Senior official instructs fight against air pollution

Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli has called for resolute and steady efforts to combat air pollution in heavily-polluted areas surrounding the country's capital. Zhang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, made the comments Wednesday at a meeting on the prevention and control of air pollution in Beijing and its surrounding areas. Describing the fight against air pollution as a "long-term, arduous and complicated task," Zhang called for determination and steady methods that focus on key areas and are implemented gradually. "Cities that are heavily polluted should be key targets, with strengthened supervision on various pollution sources and efforts to cut them down," said Zhang. According to Zhang, a list of ten cities with the best air quality and ten with the worst will be published each month. He stressed less use of coal, clean energy as substitutes, emission reduction for automobiles, promotion of public transportation and environment-friendly industrial technology. According to Zhang, during the coal-fueled heating period in winter pollution monitoring should be strengthened, and low-quality coal should not be used for heating and cooking. Zhang's instructions at the meeting referred to the air pollution prevention and control plan covering north China's municipalities of Beijing and Tianjin, and provinces of Hebei, Shanxi and Shandong as well as Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. He urged local governments to set strict goals and shoulder responsibilities for the quality of air within their jurisdictions. The vice premier called for a system that enables coordinated anti-pollution efforts from multiple regions in supervision and law enforcement as well as an environmental information sharing platform. At the meeting, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the governments of the six province-level regions signed an agreement on the goals and responsibilities for air pollution prevention and control.