Time to clear the air in Beijing.
Government officials in Beijing are finally taking pollution (and climate change) seriously. In an effort to clear the air in Beijing, they've announced they will
permanently close their four remaining coal-powered plants:
The closures are part of a broader trend in China, which is the world’s biggest carbon emitter. Facing pressure at home and abroad, policy makers are racing to address the environmental damage seen as a byproduct of breakneck economic growth. Beijing plans to cut annual coal consumption by 13 million metric tons by 2017 from the 2012 level in a bid to slash the concentration of pollutants.
Shutting all the major coal power plants in the city, equivalent to reducing annual coal use by 9.2 million metric tons, is estimated to cut carbon emissions of about 30 million tons, said Tian Miao, a Beijing-based analyst at North Square Blue Oak Ltd., a London-based research company with a focus on China.
They are making the move to combat the obviously serious pollution issues, and not a moment too soon:
Air pollution has attracted more public attention in the past few years as heavy smog envelops swathes of the nation including Beijing and Shanghai. About 90 percent of the 161 cities whose air quality was monitored in 2014 failed to meet official standards, according to a report by China’s National Bureau of Statistics earlier this month.
They may have waited longer than we'd like, but credit where credit is due. We'll all be breathing easier if China clears the air.