Beijing is to further cut its coal consumption by one-third by 2007
to cut down on air pollution before the
2008 Olympic
Games.
The target is to cut coal consumption from the present 26 million
tons to 19 million tons by the end of 2007.
The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad
Thursday released its draft plan for improving the environment
before the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
The detailed plan is one of the seven sections of the committee's
Olympic Action Plan, the guidelines for Olympic preparations that
were unveiled on July 13 until the end of this month for public
consultation.
The other six sections will be published over the next three
months.
The plan suggests that air quality remains the top concern for the
2008 Games and there is some way to go from Beijing's present
environmental status to an ideal Olympic site.
Natural gas will be one of the main fuels to replace coal. A new
natural gas pipeline is due to be completed before 2008, bringing
the city's total gas capacity to 5 billion cubic meters, about four
times the present amount.
More than 200 enterprises inside the Fourth Ring Road and in the
southeastern suburbs will rearrange their industrial structure or
simply move out before 2008 to reduce pollution in the area.
Tight restrictions on vehicles will also be implemented as the
Beijing municipal government encourages citizens to leave their
cars behind and use public transport such as buses, the subway and
railway.
Low-pollution fuel will be used on the majority of vehicles by 2007
and citizens will not be allowed to use vehicles that have been
driven for more than 15 years.
Dust control is also high on the agenda as the city aims to
eradicate the seasonal sandstorms that hit the city.
A
12,500-hectare belt of trees and plants will be built on the
outskirts of the city. More than half of the city is expected to be
covered by plants by 2007.
Beijing officials have said they are confident that the sandstorms
can be controlled and they pledged that sandstorms will not bother
the 2008 Games.
Liu Jingmin, vice-major of Beijing and executive vice-president of
the Olympic committee, said: "Whether in spring or in summer, we
will have sandstorms under control in 2008.''
The plan aims to tackle every possible environmental problem that
could affect the Beijing Games, from water to electromagnetic
radiation.
(China
Daily September 6, 2002)