A new five-year plan has been drafted to clean up the air in China’s heavily polluted capital in time for the 2008 Olympic Games, state media reported on Thursday.
It will focus on reducing coal as an energy source, cutting exhaust emissions and tackling dust from the construction sites that dot the city, said Beijing vice Mayor Liu Zhihua.
Xinhua said the plan envisages Beijing supplying five billion cubic metres of natural gas annually by 2007 compared to 1,8-billion cubic metres last year.
Other measures to reduce coal consumption include increasing electricity production and promoting the use of clean energy.
Stricter standards on auto emissions will be introduced in 2005, Liu said although there is no plan to restrict private ownership of vehicles.
The city’s emission standards are currently in line with those adopted by European Union countries in 1996.
The public transport network will also be expanded and more than 200 polluting factories in the city will be relocated to its outskirts. Sapa-AFP