China is to create a fund to help tackle air pollution in heavily affected cities, with Rmb10bn ($1.6bn) allocated to help industry comply with new environmental standards.
The move comes as a comparison of the ecology of 40 international cities by researchers at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences ranked Beijing second to last. “The pollution index nears extreme levels, and is near a level that is no longer livable for human beings,” the report concluded, according to state media yesterday.
The central government funding is a recognition that addressing air pollution – a flashpoint for discontent among relatively prosperous urbanites – requires addressing provincial cities’ reliance on heavy industry for jobs and economic growth.
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