Tianjin to restrict vehicle use to curb pollution
The government of the industrial city of Tianjin in northern China will limit the number of vehicles allowed on roads during heavy smog, state media reported this week, in the latest attempt to fight pollution.
On days of severe pollution, Tianjin will halve the number of vehicles allowed on roads by restricting license plate numbers, as well as stop construction and manufacturing, close schools for the day and halt large-scale outdoor activities, the official Xinhua news agency said on Monday.
China has vowed to reverse the environmental damage done by decades of unrestrained economic growth, and has identified the region of Beijing, Hebei and Tianjin as one of the key targets of a program to curb big industries such as steel, thermal power and cement, all major sources of smog.
About one-third of the pollution in Beijing, whose choking smog has been dubbed the "airpocalypse," comes from outside the city, a pollution watchdog said last month.
Last month Tianjin banned new steel and cement plants, following similar statements from neighboring Hebei province and Beijing, and in line with a central government plan last year to restrict new manufacturing in key industrial centers.
Economic growth has long topped China's political agenda. But public anger over pollution has sparked protests and the government has now vowed to make cleaning up the environment its priority. Even so, authorities often struggle to persuade big polluting industries and growth-obsessed local authorities to curb pollution.
China has vowed to reverse the environmental damage done by decades of unrestrained economic growth, and has identified the region of Beijing, Hebei and Tianjin as one of the key targets of a program to curb big industries such as steel, thermal power and cement, all major sources of smog.
About one-third of the pollution in Beijing, whose choking smog has been dubbed the "airpocalypse," comes from outside the city, a pollution watchdog said last month.
Last month Tianjin banned new steel and cement plants, following similar statements from neighboring Hebei province and Beijing, and in line with a central government plan last year to restrict new manufacturing in key industrial centers.
Economic growth has long topped China's political agenda. But public anger over pollution has sparked protests and the government has now vowed to make cleaning up the environment its priority. Even so, authorities often struggle to persuade big polluting industries and growth-obsessed local authorities to curb pollution.
