Shanghai to Reduce PM2.5 20 Pct by 2017

Shanghai unveiled its Clean Air Action Plan on Friday, which aims to reduce the concentration of PM2.5 by 20 percent to the 2012 level by 2017.

The plan, introduced in China's most populous city with nearly 24 million residents including 173,000 foreigners, included targets for pollution prevention in six sectors — energy, industry, transportation, construction, agriculture and social life.

"The frequency of heavy pollution will be significantly reduced by 2017. The air quality will better meet residents' expectations as well as the general qualifications of building an international metropolis," said Wu Qizhou, deputy director of the Shanghai Environmental Protection Bureau.

One of the highlighted measures in the Shanghai plan is forbidding coal burning, Wu said. More than 2,500 boilers and 300 industrial furnaces that use coal will be closed down or shifted to clean energy by 2015. Coal firing will be completely banned in 2017, the plan said.

The distribution of natural gas will be accelerated as well as the development and utilization of wind, solar and other renewable energies, Wu said.

In the industrial field, the authority will adopt more stringent emissions control and elevate the threshold of industry access with regard to emissions standards in chemical engineering, shipbuilding, printing and dyeing.

The Shanghai Commission of Economy and Information is revising the guidance for industries and working on a list of the industries that are encouraged, limited and those that should be eliminated.

"The threshold in Shanghai will be higher than its national counterparts. Some trades that are limited on the national list will be listed as those that will be weeded out in Shanghai. Projects in the areas of construction materials, coking and nonferrous metals that cause high pollution will be banned," said Ma Jing, chief engineer of the commission.