China's war against air pollution moves to next stage

Subject

China's anti-pollution plans for the next three years.

Significance

China’s 2018-20 'Three-year Action Plan for Winning the Blue Sky War' is an effort to further decarbonise the economy, with a focus on reducing air pollution. It sees the geographical widening of successful efforts in the past three years, if not a marked increase in ambition, to improve air quality by industrial upgrading, controlling the expansion of polluting industries, supporting new energy vehicles and increasing top-down inspections.

Impacts

• Further closures and other policies will limit the expansion of commodities mined or processed in China, mainly coal, steel and aluminium.
• Electric cars will receive subsidies and favourable policies such as licence-plate limits for conventional, petrol-burning vehicles.
• Reducing polluting and energy-intensive industries to reduce smog also reduces carbon emissions, helping to mitigate climate change.