Against a backdrop of record-breaking air pollution levels, the China Sustainable Energy Program (CSEP) has launched two partnerships to help solve China’s air quality problems. On January 22, CSEP and the SEE Foundation launched a clean air fund to provide small grants to local environmental NGOs and citizen groups, to help them monitor government efforts to clean up the air. And on January 23, with support from CSEP and the Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP), eight leading Chinese technical institutions announced the launch of the Clean Air Alliance of China , which will provide policy and technical support on air quality management to the government, particularly at the local level.
These announcements followed a period of well-publicized bad air days in China. From January 11-16, Beijing and over 30 cities in eastern and central China experienced record-breaking air pollution. High emissions and unfavorable weather conditions covered one-third of the country in a heavy haze.
Grantees from CSEP’s China Environmental Management Program in concert with the Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP) and have worked for years to help China strengthen its air quality standards, including setting mandatory PM 2.5 standards (which regulate fine particulate matter?smaller than 2.5 micrograms); improving emissions monitoring; providing real-time, transparent reporting of air quality data; and designing regional air quality management plans. Several ClimateWorks Network consultants have supported this work, including Catherine Witherspoon (who leads ClimateWorks’ short-lived forcers program) and Michael Walsh (chair of ICCT’s board of directors). ClimateWorks Network partners also helped China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection develop the “12th Five-Year Plan for Air Pollution Prevention and Control in Key Regions,” which was released in December 2012.
But the record-breaking bad air days in early January demonstrate that much remains to be done. Many current emissions standards are inadequate—and even some of China’s loosest standards are not fully enforced—and the penalties for violating environmental regulations are too low to ensure compliance. Finally, China’s air quality management bureaus lack important resources and capacity.
Modelled on the successful U.S.-based National Association of Clean Air Agencies, the new Clean Air Alliance of China (CAAC) will work to expand local and provincial capacity by providing an integrated platform with access to international experience, tools, and practices. The CAAC will also facilitate communication and collaboration among provinces and cities within China. It will focus on three work areas: clean air governance and management, a clean air communication platform, and clean air technology and financing. As a technical advisor, RAP will draw on its global expertise to share best practices and lessons learned from other countries with CAAC members.
(Source: Climate Works Foundation,http://hosted.verticalresponse.com/623110/257469e204/1472605895/0c76873971/)
