China’s Prime Minister Li Keqiang has declared a war on air pollution, as the country continues to grapple with record pollution.
The Premier made the remarks in his speech to the National People’s congress on Wednesday, describing the pollution as “nature’s red-light warning against the model of inefficient and blind development.”
“We will declare war against pollution and fight it with the same determination we battled poverty,” Li also said.
Beijing will close down 50,000 small coal-fired furnaces in 2014, clean up major coal-burning power plants, and remove six million high-emission cars, he added.
The Premier further noted that the government will put a cap on total energy consumption and take measures to control water pollution, conserve soil, restore forests and recover wetlands.
On February 26, the World Health Organization (WHO) expressed concern over the sustained levels of pollution in China’s northern areas.
WHO’s representative in China Bernhard Schwartlander said that people found it difficult “to breathe, or having asthma attacks, or bronchitis type symptoms.”
“We are also very concerned of the potential long-term effects that such levels of air pollution may have,” he added, citing recent research that has shown a correlation between an increased risk of developing lung cancer and exposure to air pollution.
Air pollution levels in Chinese cities have risen in recent years due to increased car ownership and growing industrial production.