- Title: CHINA: Beijing's smog set to clear, but not fast enough for Olympic athletes
- Date: 30th April 2008
- Summary: DR YANG TALKING TO COLLEAGUE (SOUNDBITE) (English) YANG FUQIANG, CHIEF REPRESENTATIVE AND VICE PRESIDENT OF THE CHINA SUSTAINABLE ENERGY PROGRAMME, SAYING: "Government regulatory capability and government enforcement is very important. Otherwise if some deserve free rights and they do not pay any penalty, if they emit pollution or exceed the standards, otherwise other ent
- Embargoed: 15th May 2008 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: China
- Country: China
- Topics: Sports
- Reuters ID: LVA4QFTXBBMC242JOCKWBHXWKBJV
- Story Text: China, the power house of the world, is getting to grips with its smog.
Since winning its Olympic bid and pledging to clear up its air, Beijing has struggled to meet its air quality targets.
Some athletes plan to wear masks, some will fly in at the last minute; with 100 days to go the world's most highly trained athletes are seeking solutions to evade Beijing's pollution problem.
World famous athletes have voiced their concerns over the choking smog that still covers the city on bad days, however local residents and experts insist that the air quality is improving.
Beijing is expected to order heavily polluting sectors in surrounding regions to close shop before and during the Olympics to improve air quality in the city.
The industrial hotspot, west of Beijing, is home to large clusters of chimneys, some of which no longer pump out smoke, and residents in the area say they have noticed a difference in air quality since last year.
For many outsiders, however, the air quality is noticeably getting better. Han He moved to Beijing at the beginning of the year, lured from his rural village in a nearby province by the higher wages. He noticed the difference in air quality and says his factory makes no special concessions to be environmentally friendly, as far as he is aware.
"In the countryside the air quality is obviously slightly better, we have none of these big factories but its more or less the same," said Han He.
Mr. Li has lived in the area since he was born, he is convinced that the air quality has improved.
"It is getting better and better, there are more and more blue sky days. Before there were far fewer good days but now we see much more blue sky.
This year we have had 200 or maybe more days of good weather," said Li.
The city will order 3.5 million cars off the roads in an effort to reduce air pollution during the Games. But the focus is not just on short term measures. Dr Yang, head of the China Sustainable Energy Program in Beijing, said that government environmental policy takes a long term view.
"Government regulatory capability and government enforcement is very important. Otherwise if some deserve free rights and they do not pay any penalty, if they emit pollution or exceed the standards, otherwise other enterprises will not follow. So there will be no way to clean up the air," said Dr Yang.
The real challenge for China, says Dr Yang, is in implementation. Some economists believe that regions surrounding Beijing are still negotiating with the central government for adequate incentives to close industrial plants.
The government is offering incentives for environmentally friendly plants. Power plants that strip the sulphur dioxide from their emissions will enjoy extra tariffs whilst honorary titles will be revoked from those who ignore green regulations.
As factories relocate to areas further away from the city with cheaper real estate, environmental experts hope that they will use the profits to upgrade their technology and equipment in order to minimise their pollution output.
International Olympic Committee research indicates there is a slight risk to the health of athletes in endurance events when the air quality is at its lowest.
Pollution remains a concern for many of the athletes, most recently the marathon world record holder Haile Gebrselassie. The asthma sufferer announced he would not be competing in the Games due to the air quality.
Dr Yang believes that pollution problem is slowly improving.
"So I think, for Beijing, if there is the same quality or almost the same quality as other big cities like Paris, London, like New York or others, I think maybe needs 10 to 15 years to come," said Dr Yang.
Whilst this may not be in time for the 16 day long Olympics it is good news for Beijing's 17 million strong inhabitants who live their lives under Beijing's pollution cloud. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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