Making China's Skies Blue Again
In his 2017 Report on the Work of the Government, Premier Li Keqiang vowed to “make our skies blue again.” He specified that “this year, we will see that sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions are both cut by 3 percent and that fine particulate matter (PM2.5) density in key areas falls markedly.”
To this end, he demanded efforts to address pollution caused by coal burning, a full range of measures to improve the sources of pollution, strict control over exhaust fumes from motor vehicles, effective steps to combat heavy air pollution, strict enforcement of environmental laws and regulations, and investigations to identify violators and hold them accountable.
The report to the 19th National Congress of the CPC proposed involving everyone in improving the environment and addressing environmental issues at the root, and continuing the campaign to prevent and control air pollution and make the skies blue again.
In July 2018, the State Council promulgated a three-year action plan, outlining goals, tasks and measures. The goal is to drop the discharge of main air pollutants by a big margin, cut the emission of greenhouse gases, lower the PM2.5 density, reduce the number of days with heavy pollution, and notably improve air quality by 2020. Compared with 2015, there will be a 15-percent drop in sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions and an 18-percent drop in annual PM2.5 density in the cities at and above prefecture level that failed to meet the relevant standards in 2015. The residents of these cities will breathe fresh air on 80 percent of the days of the year, and the number of days with heavy pollution and worse conditions will drop by 25 percent.
蓝天保卫战
李克强总理在2017年政府工作报告中，明确提出了“坚决打好蓝天保卫战”的要求，提出了“2017年二氧化硫、氮氧化物排放量要分别下降3%，重点地区细颗粒物(PM2.5)浓度明显下降”的具体目标。为此，报告还提出了五方面举措：一要加快解决燃煤污染问题；二要全面推进污染源治理；三要强化机动车尾气治理；四要有效应对重污染天气；五要严格环境执法和督查问责。中共十九大报告进一步强调，坚持全民共治、源头防治，持续实施大气污染防治行动，打赢蓝天保卫战。2018年7月，国务院印发《打赢蓝天保卫战三年行动计划》，明确了大气污染防治工作的总体思路、基本目标、主要任务和保障措施，提出了打赢蓝天保卫战的时间表和路线图。即，经过3年努力，大幅减少主要大气污染物排放总量，协同减少温室气体排放，进一步明显降低细颗粒物（PM2.5）浓度，明显减少重污染天数，明显改善环境空气质量，明显增强人民的蓝天幸福感。到2020年，二氧化硫、氮氧化物排放总量分别比2015年下降15%以上；PM2.5未达标地级及以上城市浓度比2015年下降18%以上，地级及以上城市空气质量优良天数比率达到80%，重度及以上污染天数比率比2015年下降25%以上。