20151209 BBC_First person: Family evacuated from Beijing as threat looms

At the age of 4, my daughter has become an environmental refugee.

To escape the heavy smog that started to blanket the capital city late Monday, my mother-in-law, 63, and my little girl, accompanied by my husband, boarded the train early Tuesday morning for my hometown of Nanjing, an eastern city about 1,000 kilometers away.

Unlike traditional tragic refugee trips, the journey was a happy one. Having no idea of all the possible hazards that smog could cause to her, my daughter appeared very chirpy at the railway station for being able to skip kindergarten for a few days, and in Nanjing, she could see her beloved grandmother.

"It's like a holiday. I like it!" she said.

"Do you know why Mom is sending you away?" I asked.

"It's so dirty here. The sky doesn't wash its face these days."

I'm now the only person in my family staying in Beijing. As expected, I will endure the smog for another two days, and possibly some more days when a new round of smog hits the city starting this weekend.

Sending my family away was a rush decision. After the red alert came on Monday evening, it took us five minutes to make the decision, another five minutes to book the train tickets by mobile phone, and 30 minutes to pack. At 6 am on Tuesday, while the sky was still dark, they departed.

"We cannot make any change (to the air quality), but we can escape," my husband said.

And I'm not alone. A friend of mine took her 2-year-old son to Shanghai on Tuesday, and another friend flew with her 10-year-old daughter to the southern city of Guangzhou, where a lovely safari park is located.

Travel agencies said there's an uptick in demand. Ctrip.com, an online travel service, said its sales of "Skip the Smog" packages have seen a 20 percent rise among Beijing residents. The trips range from nearby cities to as far away as Southeast Asian countries.

As the capital of China and an ancient city world famous for its Forbidden City and Great Wall, Beijing is now losing some appeal due to the lingering air pollution problem. Some of my friends, who were scared by the previous round of smog that pushed the city's PM2.5 reading above 1,000 micrograms per cubic meter last week, are seriously considering moving abroad.

"I know the government is making great efforts to improve the air quality and it is taking effect, but the progress will be slow and the harm is unalterable," said a college classmate of mine, who now runs a small private equity fund in Beijing and is considering going to the United States for investment immigration.

"I don't want any of my family members to end up with lung cancer."

I'm also starting to ponder whether settling in this city 15 years ago, amid the admiration and envy of my friends back in Nanjing, was a good choice.

At that time, I came to Beijing for the abundant chances brought by the country's rapid development, and now I'm sending my child away due to the consequences of this growth.

20151208 BBC_China smog red alert

http://www.bbc.com/weather/features/35031258

Beijing on red alert as smog levels soar but Delhi branded the most polluted city as particulates build up over the city.

The Indian government has announced it will restrict the number of cars it will allow in the capitals streets to try to reduce the chocking smog.

20151208 China Daily_Beijing issues first red alert for heavy air pollution

The CCTV headquarters is shrouded in heavy smog in the central business district in Beijing, China Dec 7, 2015.[Photo/Xinhua]

BEIJING -- Beijing has upgraded its alert for air pollution from orange to red, the most serious level, on Monday afternoon.

This is the first time the capital has issued the red alert, which will last from 7:00 a.m. Tuesday to 12:00 pm Thursday.

Beijing's Education Commission has decided to suspend classes in all elementary and middle schools, kindergartens and extracurricular training schools during the alert. Teachers are encouraged to give learning advices to students via Internet and other communication tools.

Car use will be limited as cars are allowed on the roads on alternating days depending on the odd or even numbers of their license plates. In addition, 30 percent of government cars will be banned from streets on an odd/even basis.

According to the Beijing Municipal Environmental Monitoring Center, heavy air pollution will linger until Thursday. It is expected to disperse Thursday afternoon as a cold front arrives.

This is the first time Beijing has issued a red alert for smog since 2013 when Beijing adopted an emergency response program for air pollution.

Four-tier alerts--blue, yellow, orange and red--will be issued on "heavy pollution" days. Red alert, the highest, will be issued for heavy pollution that is expected to last more than three days.

According to the city's emergency management headquarters, during a red alert, kindergartens, primary and high schools are advised to suspend classes, and outdoor operations of construction sites are banned and some industrial plants are required to limit or stop production.

Chinese Environment Minister Chen Jining has vowed to strictly punish agencies or personnel who fail to initiate emergency response plan in a timely manner.

Local environment protection agencies, especially those in Beijing, Tianjing, Hebei, Shandong, Henan and Shanxi which are constantly haunted by air pollution, should examine their emergency response measures and reflect upon deficiencies, said Chen on Sunday at an emergency meeting to cope with the upcoming smoggy days.

Strict standards and practical work styles should be adopted to deal with the upcoming days, he ordered.

The minister asked local governments to initiate appropriate emergency responses according to the highest level of forecasted pollution.

The Ministry of Environmental Protection has dispatched inspection teams to regions with heavy pollution to ensure emergency plans are being launched in time, monitor and control pollution sources such as coal burning, and enhance management on vehicles that cannot meet national emission standards.

A woman walks by a river near the Imperial Palace on a smoggy day in Beijing. [Photo by Zou Hong/Asianewsphoto] Buildings are pictured amid heavy smog in Beijing, China, Dec 7, 2015.[Photo/Xinhua]

20151204 China Daily_Two more spells of smog predicted to sweep North China

Cities in North China are forecast to experience another two spells of smog in the coming weeks due to windless weather, but not as severe as the one that enveloped Beijing since Nov 27, the national weather authority said on Thursday.

The first spell is expected to arrive on Tuesday and last for three days before a new cold front arrives, said Liu Hongli, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences.

He added after the wind, a second spell of smog may come between Dec 14 and 16, covering the vast region of northern China including Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province.

Xue Jianjun, senior engineer of the National Meteorological Center agreed, adding that the two spells of smog would occur between the intervals in wind, and southern cities in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region may have severe air pollution during them.

On average, the trilateral region will not have smog as severe as that which covered the region late last month until the wind dispersed pollutants on Wednesday, Xue said.

The capital has seen the concentration of PM2.5 – particulate matter with a diameter of less than 2.5 microns – off the charts, exceeding 945 micrograms per cubic meter on Sunday.

The national safety level for the PM2.5 concentration is 75 micrograms per cubic meter.

20151204_China Daily_Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei govts to cooperate on emissions control

Environmental officials ensure production is suspended at a concrete mixing plant in Tongzhou district in Beijing on Monday as the city suffered from severe pollution. LIU CHANG/CHINA DAILY

The heavily polluted cluster of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province signed a cooperation framework on Thursday to control air, water and soil pollution, marking a breakthrough in regional integration, according to a statement released by the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau.

The move set up a new joint coordination system to curb serious smog, and included a plan to create the first unified regulation on the control and prevention of environmental pollution in the region as a whole－including plans for the management of industries likely to affect air, water, soil and solid waste, said Li Lixin, head of the bureau's regional cooperation department.

In addition, the trilateral region will develop standards for emissions. Beijing currently has stricter standards than Hebei and Tianjin for emissions in major polluting industries and for vehicle exhaust.

The three will also conduct joint monitoring and inspections and share information on an environmental monitoring network, Li said.

Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province have faced severe air pollution since 2013. The recent spell of smog that settled in to the region last week underlined the governments' need to take action quickly.

Half of the air pollutants in Beijing come from neighboring cities, Liu Hongli, associate researcher at the Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, said on Thursday. Without effective regional control, it's hard to control the smog, he said.

In recent days, the capital saw the concentration of PM2.5 go off the air index charts, exceeding 945 micrograms per cubic meter on Sunday. The national safety level for PM2.5－particulate matter with a diameter less than 2.5 microns that poses health hazards to humans－is 75 micrograms per cubic meter.

In December, the trilateral region is forecast to have another two spells of heavy haze because of windless weather, but not as hazardous as the recent one that lingered until Wednesday, the national weather authority said.

The first spell is expected on Tuesday and will likely last for three days before a new cold front will again bring wind to North China, Liu said.

He added that a second spell of smog might come between Dec 14 and 16, covering a vast region of northern China.

Xue Jianjun, senior engineer at the National Meteorological Center, said the two spells of smog will occur between intervals of wind, and the southern cities in the region may experience severe smog.

Polluters to pay for damage

China will start a compensation system for ecological damage in some pilot provinces by the end of this year, with a view toward expanding it to the whole country in 2018 if successful.

The State Council published the pilot plan, the first national regulation of its kind, on Thursday, saying the system will be tried and improved as needed.

Provincial governments can ask for compensation when natural resources within their jurisdictions have been damaged. Companies, organizations or individuals responsible for the pollution will bear the burden of compensation.

Pollution caused by the mistakes of decision-makers in governments will be excluded.

Under the plan, compensation would cover the costs of environmental remediation and any economic losses arising from the cleanup process itself or any permanent losses.

Financial institutions such as banks will also be the targets of compensation if they give polluters loans knowing the risks of ecological damage.

The pilot plan also out-lines a process for governments to file lawsuits, make assessment reports and create rules to strengthen management after receiving compensation.

20151204_China Daily_China to become global nuclear energy player with 110 reactors

Nuclear reactors under construction in Sanmen, Zhejiang province.[Photo/Xinhua]

Exports of indigenous technologies to be key thrust in new five-year plan, saysPowerChina

China will have 110 operational nuclear reactors by 2030, making it one of the largest nuclearenergy users in the world by then, a leading power plant builder said on Thursday.

Power Construction Corp of China Ltd, also known as PowerChina, said that the total scale ofnuclear power generation from reactors both under construction and in operation in thecountry will reach 88 gigawatts by the end of 2020, according to estimates in the draft 13thFive-Year Plan (2016-20) for the power industry.

According to the draft plan, China will set aside 500 billion yuan ($78 billion) for setting upnuclear power plants using its homegrown nuclear technologies and add six to eight nuclearreactors every year from 2016 for the next five years.

Though it is only a draft proposal, it will "set the tone during the annual legislative and politicaladvisory sessions in 2016", the State-owned firm said.

During the first nine months of this year, the listed firm saw its revenue rise 24.7 percent to145 billion yuan from the same period a year earlier, according to a regulatory filing.

The Beijing-based company, founded in 2011, provides services including planning,investigation, design and construction to a wide range of sectors of the industry likehydropower, thermal power and nuclear.

It claims to have built about one-third of the nuclear reactors that are currently operating inChina.

The company's claims come at a time when China is embarking on a clean energy drive toreduce emissions, with nuclear being one of the major beneficiaries.

At the same time, China is also looking to popularize its homegrown pressurized-waternuclear technology known as Hualong One both at home and abroad.

In May, work on a pilot project involving Hualong One started in Fuqing, Fujian province,indicating that China is ready to export its nuclear technologies, experts said.

Sun Qin, chairman of China National Nuclear Corp, said the third-generation nucleartechnology meets the highest requirements for global safety standards and has a competitiveedge over others in terms of economic performance and reliability.

Chinese nuclear companies are already making huge inroads in global nuclear markets suchas the United Kingdom, Argentina and Kenya.

CNNC has clinched deals with Argentina to build two nuclear reactors－one using heavy-water technology developed by Canada's Candu Inc with an estimated cost of about $6 billionand the other possibly using the Hualong One technology.

There are 22 nuclear reactors in operation and 26 under construction in China, according tothe National Energy Administration.