China has a large air pollution problem that would get a lot worse without strong measures.
Five big proposals from the Deutsch Bank report on China's air pollutiojn , summarized:
1) Reduce the annual growth in coal from its current rate of 4 percent to 2 percent. Coal use should peak by 2017. (Current projections have coal use peaking in the 2030s.)
2) Adopt scrubbers and other technologies that reduce conventional pollutants from coal-fired power plants 70 percent in the next 18 years. Similar technologies and better fuel efficiency can reduce emissions from vehicles by 80 percent over that time frame.
3) Increase the growth rate for lower-carbon energy technologies, from gas and nuclear to wind and hydro and solar power by 4 percentage points.
4) Slow the number of cars on the road — the 2030 target should be 250 million passenger cars, not the current 400 million.
5) More rails and subways. A lot more, in fact.
There’s a lot more detail in the report, but the analysts estimate that if China does all this, it can reduce maximum annual average levels of PM2.5 down to about 35 micrograms per cubic meter by 2030
![]()
Some just announced action to try to reduce air pollution or at strongly slow its growth
China has announced ten “tough measures” to curb China's pollution:
1. Reduce pollutant emissions through renovation of key industries. Accelerate the clean transformation of urban dust and fuel quality.
2. Strictly control high energy consumption of high-pollution and other key industries’ production capacity.
3. Improve public transport and clean energy production, reducing atmospheric pollutants emission intensity by 30% or more by 2017.
4. Develop natural gas, coal methane and other clean energy supplies.
5. Strengthen energy-saving and environmental indicator constraints on construction, land, power and water supply.
Read more »![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
Five big proposals from the Deutsch Bank report on China's air pollutiojn , summarized:
1) Reduce the annual growth in coal from its current rate of 4 percent to 2 percent. Coal use should peak by 2017. (Current projections have coal use peaking in the 2030s.)
2) Adopt scrubbers and other technologies that reduce conventional pollutants from coal-fired power plants 70 percent in the next 18 years. Similar technologies and better fuel efficiency can reduce emissions from vehicles by 80 percent over that time frame.
3) Increase the growth rate for lower-carbon energy technologies, from gas and nuclear to wind and hydro and solar power by 4 percentage points.
4) Slow the number of cars on the road — the 2030 target should be 250 million passenger cars, not the current 400 million.
5) More rails and subways. A lot more, in fact.
There’s a lot more detail in the report, but the analysts estimate that if China does all this, it can reduce maximum annual average levels of PM2.5 down to about 35 micrograms per cubic meter by 2030
Some just announced action to try to reduce air pollution or at strongly slow its growth
China has announced ten “tough measures” to curb China's pollution:
1. Reduce pollutant emissions through renovation of key industries. Accelerate the clean transformation of urban dust and fuel quality.
2. Strictly control high energy consumption of high-pollution and other key industries’ production capacity.
3. Improve public transport and clean energy production, reducing atmospheric pollutants emission intensity by 30% or more by 2017.
4. Develop natural gas, coal methane and other clean energy supplies.
5. Strengthen energy-saving and environmental indicator constraints on construction, land, power and water supply.
Read more »
