Two major pollution indicators have dropped in China for the first time
in several years as steps taken to clean up the nation's devastated
environment kicked in, the government said Wednesday.
Emissions of sulfur dioxide, a key air pollutant, declined
1.81%in the first nine months of the year, while chemical oxygen
demand, a measure of water pollution, was 0.28% lower, said Zhou
Shengxian, director of the state environment watchdog.
The two key measures had become symbols of China's inability to curb the rampant fouling of its air and water.
China had set a target of reducing each indicator by 10%
between 2006 and 2010, or an average decline of 2% a year. But
embarrassed officials admitted earlier this year that both had risen in
2006.
In a statement posted on the State Environmental Protection
Administration Web site, Zhou credited this year's reductions to a
campaign to install more desulphurizing facilities in the coal-fired
power plants on which China relies for about 70% of its electricity.
He also cited increases in sewage-handling capacity and said
large numbers of polluting factories had been closed in a crackdown.
"Our battle against illegally polluting enterprises has seen step-by-step progress," he said.
Through the end of September, authorities had carried out more
than 690,000 special inspections of various businesses, uncovering
10,000 cases of illegal polluting, according to the statement.
"We are pursuing cases against 429 people responsible for this to strike sternly against environmental violators," Zhou said.
However, Zhou warned that the outlook for meeting the original goals by 2010 offered "no cause for optimism".
A SEPA report in September had said China was finding it
increasingly hard to achieve more than fleeting success in the
pollution fight as the country's industrialization hurtles forward.
China's booming growth has ravaged the environment, with
about 70% of its waterways polluted and urban air quality among the
worst in the world.