正文
NINETY per cent of cars could be banned from the roads and more factories ordered to close in a last-ditch bid to clear the smog that is shrouding Beijing in the lead-up to the Olympics.
The threat emerged as Australian athletes were again told they could withdraw from events if they believed competing in the smog might damage their health.
With just 11 days to go beforethe start of the Olympics, Beijing was yesterday blanketed in a dense haze that has cut visibility in the city of 17 million people down to just a few hundred metres.
Last week, Beijing ordered more than a million cars from theroads and closed dozens of the most heavily polluting factories, but the effort appears to have failed.
Acknowledging the failure of the initial car ban introduced on July 20, Beijing authorities are expected to announce more stringent emergency measures soon, the China Daily reported, quoting the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau.
One plan under consideration is to ban 90 per cent of all private vehicles from the streets of the capital during the Games, the paper said. There are now more than 22 million privately owned cars in China, with more than three million of them in Beijing, meaning 2.7 million would be forced from the roads under the crackdown.
We are checking with relevant government departments to see what measures will be taken, said Beijing Olympic organising committee spokeswoman Zhu Jing.
However, the China Daily quoted Li Xin, an official with the environmental bureau, as saying the plan would go into effect before the Games started.
We will implement an emergency plan 48 hours in advance (of the Games) if the air quality deteriorates, Li Xin said.
International Olympic Committee chief Jacques Rogge warned last year that poor air quality during the Games could result in the suspension of some events, particularly endurance races such as the marathon.
Under the car ban launched on July 20, cars with odd and even number plates are allowed on the streets only on alternate days.
Seventy per cent of government cars and vehicles owned by state-run enterprises were also banned. Police and emergency services vehicles, as well as public transport and taxis, were excluded. Beijing had earlier taken 300,000 heavily polluting vehicles off the road.
The Australian Olympic Committee is taking the smog threat seriously. AOC vice-president Peter Montgomery was quoted yesterday as saying athletes would be under no pressure to compete if they felt uneasy.
Ethiopian distance great Haile Gebrselassie, who suffers from asthma, said earlier this year that he has no intention of committing suicide by running the marathon in Beijing.
The pollution in China is a threat to my health and it would be difficult for me to run 42km in my current condition, he told The Times.
But I am not pulling out of the Olympics altogether.
He said he would run the 10,000m instead.
Greenpeace seized on the pollution issue yesterday, declaring the entire country was facing an environmental crisis and that the Chinese Government had to learn the hard lesson that it is high time to reverse its growth model of develop first and clean up later.
Greenpeace China\'s campaign director, Lo Sze Ping, said the lowvisibility in Beijing could be man-made, or the result of weather conditions, or a mixture of the two.
The problem is that the city\'s air quality is unstable, he said.
Because athletes competing in endurance events consumed 10 times more air than the average person, Greenpeace believed the International Olympic Committee and individual teams have reason to be concerned.
Mr Lo, launching a report, China after the Olympics: Lessons from Beijing, said that Beijing only measures four major air pollutants. Greenpeace has suggested others that should be monitored, including ozone and smaller-sized particulate matter.
The Greenpeace report says: Ozone is produced in especially large quantities in summer months due to a reaction involving ultraviolet radiation, nitrogen dioxide and volatile organic compounds in the air and is thus of special concern to athletes attending the Olympics.
It said that although Beijing has taken measures to address ozone, including upgrading fuel standards, it could have used the Games as a reason to begin monitoring these pollutants.
Mr Lo said Beijing had four major sources of air pollution: coal burned for power, exhaust gases, industrial production and dust from construction.
He said the Games provided a golden opportunity for China to move to a sustainable development platform.
But changes introduced in the lead up to the Games would not be of much value if they are to be confined to the Olympic venues and the duration of the Games, or to Beijing alone.
The sustainability of environmental efforts is what counts, he said. We care more about the long-term impact than the two weeks of the Olympics.
It is crucial that the International Olympic Committee requires host cities to set mandatory environmental standards, thereby ensuring that the environment is honoured as the third pillar of the Olympics, after sports and culture.
The threat emerged as Australian athletes were again told they could withdraw from events if they believed competing in the smog might damage their health.
With just 11 days to go beforethe start of the Olympics, Beijing was yesterday blanketed in a dense haze that has cut visibility in the city of 17 million people down to just a few hundred metres.
Last week, Beijing ordered more than a million cars from theroads and closed dozens of the most heavily polluting factories, but the effort appears to have failed.
Acknowledging the failure of the initial car ban introduced on July 20, Beijing authorities are expected to announce more stringent emergency measures soon, the China Daily reported, quoting the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau.
One plan under consideration is to ban 90 per cent of all private vehicles from the streets of the capital during the Games, the paper said. There are now more than 22 million privately owned cars in China, with more than three million of them in Beijing, meaning 2.7 million would be forced from the roads under the crackdown.
We are checking with relevant government departments to see what measures will be taken, said Beijing Olympic organising committee spokeswoman Zhu Jing.
However, the China Daily quoted Li Xin, an official with the environmental bureau, as saying the plan would go into effect before the Games started.
We will implement an emergency plan 48 hours in advance (of the Games) if the air quality deteriorates, Li Xin said.
International Olympic Committee chief Jacques Rogge warned last year that poor air quality during the Games could result in the suspension of some events, particularly endurance races such as the marathon.
Under the car ban launched on July 20, cars with odd and even number plates are allowed on the streets only on alternate days.
Seventy per cent of government cars and vehicles owned by state-run enterprises were also banned. Police and emergency services vehicles, as well as public transport and taxis, were excluded. Beijing had earlier taken 300,000 heavily polluting vehicles off the road.
The Australian Olympic Committee is taking the smog threat seriously. AOC vice-president Peter Montgomery was quoted yesterday as saying athletes would be under no pressure to compete if they felt uneasy.
Ethiopian distance great Haile Gebrselassie, who suffers from asthma, said earlier this year that he has no intention of committing suicide by running the marathon in Beijing.
The pollution in China is a threat to my health and it would be difficult for me to run 42km in my current condition, he told The Times.
But I am not pulling out of the Olympics altogether.
He said he would run the 10,000m instead.
Greenpeace seized on the pollution issue yesterday, declaring the entire country was facing an environmental crisis and that the Chinese Government had to learn the hard lesson that it is high time to reverse its growth model of develop first and clean up later.
Greenpeace China\'s campaign director, Lo Sze Ping, said the lowvisibility in Beijing could be man-made, or the result of weather conditions, or a mixture of the two.
The problem is that the city\'s air quality is unstable, he said.
Because athletes competing in endurance events consumed 10 times more air than the average person, Greenpeace believed the International Olympic Committee and individual teams have reason to be concerned.
Mr Lo, launching a report, China after the Olympics: Lessons from Beijing, said that Beijing only measures four major air pollutants. Greenpeace has suggested others that should be monitored, including ozone and smaller-sized particulate matter.
The Greenpeace report says: Ozone is produced in especially large quantities in summer months due to a reaction involving ultraviolet radiation, nitrogen dioxide and volatile organic compounds in the air and is thus of special concern to athletes attending the Olympics.
It said that although Beijing has taken measures to address ozone, including upgrading fuel standards, it could have used the Games as a reason to begin monitoring these pollutants.
Mr Lo said Beijing had four major sources of air pollution: coal burned for power, exhaust gases, industrial production and dust from construction.
He said the Games provided a golden opportunity for China to move to a sustainable development platform.
But changes introduced in the lead up to the Games would not be of much value if they are to be confined to the Olympic venues and the duration of the Games, or to Beijing alone.
The sustainability of environmental efforts is what counts, he said. We care more about the long-term impact than the two weeks of the Olympics.
It is crucial that the International Olympic Committee requires host cities to set mandatory environmental standards, thereby ensuring that the environment is honoured as the third pillar of the Olympics, after sports and culture.
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