China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection put in place more than 130 measures to cut pollution last year, especially targeting polluting industries like thermal power, iron and steel, cement and chemical engineering.
2013 may have seen China’s worst smog to date, but it was also the year with the most efforts to improve the environment.
Since October, the Ministry of Environmental Protection has been inspecting the emission reduction efforts in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta region. Analysts say those measures will improve the environmental protection and upgrade the heavy-polluting industries.
To date, the central government has implemented around 1400 environmental protection standards. To ensure companies meet the standards, the Ministry has taken a tougher stance. Those failing to comply will not be allowed to go into production. Most of the steelmakers are under pressure to meet the current standards.
Some newly revised emission standards are even stricter than those in developed countries. The emission standards for particles will be lowered to 10 milligrams per cubic metre, which half of the limit standards set by EU.
Source: CCTV
