The Asian Development Bank has approved a loan for US$300 million to help reduce coal use in Beijing-adjacent Hebei province, home to seven of China’s ten most polluted cities, The Financial Times reported. The loan will support policies aimed at reducing annual coal consumption in Hebei by more than 12 million tons and follows the first pollution “red alert” from Beijing’s municipal government this week, which closed schools and limited car use in the capital. “Although they are making a lot of effort, the pollution is still there,” said Satoshi Ishii, an ADB development specialist. “The fundamental issue is Hebei’s coal-based economy and industrial structure.”
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