If you asked a Beijing resident his or her biggest concern regarding the environment in the capital city, the most likely answer would be "air quality."

Air quality in most of China's urban regions, which are home to large populations and numerous industries, has become a heated topic among the public and a challenge for governments at all levels.

The State Council recently approved a plan to curb air pollution in 113 key cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, which requires that air quality in the cities be improved to meet the national standard by 2005.

In China, air quality is classified into three levels, with level one meaning almost zero pollution and level three seriously polluted.

Level two, which means the air is slightly polluted, has been adopted as the national standard for air quality.

According to the plan, announced by the pollution control department of the State Environmental Protection Administration yesterday, air quality in 39 of China's cities has already reached the standard and the major task for such cities is maintenance.

In the remaining 74 cities, strict measures are needed to bring air quality up to the national standard.

Local governments are urged by the plan to promote the use of clean sources of energy, such as natural gas and liquid gas, through a ban on dirty fuels in certain areas. The consumption of coal especially needs to be reduced.

The plan demands that clean production be adopted so that pollution can be curbed at its source.

Enterprises that still use backward technologies, consume energy in large quantities, and seriously pollute the environment will be shut down or upgraded.

Companies will be encouraged to set up environmental management systems and ISO14000, the international standard for environmental management, is to be popularized among qualified enterprises.

The management of automobiles to curb pollution will be strengthened and the development of automobiles powered by clean energies, as well as public transport, will be enhanced.

To prevent particulates from being pumped into the air, measures will be taken to increase the amount of grass and trees in cities.

The plan also requires that environmental monitoring systems be established and information about air quality be published periodically.

(China Daily November 28, 2002)