Uphill battle against fine dust

The worst-ever case of fine dust pollution has swept most of the country over the past several days. The government issued warnings against the “smog” that contains cancer-causing agents that could put people’s lives and business activities in harm’s way.

The exacerbated problem has overshadowed President Moon Jae-in’s campaign pledge to reduce the emission of domestic fine dust by 30 percent if he were elected. His administration has made little progress so far in tackling the public health hazard.

Local authorities in 10 major cities and provinces have enacted emergency measures to battle the disaster, including limiting public employees’ use of personal vehicles and reducing the emission of pollutants causing fine dust from public facilities. They are also asking citizens to leave their cars at home. But these steps cannot be a fundamental solution.

Many studies and scientific examinations indicate China is responsible for a large portion of the fine dust as it comes from industrial regions there, accompanied by dust storms. However, the Beijing government is reluctant to accept this fact.

A battle against air pollution is underway throughout the world. It has already become a global disaster that costs the lives of 7 million people every year, according to the World Health Organization.

It is urgent for Korea to step up cooperation with neighboring countries, especially China, to effectively fight fine dust. It should do everything it can to make the nation free from such pollution. The Moon administration should reconsider its headlong push for a nuclear phase-out. It would be better to keep nuclear reactors online, while shutting down fossil fuel-fired power plants which are partly to blame for belching out fine dust particles.