Beijing sets out environmental protection goals
Reducing carbon emissions, pollution crucial to capital’s sustainable future
The Beijing government recently released a plan on environmental protection for the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), setting new tasks in the sector.
“This period is a crucial stage for the capital to build a world-class harmonious and livable city, so it is of great significance to further strengthen the protection of the city’s environment,” said Liu Xianshu, deputy director of the Beijing Ecology and Environment Bureau, at a recent news conference.
In the next four years, the Beijing government will take it as a major strategic goal to reduce carbon emissions. It will carry out coordinated management to handle pollution control, ecological protection and climate change, according to the plan. “We will continue to highlight the treatment of pollution from PM 2.5 — fine particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers or less — and ozone, and promote the integrated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region while pursuing the comprehensive green transformation of the economy and society,” Liu said.
The city government had already adopted a series of strong measures to lower the concentration of PM 2.5 during the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20). The average annual concentration of PM 2.5 has dropped accumulatively more than 50 percent to less than 40 micrograms per cubic meters in the last five years.
“Beijing’s success in air pollution prevention and control has been included in the United Nations Environment Programme’s case studies,” Liu said.
Commenting on the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei integrated development, Liu said the bureau will focus on five aspects to promote the coordination and co-governance of the region’s eco-protection.
For example, “we will conduct comprehensive treatment of air pollution in autumn and winter to fundamentally eradicate days with heavy pollution in the region”, she noted.
Joint efforts will be made to protect and restore the ecology of major river basins, such as the Chaobai and Yongding rivers, strengthen the preservation of the Miyun Reservoir, the major source of drinking water for Beijing, and fully advance the construction of an ecological civilization.
Also, the joint patrol and law enforcement mechanism should be improved and promoted in the region, so as to jointly crack down on transregional environmental violations, Liu said.
During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, Liu said the bureau will take problem-oriented approaches by focusing on the environmental issues that concern the public. Weak links in infrastructure will be addressed and the capacity for governance improved, in a bid to meet the people’s ever-growing needs for a beautiful environment.
The plan puts forward 16 targets in five aspects for 2025, ranging from lower-carbon development and more livable ecology to clearer air, cleaner water and safer soil.
For instance, the average annual concentration of PM 2.5 will drop to about 35 mcg/cu m, and all the water bodies inferior to Grade V will be eliminated. Grade V is the lowest level of water classification that cannot meet standards for drinking, industrial or agricultural usage.
The forest coverage rate is expected to reach 45 percent in 2025, and the per capita green area in public parks will reach 16.7 square meters, said Gao Dawei, deputy head of and spokesman for the Beijing Forestry and Parks Bureau.
The plan also clarifies the longrange objectives for 2035. It said there will be a fundamental improvement in the ecological environment and a more adequate supply of highquality products at that time.
Moreover, eco-friendly models of production and greener lifestyles will gain wider acceptance in society. The city will lead the country in peaking carbon emissions early and make significant progress in carbon neutrality, according to the plan.