindset of fear and retreat. Many places emphasize that the implementation of work is difficult and the social risks are high, and they are reluctant to take responsibility, avoiding problems and taking detours; third, there is the sentiment and mindset of impatience. They do not make efforts in normal times and resort to last-minute cramming when facing inspections, adopting "one-size-fits-all" and "total shutdown" simple and crude handling methods; fourth, there is the sentiment and mindset of being irrelevant to oneself. Some places complain that the pollution in their areas mainly comes from other cities' transmission and influence, and non-key areas do not attach enough importance to and implement the work of air pollution control effectively, and some even continue to transfer pollution from key areas to their own areas. 

We must maintain a high-pressure situation. We must resolutely implement "equal responsibility for the Party and government, and dual responsibilities for one position", and press down responsibilities at all levels. For cities with significant air quality rebounds, we will carry out special environmental protection inspections, implement public notifications, and if the situation still cannot be fundamentally reversed by the end of the year, the city's Party and government leaders will be held accountable seriously; for "disorderly and polluting" enterprises and clusters, we will formulate comprehensive rectification plans, eliminate a certain number, integrate a certain number, and improve a certain number; we must strengthen law enforcement and supervision, carry out special law enforcement and joint law enforcement inspections by multiple departments, and severely crack down on environmental violations. 

We must promptly summarize experiences. In recent years, the country has focused on the air pollution prevention and control work in key regions such as the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and the Yangtze River Delta, and the Pearl River Delta has reached the national air quality standard II. The improvement effect in Beijing is also very obvious. The proportion of good days in the first half of the year has increased by 2.3 percentage points compared to the national average, and the average concentration of PM2.5 has decreased by 10.8 percentage points compared to the national average. Beijing has strengthened organizational leadership, strengthened the construction of monitoring networks, strengthened source analysis and precise governance, strengthened the adjustment of energy structure, industrial structure, and transportation structure, strengthened regional joint prevention and control, and increased investment in funds. The practices and experiences of Beijing in these aspects are worthy of serious summarization and promotion. 

We must balance regional balance. In recent years, the focus of national air pollution prevention and control has been placed on key regions. Whether in terms of work intensity or investment, it has been heavily tilted towards key regions. The idea of focusing on the main contradiction in the early stage of China's air pollution prevention and control was correct. However, now the differences in air quality between key regions and non-key regions are getting smaller. For some regions such as the Fen River Plain, the Two Lakes Area, and the Chengdu-Chongqing region, the concentration of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in the first half of the year has even been higher than that in Beijing. Therefore, the layout of national air pollution control needs to be moderately adjusted. We should increase the attention and investment in the prevention and control of air pollution in non-key regions to ensure the balanced advancement of the blue sky protection campaign across the country.

The article is excerpted from the Environmental Protection Network.

The image is from the Internet. 

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