Reuters 25 Jan 10;
BEIJING (Reuters) - Beijing's mayor Guo Jinlong said on Monday that the Chinese capital faces an "extremely serious" pollution problem, unveiling a target for "blue sky days" below the number achieved for all of 2009.
Beijing is frequently enveloped in foul-smelling smog, the result of a private car boom on the back of breakneck economic growth, the rapid development of industry around the city, and a reliance on coal power stations for electricity.
Guo promised the city of 17 million would give greater priority to public transport by building bus lanes and new subway lines as well as raising the proportion of green energy resources used and removing high-emission vehicles from the road.
"The problems between population, resources and the environment are extremely serious," Guo told the opening session of Beijing's largely rubber stamp parliament, held at a conference center in a remote northern suburb.
He said the city will aim to have 73 percent of the days this year with air quality judged excellent or fairly good, known as "blue sky days." That works out at about 266 days, as opposed to 285 for 2009.
"We will control the total quantity of pollutants generated and undertake trial reforms in the trade of pollution discharge rights," Guo added, without elaborating.
"We will deepen the development strategy of giving priority for public transportation, and build a green commuting system that gives priority to rail transit and emphasizes surface public transportation," he said.
Beijing's notoriously poor air quality was put in the global spotlight ahead of the city's hosting of the 2008 Olympics, leading the government to launch a major clean-up campaign, including shutting down many dirty factories.
But more than a year after the Games, Beijing is still periodically shrouded by smog, endangering the health of residents and making the city a less attractive place for foreign executives and their families.
Guo told the more than 700 delegates that he hoped to turn Beijing into a "global city" and would "vigorously entice multinational corporations to set up their regional headquarters in Beijing."
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Jerry Norton)
Beijing mayor warns over city's development
Yahoo News 25 Jan 10;
BEIJING (AFP) – Beijing's mayor warned on Monday of "extremely serious" contradictions between protecting the capital's environment and maintaining rapid economic growth and development.
Guo Jinlong made the statements in his annual report to the city's legislature, during which he called for a 12 percent increase in consumption and an 11 percent increase in investment.
"There still exist a lot of difficulties and problems concerning the economic and social development of the capital," Guo said, according to the report posted on the city government website.
"The contradictions between the population, resources and the environment are extremely serious, making the demands of transforming faster our mode of development and adjusting the economic structure even more urgent."
Beijing's air pollution has long been listed as among the worst in the world amid a boom in private automobile sales, with the city regularly shrouded in an acrid haze.
The city's economy expanded by 10.1 percent in 2009, while urban per capita income grew by 9.7 percent to 26,740 yuan (3,900 dollars), Guo said.
Average living standards in Beijing improved in 2009, with per capita gross domestic product topping 10,000 dollars for the first time, official data showed Friday.
Guo urged greater investment in the city's public transport network and more spending on environmentally friendly vehicles and buses to address Beijing's traffic congestion and air pollution.
"We must earnestly implement... measures to control air pollution," Guo said, adding that the capital would target 266 days of at least fairly good air quality in 2010, down from 286 days in 2009.
Addressing Beijing's chronic water shortages, Guo said the city would aim to reduce water consumption in 2010 on a per capita basis.
