Society

China faces heavy task to cut pollution: minister

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-04-23 22:51

BEIJING - China's Minister of Environmental Protection Zhou Shengxian said the country was confronted with an "increasingly heavy task" to curb pollution.

In a signed article published on the People's Daily, the flagship newspaper of the Communist Party of China, Zhou said that sizzling economic activities across the country and a longer major pollutant monitoring list have made pollution control a harder job.

The official proposed seeking coordinated development between environmental protection and economic development. To achieve that end, he said it was important to transform the country's economic development pattern and give play to the role of environmental protection in optimizing economic development.

According to the environmental protection plan for the period from 2011 to 2015, ammonia nitrogen and nitrogen oxide were newly added to the country's major pollutants monitoring list which previously contained only sulfur dioxide and chemical oxygen demand.

To meet the target of cutting the four major pollutants by 1.5 percent from its 2010 level this year, Zhou called for strengthened implementation of pollution-control measures, enhanced endeavor to cut emissions in big projects and higher efficiency in pollution control.

In the article, Zhou said China's anti-pollution fight will target pollution of drinking water, air, soil and heavy metals for the 2011-2015 period to ensure public health.