On 4 August, 2014, Beijing’s Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau announced its intention to ban coal consumption by 2020. However, is this enough for improving Beijing's air quality?
On 4 August, 2014, Beijing’s Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau announced its intention to ban coal consumption by 2020. However, is this enough for improving Beijing's air quality?
During the interview with VOA, CEF director Jennifer Turner commented, "This is an encouraging plan released by the Beijing government. However, the critical problem of Chinese environmental issues is that the total energy consumption in China is huge, and it will be a challenge to increase energy efficiency and fully implement the policy."
Turner pointed out that this anouncement should be regarded as one piece of a grander and more comprehensive reform, and to set such a energy consumption cap would be no more than a goal but without any legal rescriction. That is to say, probably no one would be punished if he fails to meet the goal.
To learn more about the interview (in Chinese), please visit http://www.voachinese.com/content/beijing-air-quality-20140806/1973032.html.
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