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There was a time when Beijing was known to the world over only for its iconic landmarks like Tiananmen Square， the Forbidden City and the Great Wall. Now， the often smog-shrouded city frequently makes global headlines for its hazardous air pollution. Air quality in China’s capital， derided by expats as “Greyjing” or “Beige-jing，” is among the most polluted in the world.
The criticism and related health dangers have pushed the Beijing Municipal Government to adopt a hawkish stance targeted at altering the city’s now infamous reputation.
In September， Beijing unveiled a fiveyear clean air action plan （2013-17） that promises to reduce PM 2.5 density by 25 percent or more by 2017. PM 2.5 are airborne particles measuring less than 2.5 microns in diameter which can pose health risks. The plan includes a package of measures， including reducing coal consumption， cutting vehicle emissions and curbing industrial pollution， in a bid to improve air quality.
However， experts say many obstacles stand in the way of clean air， including a shortage of natural gas supplies in China， heavily polluting trucks that traverse the city to deliver goods every night， and inconvenient charging and fueling stations for new energy vehicles. Besides， airborne contaminants can easily float to Beijing from neighboring regions.
Clean energy
The pollution in north China is partly caused by decades of reliance on coal， which is used for electricity generation and centralized heating during winter.
Centralized heating dates back to the 1950s in Beijing. It had spread across the north by the mid-1980s. At the time， the government could only afford to give its colder north centralized heating.
Beijing sees natural gas as an alternative for coal. The city has invested a total of 28.4 billion yuan （$4.66 billion） on the construction of four natural gas-fired power stations， which are scattered in the city’s southeast， southwest， northeast and northwest corners. All the four gas-fired plants will be put into use before the end of 2014 to generate electricity and heat homes， replacing the four major coal-fired stations.
“Upon the completion of those four gasfired power stations， Beijing will reduce at least 9.6 million tons of coal consumption every year，” said Wang Yongliang， Vice General Manager of Beijing Energy Investment Holding， the parent company of Beijing Jingxi Gas-fired Thermal Power， one of the four gas-fired power stations under construction. The capital city had over 5.38 million vehicles at the end of September 2013， which are considered a major contributor to Beijing’s pollution—and one that keeps growing.
A report issued by a research team under the Chinese Academy of Sciences revealed that vehicle exhaust fumes are among Beijing’s top sources of air pollution， contributing to 22.2 percent of PM2.5 density in the city， exceeding the figure for industry emissions.
The city has to reduce vehicle fuel consumption by promoting new-energy and small-displacement vehicles， reducing the intensity of vehicle use and more strictly implementing relevant regulations， Li Kunsheng， Director of the Vehicles Emission Management Division under the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau， told Beijing Review.
“By 2017， the total number of vehicles in Beijing should be less than 6 million units， while the total fuel consumption should be 5 percent less than the 2012 level，” said Li.
“Beijing will further enhance the emission standard for new cars and accelerate the retirement of vehicles. Meanwhile，vehicle structural adjustment will be rolled out for 10 major sectors， including bus， taxi， inter-provincial coach and postal car，”he said.
Li said Beijing buses have always been pioneers of new emission standards and new energy vehicles. “Now， Beijing buses are developing toward being natural gas-powered and electricity-powered.”
Zhong Qianghua， chief engineer of Beijing Public Transport Holdings， the city’s primary public bus operator， said Beijing buses will continue to be the green forces of ground transportation.
“From now on， new energy and clean energy buses will account for over 70 percent of newly added buses. By 2017， they will ac- count for 65 percent of the total. Within the five rings， there will be over 20 percent electrical and 50 percent LNG （liquefied natural gas） buses. Fuel emission will be reduced by at least 40 percent，” said Zhong.
Obstacles
Despite the fact that many people pin hopes on natural gas to move away from burning coal， China is suffering from a chronic shortage of natural gas as domestic output cannot keep up with demand.
The Chinese Government said it would raise natural gas use to 230 million cubic meters by 2015， more than double the 2010 level， but disappointing domestic production growth coupled with insuffi- cient pipeline and storage capacity has left it increasingly reliant on imports and prone to shortages. Natural gas demand rose 13.5 percent in the first nine months of 2013， 4.3 percentage points faster than production， said the National Development and Reform Commission.
PetroChina Chairman Zhou Jiping said it would take at least four to five years to build up new natural gas supply capacity， which would still not be enough to meet demand.
As for new energy vehicles， many potential buyers worry there are not enough charging stations for electrical vehicles or natural gas fueling stations for gas-powered vehicles in Beijing， thus making those new energy vehicles quite unreliable.
“It’s extremely difficult to build charging stations and fueling stations in Beijing， because the capital has very limited unused land，” said Li.“Earmarking land for the construction of charging stations and fueling stations will be a tug of war involving many people.”
Li said another problematic issue is the large trucks that deliver goods to Beijing from outside the city every night.
“Many of their emission certifications are fake and their emission can’t meet the requirement，” said Li. “The emission of one such truck is equal to that of 100 ordinary cars and every night tens of thousands come to Beijing to deliver goods.”
“This is one of the major reasons for Beijing’s chronic air pollution.”
After the release of the 2013-17 clean air action plan， some NGOs have been critical that the plan will make little difference to Beijing’s air quality， because airborne contaminants can easily float from city to city. Beijing is unfortunately surrounded by heavy-chemical industrial bases featuring iron and steel， building materials， thermal power and cement， which contribute significantly to the capital city’s air pollution.
Li Wei， an official with Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau， said tackling air pollution calls for concerted efforts from neighboring cities and provinces.
“A single city’s efforts can’t solve the problem.”
The criticism and related health dangers have pushed the Beijing Municipal Government to adopt a hawkish stance targeted at altering the city’s now infamous reputation.
In September， Beijing unveiled a fiveyear clean air action plan （2013-17） that promises to reduce PM 2.5 density by 25 percent or more by 2017. PM 2.5 are airborne particles measuring less than 2.5 microns in diameter which can pose health risks. The plan includes a package of measures， including reducing coal consumption， cutting vehicle emissions and curbing industrial pollution， in a bid to improve air quality.
However， experts say many obstacles stand in the way of clean air， including a shortage of natural gas supplies in China， heavily polluting trucks that traverse the city to deliver goods every night， and inconvenient charging and fueling stations for new energy vehicles. Besides， airborne contaminants can easily float to Beijing from neighboring regions.
Clean energy
The pollution in north China is partly caused by decades of reliance on coal， which is used for electricity generation and centralized heating during winter.
Centralized heating dates back to the 1950s in Beijing. It had spread across the north by the mid-1980s. At the time， the government could only afford to give its colder north centralized heating.
Beijing sees natural gas as an alternative for coal. The city has invested a total of 28.4 billion yuan （$4.66 billion） on the construction of four natural gas-fired power stations， which are scattered in the city’s southeast， southwest， northeast and northwest corners. All the four gas-fired plants will be put into use before the end of 2014 to generate electricity and heat homes， replacing the four major coal-fired stations.
“Upon the completion of those four gasfired power stations， Beijing will reduce at least 9.6 million tons of coal consumption every year，” said Wang Yongliang， Vice General Manager of Beijing Energy Investment Holding， the parent company of Beijing Jingxi Gas-fired Thermal Power， one of the four gas-fired power stations under construction. The capital city had over 5.38 million vehicles at the end of September 2013， which are considered a major contributor to Beijing’s pollution—and one that keeps growing.
A report issued by a research team under the Chinese Academy of Sciences revealed that vehicle exhaust fumes are among Beijing’s top sources of air pollution， contributing to 22.2 percent of PM2.5 density in the city， exceeding the figure for industry emissions.
The city has to reduce vehicle fuel consumption by promoting new-energy and small-displacement vehicles， reducing the intensity of vehicle use and more strictly implementing relevant regulations， Li Kunsheng， Director of the Vehicles Emission Management Division under the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau， told Beijing Review.
“By 2017， the total number of vehicles in Beijing should be less than 6 million units， while the total fuel consumption should be 5 percent less than the 2012 level，” said Li.
“Beijing will further enhance the emission standard for new cars and accelerate the retirement of vehicles. Meanwhile，vehicle structural adjustment will be rolled out for 10 major sectors， including bus， taxi， inter-provincial coach and postal car，”he said.
Li said Beijing buses have always been pioneers of new emission standards and new energy vehicles. “Now， Beijing buses are developing toward being natural gas-powered and electricity-powered.”
Zhong Qianghua， chief engineer of Beijing Public Transport Holdings， the city’s primary public bus operator， said Beijing buses will continue to be the green forces of ground transportation.
“From now on， new energy and clean energy buses will account for over 70 percent of newly added buses. By 2017， they will ac- count for 65 percent of the total. Within the five rings， there will be over 20 percent electrical and 50 percent LNG （liquefied natural gas） buses. Fuel emission will be reduced by at least 40 percent，” said Zhong.
Obstacles
Despite the fact that many people pin hopes on natural gas to move away from burning coal， China is suffering from a chronic shortage of natural gas as domestic output cannot keep up with demand.
The Chinese Government said it would raise natural gas use to 230 million cubic meters by 2015， more than double the 2010 level， but disappointing domestic production growth coupled with insuffi- cient pipeline and storage capacity has left it increasingly reliant on imports and prone to shortages. Natural gas demand rose 13.5 percent in the first nine months of 2013， 4.3 percentage points faster than production， said the National Development and Reform Commission.
PetroChina Chairman Zhou Jiping said it would take at least four to five years to build up new natural gas supply capacity， which would still not be enough to meet demand.
As for new energy vehicles， many potential buyers worry there are not enough charging stations for electrical vehicles or natural gas fueling stations for gas-powered vehicles in Beijing， thus making those new energy vehicles quite unreliable.
“It’s extremely difficult to build charging stations and fueling stations in Beijing， because the capital has very limited unused land，” said Li.“Earmarking land for the construction of charging stations and fueling stations will be a tug of war involving many people.”
Li said another problematic issue is the large trucks that deliver goods to Beijing from outside the city every night.
“Many of their emission certifications are fake and their emission can’t meet the requirement，” said Li. “The emission of one such truck is equal to that of 100 ordinary cars and every night tens of thousands come to Beijing to deliver goods.”
“This is one of the major reasons for Beijing’s chronic air pollution.”
After the release of the 2013-17 clean air action plan， some NGOs have been critical that the plan will make little difference to Beijing’s air quality， because airborne contaminants can easily float from city to city. Beijing is unfortunately surrounded by heavy-chemical industrial bases featuring iron and steel， building materials， thermal power and cement， which contribute significantly to the capital city’s air pollution.
Li Wei， an official with Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau， said tackling air pollution calls for concerted efforts from neighboring cities and provinces.
“A single city’s efforts can’t solve the problem.”