China sets new air pollution target

China has set a new target to help significantly reduce the amount of air pollution in the country, which will involve cutting coal use substantially.

The country has been under a huge amounts of pressure to address the causes of air pollution in its industrial regions, particularly after an incident in Beijing earlier this year when a thick, dangerous smog engulfed the city and surrounding areas.

In order to solve the problem, China has vowed to slash coal consumption and close polluting mills, factories and smelters - an ambitious challenge that may set a precedent for other nations to follow, but which some analysts say may be infeasible.

The Chinese government published the ambitious plan on its website, where it promised to enhance investment and use of nuclear power, as well as natural gas - a move that was welcomed by environmentalists, though concern was raised about how and when it would be implemented.

They argued that coal consumption reduction targets for key industrial areas are a positive sign that China is taking air pollution and public health more seriously, but argue that there are loopholes in the action plan, and a significant amount of work needs to be done to make it a reality.

China intends to cut a key indicator of air pollution by 25 per cent in the capital and its surrounding provinces by 2017, but some say it could be a potential risk to the country's efforts to meet targets to reduce PM 2.5.

The plans also outline the country's intention to cut total consumption of coal below 65 per cent of primary energy use by 2017, which is a reduction on the 66.8 per cent recorded last year.

The Northern Hebei province has claimed it will cut coal consumption by 40 million tonnes from 2012 to 2017, while Beijing has vowed to reduce its total consumption by 13 million tonnes to less than ten million tonnes in the same timeframe.

According to Yang Fuqiang, senior Beijing-based adviser with the Natural Resources Defense Council, China's monitoring ability is not sophisticated enough to ensure that all targets are being met.

He concluded: "Measuring is still a big problem. Even if you look at the provincial energy data and the national data, there is a massive discrepancy of around 200-300 million tonnes and it could be more than that."