Voice of Economy, China National Radio:
During the 13th Five-Year Plan period, China has made notable improvements to the environment. As a result, our people now enjoy more blue skies and white clouds. Could you please elaborate on the achievements made by our country in addressing air pollution during the 13th Five-Year Plan period? Thank you.
Zhao Yingmin:
Thank you for your question. Air pollution prevention and control has always been a big concern of society. It is also a priority in the tough battle against pollution, which is receiving the close attention of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council. Meanwhile, air quality improvement has been one of the most effective and successful parts of our campaigns in pollution prevention and control.
During the 13th Five-Year Plan period, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) has worked together with relevant departments all over the country to fully implement the CPC Central Committee's decision and plan on the fight to keep our skies blue; it has taken decisive steps to ensure the achievement of our objectives. As a result, the air quality throughout the country has been notably improved. Major achievements were made in five aspects:
First, the eco-friendly transformation and upgrading of industrial structures have had substantive results. We cut about 200 million tons of overcapacity in the steel industry and eliminated 140 million tons of substandard steel capacity. By the end of 2019, the capacity of coal-burning power plants that had completed upgrades to achieve ultra-low emissions reached 890 gigawatts. Currently, about 610 million tons of crude steel capacity has been upgraded nationwide to achieve ultra-low emissions. After upgrading the thermal power industry to achieve ultra-low emissions, we are now actively advancing efforts towards ultra-low emissions in the steel industry. We also carried out special actions to review and reorganize more than 70,000 companies that were enlisted as small, poorly-managed, and heavily-polluting enterprises in 2018 and 2019 in 39 cities in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and surrounding areas and key areas in the Fenwei Plain region. We transferred the problems we found in the process to the local governments in a timely manner and urged them to rectify it.
Second, clean and low-carbon energy structure has been further improved. We concentrated resources to ensure the cleaner use of coal in non-industrial sectors in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and surrounding areas and the Fenwei Plain region, reducing non-centralized coal burning operations in more than 25 million households. We replaced the use of coal with cleaner energy over an area of 200,000 square kilometers south of Beijing. We provided guidance to the authorities in built-up city areas at the county level and above to help them to eliminate coal-fired boilers with a steam generating capacity of no more than 10 tons per hour. In the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and surrounding areas, the Fenwei Plain region and the Yangtze River Delta, we eliminated coal-fired boilers with a steam generating capacity of no more than 35 tons per hour and upgraded coal-fired boilers with a steam generating capacity of no less than 65 tons per hour to achieve energy conservation and ultra-low emissions.
Third, the transportation system has become more eco-friendly. We stepped up efforts to construct special railway lines accessing major coastal ports and industrial and mining enterprises, thus raising the proportion of inland freight being carried by rail. Last year, China's railway cargo volume rose by 7.2% year on year. Starting from Jan. 1, 2019, we began to provide gasoline and diesel fuel that meets National-VI emission standards nationwide, thus unifying the use of automobile diesel fuels, general diesel fuels and some vessel fuels. The emission standards for general diesel fuels upgraded from National-IV to National-V and then to National-VI standards. We also implemented the National-VI emission standards nationwide for light-duty vehicles and actively promoted the wide use of clean energy vehicles. Since 2010, the number of new-energy automobiles on the roads has risen rapidly, with the proportion of electric buses among all public transport vehicles increasing from 20% in 2015 to the current 60%.
Fourth, pollution emanating from non-point sources has been effectively addressed. We developed a system to monitor dustfall in key regions and reported the dustfall of key cities every month. Last year, the average dustfall in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and surrounding areas, the Fenwei Plain region and the Yangtze River Delta were 7.5 tons, 6 tons and 4.4 tons per square kilometer, respectively, all meeting the goal. We also worked with other relevant departments to guide local governments to ban straw burning and promote recycling. Last year, the number of straw-burning sites nationwide decreased by 42% compared with that of 2015, according to satellite data.
Fifth, intra-regional prevention and control of air pollution has played an important role. We established a leading group to prevent and control air pollution in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and surrounding areas, as well as a collaborative group to address air pollution in the Fenwei Plain. We drew up and implemented action plans to comprehensively address air pollution in autumn and winter in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and surrounding areas, the Yangtze River Delta and the Fenwei Plain. We enhanced pollution treatment at key times and took targeted measures. In order to respond to heavy air pollution scientifically, precisely and effectively, in accordance with the law, we issued guidelines on strengthening heavy air pollution treatment and emergency emission reduction measures. By doing so, we adopted differentiated emission reduction measures based on performance in 39 key industries, curbing pollution in a targeted and scientific way.
Next, we will actively advance the structural upgrading of industry, energy, transportation, and land use; prioritize pollution treatment at key times, in key regions, in key industries to counter key pollutants; and pay special attention to strengthening the coordinated control of PM2.5 and ozone levels. We will also further define the key regions for air pollution treatment, enhance intra-regional prevention and control, and response to heavy air pollution. We will improve environmental monitoring, supervision and law enforcement. We will continuously widen the achievements of air pollution treatment and further improve air quality to provide our people with better and cleaner air. Thank you.
