Reuters: “China plans to invest 1.7 trillion yuan ($277 billion) to combat air pollution over the next five years, state media said on Thursday, underscoring the new government’s concerns about addressing a key source of social discontent.
The money is to be spent primarily in regions that have heavy air pollution and high levels of PM 2.5, the state-run China Daily newspaper quoted Wang Jinnan, vice-president of the Chinese Academy for Environmental Planning as saying. Wang helped draft the plan.
Tiny floating particles, measuring 2.5 micrometers or less in diameter, are especially hazardous because they can settle in the lungs and cause respiratory problems and other illnesses.
The new plan specifically targets northern China, particularly Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province, where air pollution is especially serious, the newspaper said.
The government plans to reduce air emissions by 25 percent by 2017 compared with 2012 levels in those areas, according to the report.
“The thick smog and haze that covered large areas of the country in January has focused public attention on this issue,” Zhao Hualin, a senior official at the Ministry of Environmental Protection, told the newspaper.
China’s State Council, its cabinet, approved the plan in June, Zhao said.”
via China to invest $277 billion to curb air pollution: state media | Reuters.
See also – https://chindia-alert.org/economic-factors/greening-of-china/
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