China's cabinet stresses PM2.5 control( Xinhua) 07:09, February 13, 2014 BEIJING, Feb. 12 -- The State Council, or China's cabinet, has urged reduction of PM2.5and other pollutants in smoggy cities as the key task in the fight against air pollution.
"Major cities and regions where smog is frequent should be the focus (of air pollutioncontrol), and control of PM2.5 and PM10 should be a key task," said a statement releasedafter an executive meeting of the State Council held on Wednesday and presided over byPremier Li Keqiang.
The cabinet stressed that air pollution is the result of long-term accumulation andpersistent efforts are needed to address the issue in order to accelerate the overallenvironmental drive and improve people's livelihoods.
In the latest monthly monitoring results for 74 Chinese cities, the density of key airpollutants PM2.5 and PM10 shot up by 55.7 percent and 30.1 percent respectively inDecember. These cities had on average of more than 70 percent of days failing to meet airquality standards, according to the Ministry of Environmental Protection.
The statement noted that overall consumption of coal should be controlled, calling for moreefforts to promote high quality gasoline for vehicles, energy saving in construction and theuse of environmentally friendly boilers.
It also stressed the role of taxation and government subsidies, revealing that 10 billionyuan (1.64 billion U.S. dollars) has been allocated this year as rewards for key cities andregions who make significant progress in air pollution control.
Various policies and industrial standards should also be improved to encourage the use ofnew energy cars and force companies producing high waste and environmental risks toreduce emissions.
During Wednesday's meeting, a draft revision to the regulation on medical equipmentsupervision and management was approved, calling for an improved management systemin accordance with the risks of medical equipment.
According to the statement, the draft raises certificate approval standards for high-riskproducts while simplifying market-entry procedures for low-risk ones.
It also stresses the role of manufacturers, sellers and users in quality control and safetymanagement, with more severe punishment for medical equipment-related violations.
（Editor：DuMingming、Yao Chun） Related reading
|
