China to Tackle Pressing Environmental IssueChina will focus on finding solutions to the problems about water and air pollution in the urban areas, noise and acid rain, in the coming five years,said a leading environmental official Tuesday in Beijing.The country will also make efforts to ensure sufficient drinking water for the people,the official said. All members of society will be mobilized to solve the pressing environmental problems that have great influence on national economic development and people's health, said Xie Zhenhua, director of the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA), at an annual working conference of the administration. The investment in environmental protection will make up for 1. 2 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the coming five years. The total discharge of major pollutants in 2005 will be reduced by 10 percent in 2000, and the industrial pollution will be controlled within national standards. China will build 50 model cities and 200 towns in environmental protection. 100 cities will release daily air quality reports and 42 key cities will have air quality forecasts. Monthly reports, as well as reports every 10 days, on water quality of the drinking water resources of cities will be issued,according to Xie. In addition to the pollution control program in the Liaohe, Huaihe, Haihe rivers and Taihu, Chaohu and Dianchi lakes, pollution prevention and controlling programs will be launched on the upper reaches of the Yangtze and Yellow rivers and on the mainstream of the Songhua River, said Xie. Moreover, China will strengthen environmental protection in the rural areas and will promote green products and environmentally friendly consumption, Xie added. |
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