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Such a winter as last year in Beijing, Chinese leaders do not want to experience again. For years she has been striving for a better air quality in smog-plagued metropolis. It allowed food in city area, closed hundreds of factories, and caused ramshackle coal-fired power plants to be replaced with modern technology. The air in Chinese capital was also a little better – until December 2016 came, and with it cold.
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The people turned ir heaters on, power plants were running at full speed. Beijing sank all month long under a dense Smogdecke. Memories at beginning of 2013 were awake. At that time, record values of over 800 micrograms of particulate matter were measured per cubic metre of air; This is more than 30-fold value of what World Health Organisation still considers to be harmless.
Little later, Chinese leadership stated that it would reduce emissions from coal incineration for 28 cities alone in year 2017 by around seven percent. But at end of September ir target was still far away. That is why it now takes drastic measures.
Thousands factories closed
In all of China, since 1 October, more than 176,000 factories and 44,000 coal-fired power plants had to cease operation because y did not reach specified emission targets. The steel production in Beijing, neighboring city of Tianjin and surrounding Hebei province was reduced by about half – which is likely to drop annual crude by about six percent, “Western analysts estimate. By comparison: Only Hebei had produced even more steel a year ago than whole of Europe and North America toger.
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To detect violations of new regulations, government has used more than 7,000 inspectors. They seem to have found a find. In Hebei alone, most polluted province in China, 69 government officials have been removed from ir offices since beginning of month, because y have falsified data or have orwise undertaken measures to combat air pollution. The police are investigating m.
Now it could be that factories in Beijing and surrounding provinces were also closed because on October 18th in capital Congress of Communist Party begins: A major event only every five years, on close to 2,300 emissaries From all parts of country to determine leadership as well as main programmatic priorities of next five years. The party congress is considered most important domestic political event in China, and for such occasions leadership is always striving to show capital from its most beautiful sunny side.
But environmental policy guidelines are to be applied at least five months, far beyond two-week party congress. The fight against air pollution is “a question of social stability”, Environment Minister Li Ganjie has established a rigorous approach.
