China's air has been becoming cleaner since 2014, thanks to the arrest of people committing environmental crimes and the Chinese government's increased efforts to fund and support the campaign for clean air in the country.
Air pollution is highly evident in the smog that clouds Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. In other industrial cities of central and eastern regions, air pollution has also become a huge environmental concern.
In 2014, the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) saw a drop in the average PM10 readings in 338 cities. The average readings dropped to 2.1 percent and continuously went to 5.3 percent by the first four months of 2015.
For the smaller particulate matter, PM2.5, which exposes people to a greater health risk than PM10 as it can penetrate deep into the lungs, readings dropped in 2014 to 11.1 percent in 74 cities. By April 2015, it dropped to 15.2 percent.
In Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, PM2.5 readings dropped to 12.3 percent in 2014, and further to 20 percent this year. This rate of drops in PM2.5 is faster than average, according to environmental minister Chen Jining.
The National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee bi-monthly session has therefore urged lawmakers to more strictly enforce environmental laws. Chen Jining said that stricter enforcement is needed to curb air pollution in the country.
Enforcement of the government included the arrest of those who committed environmental crimes, the government's financial support, and strict advice and warnings to the public.
In 2014, Chinese police caught about 8,500 suspects in over 4,500 environmental criminal cases. Environmental authorities reported over 2,000 cases of violations of environmental law. About 3,100 workshops were shut down for failing the MEP standards during quality inspections. Some violations were committed by 3,400 companies, along with 3,700 construction sites.
In 2014, the Chinese government has spent almost 10 billion yuan (about $1.6 billion) in its campaign to prevent air pollution in the country, along with a 2.5 billion-budget investment.
Chen emphasized that the country's industrial and energy structure should be further optimized. Environmental and police authorities shall continue to bring down environmental law violators, shut down more coal mines, improve the quality of coal, ensure that supply of natural gas is stable, and promote the use of clean energy and energy-saving technology in infrastructures to eventually eliminate air pollution.
Photo: Julien GONG Min | Flickr
