China to Tighten Air Quality Rules That Have Helped Slash Smog

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(Bloomberg) — China is planning its first major tightening of national air quality standards since 2012, as it seeks to extend a largely successful anti-pollution campaign that’s reshaped parts of its economy.

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New limits on a range of pollutants will be phased in from March and strengthened further in 2031, according to documents posted online by the country’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment. The stricter rules are intended to reduce health risks, support the ambition of “building a beautiful China” and align the nation with international best practice, the ministry said in a Tuesday statement.

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President Xi Jinping has frequently emphasized efforts to keep China’s “skies blue, waters clear and lands pollution-free,” and supported previous air pollution targets credited with dramatically curbing pollution, particularly in the nation’s largest cities.

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Energy-intensive sectors like the coal-to-chemicals industry and aluminum have seen some production shift from coastal areas to less densely populated regions in recent years under the environmental campaign, and also to take advantage of cheaper power and resources. While that’s delivered benefits in megacities, parts of western China have experienced worsening air quality.

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New standards to be fully implemented from Jan. 1, 2031 will limit average annual levels of PM2.5 per cubic meter to 25 micrograms in most locations. That compares with a current annual limit of 35 micrograms. Interim standards from March will set an annual limit of 30 micrograms. PM2.5 are the fine particles that can be inhaled deep into the lungs, or even enter the bloodstream.

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Stricter rules will “motivate cities in China to continue their clean air action,” said Ma Jun, founder of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, a Beijing-based nonprofit. “If we want to achieve this new standard it will be very difficult.”

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Some environmentally sensitive locations like national parks or nature reserves will need to meet tougher standards. The new policy — finalized earlier this month and outlined this week — also lowers concentration limits for pollutants including PM10, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and nitrogen dioxide.

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China’s move contrasts with action in the US to roll back pollution controls and to rescind the Environmental Protection Agency’s crucial “endangerment finding” that underpinned key regulations.

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Still, China’s new limits remain weaker than guidance issued in 2021 by the World Health Organization, which recommends an annual average PM2.5 limit of 5 micrograms and a 24-hour limit of 15 micrograms.

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“The mission is far from being accomplished, we’ve got to recognize that,” Ma said.

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A continued focus on clean air is expected to be discussed at the annual National People’s Congress opening in Beijing next week, and included in China’s forthcoming 15th Five-Year plan covering policy settings through 2030.

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China first launched its war on pollution in 2013 after a series of noxious winter smog events — and increasing data availability — led to public outcry. That campaign has notched significant wins, and the country has had the fastest improvement in air quality globally, with annual average PM2.5 concentration falling from 68 micrograms per cubic meter in 2013 to 28 micrograms last year, according to MEE. 

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Yet about 60% of China’s cities still have air pollution levels exceeding the planned new 25 microgram standard, the ministry said. 

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