SPC’s first day renews debate on air pollution

Shanghai People's Congress (SPC) delegates offered suggestions on how to curb pollution and improve the city's air quality at the first day of the annual meeting Sunday.

SPC delegates from Xuhui district broached the topic while discussing the Report on the Work of the Government, which Shanghai's Acting Mayor Yang Xiong delivered in the morning.

The report reviewed the government's work over the past five years and laid out its plan for the future.

"Over the next five years, Shanghai will be built into a smart, low-carbon and livable city, focusing on the harmony of people, resources and the environment. It will invest around 3 percent of the city's GDP into environmental protection and continue to reduce emissions of main pollutants," Yang said.

When Yang was at the discussion session, he said that the public considered air pollution an urgent problem in 2012 because of the haze that had enveloped the city in days past. He said the government would put the problem at the top of its agenda.

For Ding Kuiling, a delegate from Xuhui district, it was not enough for the city to publish the Air Quality Index (AQI) and PM 2.5 readings. "The solution to the air pollution problem lies in the control of emissions. Because vehicle exhaust accounts for 25 percent of total air pollutants, we need to find cleaner sources of energy to replace the existing ones," Ding said at the meeting.

Li Ming, a delegate from Yangpu district, proposed that it would be better to have local regulations to make measures to tackle the air pollution part of local law.

"So far, our country only has a national law for air pollution. It is necessary for Shanghai to pass a local regulation that nails down the duties and roles of factories and the government," Li told the Global Times.

Li said it was useless to force factories to only shut down every once a while when the air pollution is bad because emissions should be controlled on a regular basis.

In addition, Li suggested that the local government reduce the number of government vehicles on the road by 30 percent when the air pollution is severe. "The government should take the lead on this issue," Li said.