On February 22, Zhao Yingmin, Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection, presided over a media conference to introduce issues related to air pollution prevention and control to reporters, and answered their questions. Nearly 20 journalists from central, urban, and online media attended the press conference.
Zhao Yingmin introduced that since the implementation of the "Ten Measures for the Atmosphere" more than three years ago, various regions and departments have followed the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, vigorously implemented their work, and achieved positive results. The monitoring data in 2016 showed that the average concentration of PM10 in China decreased by 5.7% year-on-year and 15.5% compared to 2013; The average concentration of PM2.5 in the Beijing Tianjin Hebei, Yangtze River Delta, and Pearl River Delta regions decreased by 7.8%, 13.2%, and 5.9% respectively, with a decrease of over 30% compared to 2013. The proportion of days with severe or above pollution in 74 key cities across the country is 3.0%, a decrease of 5.7 percentage points from 2013. The proportion of heavy pollution days in the Beijing Tianjin Hebei region was 9.2%, a decrease of 11.5 percentage points from 2013. Practice has proved that the pollution control ideas and directions determined in the "Ten Measures for the Atmosphere" are correct, the implementation and guarantee measures are effective, and the effectiveness of air quality improvement is beginning to emerge. However, the problem of winter air pollution has not been effectively alleviated. Compared with 2015, the improvement in air quality during the winter heating season in northern regions in 2016 was small, and the average concentration of atmospheric particulate matter remained almost unchanged; After entering the heating period from the non heating period, the average proportion of excellent days decreased to 60.1%, a decrease of 21.1 percentage points, while the proportion of severe and above pollution days increased to 9.2%, an increase of 8.3 percentage points. The situation of air pollution control in our country is still severe.
When it comes to the causes of air pollution, Zhao Yingmin said that from a macro perspective, the industrial structure dominated by heavy chemical industry and unreasonable industrial layout, the energy structure dominated by coal, and the rapid growth of motor vehicle ownership have led to the total emissions of air pollutants far exceeding the environmental carrying capacity. This is the fundamental reason why the quality of the atmospheric environment is still unsatisfactory and heavy pollution weather occurs frequently. At the same time, unfavorable weather conditions in winter have exacerbated the level of haze. From a meso level perspective, each city has significant differences in pollution sources due to differences in industrial structure, energy structure, and development level; From the perspective of heavy pollution weather processes, each heavy pollution weather process has different sources of pollution due to different meteorological conditions. For example, when the south wind blows in Beijing, the proportion of external transmission is relatively large, and when encountering stable weather, local emissions are the main source. And the established dynamic observation methods can timely understand and grasp the changes. It should be said that the causes of heavy pollution weather are clear and definite at both macro and meso levels. From a micro perspective, some experts have provided insights into the causes of heavy pollution weather based on their own research and technical fields. However, due to differences in observation perspectives and research priorities, the conclusions drawn may vary. We have carefully studied the analysis conclusions proposed by each expert, some of which have been adopted in our work, while others that may cause misunderstandings or negative impacts have also been responded to through the media. I hope to establish an interactive relationship between experts and the media, to convey what scientists say in the correct way, and encourage scientists to engage in dialogue with the public. To avoid confusion among the public caused by the mixing of causes at different levels.
Zhao Yingmin finally stated that 2017 is the year of the decisive battle for the first phase of 'Ten Measures for the Atmosphere'. The Ministry of Environmental Protection will work with relevant departments to make winter heavy pollution weather control a strategic priority, and promote efforts to achieve the 2017 phased air quality improvement goals in various regions. One is to comprehensively promote clean heating in winter, listing transmission channel cities as the first implementation units of the winter clean heating plan in northern regions, promoting the "electricity instead of coal" and "gas instead of coal" projects, accelerating the construction of "coal ban areas", phasing out coal-fired small boilers within a time limit, and achieving negative growth in total coal consumption in "transmission channel" cities. The second is to continue implementing staggered production in industrial enterprises. This winter, we will further promote the experience of staggered production and expand its scope to industries such as steel, electrolytic aluminum, and chemical engineering. Thirdly, we will strengthen the comprehensive management of industrial air pollution. The steel and coal-fired boilers in the transmission channel city are subject to special emission limits for atmospheric pollutants, and the issuance of pollutant discharge permits for key industries has been completed first, implementing a comprehensive action plan to meet emission standards. The fourth is to further strengthen pollution control in the transportation industry. By the end of September this year, Tianjin Port will no longer accept road transportation of coal, reducing heavy diesel vehicle pollution emissions from the source. Install remote sensing monitoring equipment at major intersections, with a focus on screening diesel trucks and high emission gasoline vehicles. The fifth is to strengthen the response to heavy pollution weather. Improve the consultation mechanism for regional air quality prediction and forecasting, and comprehensively enhance the ability to predict and forecast environmental air quality. Guide various regions to revise emergency plans for heavy pollution weather, ensuring that measures are operable, monitored, and verifiable. Unified warning grading standards, clear requirements for emission reduction ratios at different levels, implementation of regional emergency linkage, and early activation of emergency plans.
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