Beijing,China, 26 August 2015 – The Clean Air Alliance of China (CAAC), China’s leading thinktank platform dedicated to improving China’s air quality, today released the first English version of the China Air Quality Management Assessment Report (2015). The Report analyzed data from 30 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions across China, and found that air quality in Shanxi, Shandong and Shanghai improved by at least 16%, while the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei regions have much room for progress.
China’s air quality has been dire over the past few years. In 2013, China State Council issued the Air Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan 2013-2017 (also referred to as the “Ten Measures of Air”) setting a new precedent for governmental air pollution management efforts. One year after the action Plan’s launch, what have China’s provinces and cities done to meet these requirements?
To answer this question, CAAC gathered data from 30 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions (also referred to as “provinces”), with the exception of Tibet due to lack of available data. According to the report, few provinces successfully met targets for annual average PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations; however, significant progress had been made in controlling pollutant emissions. Shanxi, Shandong and Shanghai achieved outstanding improvements in overall air quality and had exceeded annual quotas.
The Secretariat for Clean Air Alliance of China, known as the Innovation Center for Clean-air Solutions, used publicly available data to analyze changes in regional air quality management, emission reductions and co-control of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across the nation. The Report highlights key regional performance differences and helps government entities meet targets.
Air quality assessment
Based on PM2.5 data, Shanxi, Shandong and Shanghai achieved largest pollution reductions, with PM2.5 concentrations decreasing by 16.7%, 16.3% and 16.1%, respectively. Pollution in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region (also known as the Jing-Jin-Ji Region) and in its surrounding areas like Henan merged into one large zone of severe pollution that deserves increased attention and treatment.
PM10 data revealed that Hainan, Yunnan, Guangdong, Guizhou, Heilongjiang and Guangxi led the nation in meeting PM10 targets. Despite their progress, ten provinces in the central and northeastern regions actually increased PM10 concentrations since 2013.
All provinces except for Beijing met O3 targets and all except five provinces ad met NO2 targets, with Beijing and Tianjin being the worst non-compliant cities. When looking at annual SO2 averages, all provinces met targets, but concentrations in China’s northern area regularly exceeded upper limits during winter heating seasons.
Reducing pollutant emissions
Emissions of SO2 and NOx were reduced in 2014 and mercury emissions also received increased public attention. Certain emission reduction measures, such as setting limits on coal burning and eliminating non-compliant vehicles, have provided significant co-benefits that reduce GHG emissions. All these efforts helped China achieve a 2.9% negative growth in coal consumption in 2014, marking the first time in the past 15 years.
Air quality management
With the release of China’s New Environmental Protection Law in May 2014, various regions strengthened air quality regulations and standards; air quality monitoring systems were built across the country and targets were achieved one year in advance; pollution fees increased and administrative penalties were more severe. Beijing and Tianjin led these efforts out of all 30 provinces. Despite the improvements, provinces across China still lacked data transparency and earned an average transparency score of 59.5%. For example, there were little public access to historical air quality monitoring data, and evaluation results of local air quality action plans were unavailable to the public. Tianjin was an exception and led the country in transparency and data accessibility.
Upcoming challenges and opportunities
China’s air quality challenges mostly lie in treating existing pollutants, reducing dependency on pollution-intensive industries, meeting growing energy demands and controlling increasing vehicle usage.
The Jing-Jin-Ji Region and its surrounding areas, Henan, Hubei, Sichuan, Chongqing, Yangtze River Delta and other areas with heavy pollution all have relatively less pollution carrying capacities. Shandong, Jiangxi, Liaoning, Hebei, Ningxia, Qinghai and Jiangsu have economies that are strongly based off of secondary pollution-intensive industries, which make up more than 60% of their GDP. Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Liaoning, Hebei, Ningxia, Guizhou, Anhui, Hebei and Shaanxi allocate more than 80% of coal use for primary consumption. Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang lead in coal consumption per capita, ranking 1st, 3rd and 8th, respectively, making Yangtze River Delta an intensive coal region.
In 2014, Shenzhen topped the list in overall air quality among China’s mega cities that have population of more than 10 million and successfully attained national air quality standards. We believe that more cities will follow in its footsteps.
About Clean Air Alliance of China
The Clean Air Alliance of China (CAAC) is a thinktank platform targeting at cleaning up China’s air pollution via strengthened and systematic technical support to policy making and implementation at national and local levels. CAAC was initiated by ten leading research institutions, and is fostering and managing a high-level network composed of representatives from provinces, municipalities, relevant international and domestic institutions, governmental agencies, enterprises, and NGOs. With support from the Energy Foundation, the CAAC operates through the Innovation for Clean-air Solutions (ICCS) and is based in Beijing, China.
About the CAAC Air Management Series Reports
The CAAC Air Management Series applies CAAC management and evaluation tools to support Chinese provinces and cities to systematically evaluate their air quality management systems. The goal is to assist them in a sustainable manner to construct and ameliorate their quality management systems, and to select and implement efficient air quality management measures. This series of reports is compiled together by CAAC secretariat, CAAC member provinces and cities and CAAC experts.
Download the report: China Air Quality Management Assessment Report (2015), English version
