At the “China Corner” side event of the Global Climate Action Summit held recently in San Francisco, California, China shared with the participants the effectiveness and experience of Beijing in air pollution control over the past 20 years. He Kebin, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and dean of the School of Environment of Tsinghua University, used data to show that from 1998 to 2017, major pollutants in Beijing showed a significant downward trend.
Data map: Over the Shijingshan District in Beijing, it presents a beautiful view of the blue sky and white clouds. Image source: Visual China
He Kebin pointed out that in 1998, Beijing's air pollution showed mixed characteristics of coal-fired pollution and motor vehicle emissions, and all major pollutants seriously exceeded national standards. By 2013, the annual average concentrations of carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and respirable particulate matter (PM10) decreased by 58%, 78%, 24%, and 42%, respectively, compared to 1998, carbon monoxide. And sulfur dioxide can be stably achieved to national standards.
He further explained that during the five years from 2013 to 2017, the pace of air quality improvement in Beijing accelerated, the number of days with good standards increased, the frequency of heavy air pollution decreased, and the concentration of major pollutants decreased significantly. Sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, fine particles ( The average annual concentration of PM2.5) and PM10 decreased by 70.4%, 38.2%, 17.9%, 35.6%, and 22.2%, respectively.
According to He Kebin's report, after 20 years of hard work, Beijing basically solved the problem of coal-fired pollution. In 2017, the annual average concentration of sulfur dioxide reached single digits. With the increase in vehicle ownership more than three times, the absolute contribution to the total amount of pollutants discharged and the concentration of pollutants has doubled.
Summarizing Beijing's achievements in air pollution control, Sun Wei, deputy director of the Department of Climate Change of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China, said that in the past five years, Beijing has strictly implemented the “Beijing Clean Air Action Plan 2013-2017” and achieved remarkable results. He pointed out that pollution control is one of the three major battles that China needs to focus on now and in the future. Economic development must adhere to the path of ecological and environmental protection.
According to Ming Dengli, Director of the Science and Technology Cooperation Department of the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau, Beijing has formed a comprehensive air pollution management system with Beijing characteristics based on practice, summarization and international experience. The gradual improvement and effective operation of this system is the guarantee for achieving the effectiveness of pollution reduction. For example, Beijing has established a comprehensive air quality testing and evaluation system, strictly implemented the Clean Air Action Plan, initiated regular monitoring and investigation mechanisms, formulated strict sewage charges, and actively encouraged the public to participate in environmental protection and governance.
Liu Baoxian, deputy director of the Beijing Environmental Protection Monitoring Center, introduced the construction and operation experience of the Beijing air quality monitoring system and the development and application of the PM2.5 grid monitoring network in Beijing. Seri Harlan, Chairman of the Global Council for Urban Sustainable Development, congratulated Beijing on its achievements and hoped to have closer cooperation and experience sharing with Beijing in improving air quality and promoting urban low-carbon sustainable development.
Helena, head of the UNEP Climate and Clean Air Program, said that the Chinese government's emphasis on environmental protection and its determination and ability to carry out pollution warfare are obvious to all. UNEP has been working with Beijing to summarize and summarize the 20 years of air pollution control effectiveness and experience, and will continue to work closely together in the future. It is hoped that Beijing will become a model city for achieving urban air quality improvement and greenhouse gas emission reduction targets.
