China plans to enforce stricter air pollution laws

Following news last week that Beijing has been suffering from record high amounts of air pollution, China has announced that it will be enforcing stricter air pollution laws.

Indeed, the government had no choice but to react following a series of public complaints about the issue, as well as environmental and health warnings from officials.

People were advised to stay indoors to avoid serious health risks, while many individuals went out to buy face masks to protect themselves from the heavy smog.

As part of the emergency measures that the government has put into place, heavy polluting factories will be closed, while motorists who drive cars that are heavy polluters will also face a fine.

The new rules have been put in place "to protect the health of people in the city", an air pollution bill drafted by the municipal government and released on the Xinhua news agency said.

It is thought that the majority of the pollution was caused by car emissions, with lung cancer rates reported to have increased by 60 per cent in the last ten years.

Although the changes are already coming into force, it is thought that the pollution elimination process will be a long one.

Wang Conghu, a professor of public management at Renmin University, thinks the measures are a positive step. "This shows the government is trying to do something, and it will be an important measure to cut pollution," he said.

A Beijing-based traffic expert, Xu Kangming, told Jinghua Times: "Whether they are actually enforced and whether real action will be taken depends on how the individual departments enforce them."

It is also thought that one of the reasons behind soaring levels of air pollution is the growing economy of China.

In addition, the population of Beijing is consistently growing, with the number of citizens expected to live there at the moment being 20.69 million, the Independent reports.