Stifling pollution is causing concern among the nation’s citizens and the Chinese government to react.
Now you see it, now you don't. Beijing smog. Image: methodshop |
The nation’s capital, often dubbed “Grey-Jing” by its residents, experienced some of the worst smog ever recorded in January 2013, causing widespread concerns for public health and safety.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection has since pledged to implement new anti-pollution policies, which may include vehicle emissions curbs, although the specifics of their plan have yet to be announced.
Smog levels in the city frequently hit 400 on an index measuring PM2.5, or particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers, where anything above 300 is considered hazardous. On one day in January, it reached an astronomical 755.
Vehicle emissions are one of the major contributors to the worsening problem, in particular from older, more polluting models. In Beijing, cars and trucks over 8 years old contribute to more than half of vehicle emissions, despite making up less than a fifth of total vehicles.
As well as the sheer volume of cars, fuel quality is also a major contributor to the pollution. Fuel standards in the city still allow for three times the amount of polluting sulphur than in the U.S., and five times as much as Europe.
While the Ministry of Environmental Protection can lobby to change emissions standards, it ultimately falls to the nation’s monopolistic oil giants CNPC and Sinopec to implement the changes. However, with governmental pressure to keep inflation and fuel costs down, oil companies have little room to produce cleaner, costlier fuels.