China to publish top ten lists of best and worst polluters

China is to begin publishing league tables of its ten best and worst cities for pollution as part of the country's drive to lower the amount of emissions it produces.

Vice premier Zhang Gaoli explained that the lists would help the country's biggest cities to meet targets for cleaning up the environment and promote economic growth that does not have a detrimental impact on the surrounding area and the people living within each district, GMA News reports.

Although Mr Shang did not reveal exactly when publication of the tables would begin, he reiterated that the country is committed to tackling its persistent smog crisis, which is fuelling anger among the public and leading to condemnation from many international critics.

In a meeting in China's capital, Beijing, the vice premier urged all parts of the country to meet their targets, adding: "Local government must accept responsibility for air quality, and the state will publish every month a list of the ten worst and ten best cities for air pollution."

"Combating air pollution is a long-term, difficult and complex task. We must stress the cleaning up of polluted cities and the cutting and management of pollutants."

The country has been under mounting pressure to tackle its air pollution after a thick, hazardous smog was seen engulfing its industrial north earlier this year, and has since announced measures to solve the problem, which includes slashing coal consumption and closing polluting mills, factories and smelters.

Analysts have argued that the air pollution problem has also harmed China's economic competitiveness, as several foreign companies have been deterred from sending executives to accept appointments in the capital or other major cities with notorious air pollution problems.

Closer to home, the country has also had to stem potential unrest as an increasingly affluent urban demographic rebels against the growth-at-all-costs economic model, which has had a damaging effect on China's air, soil and water.