Environment regulator: Things will get better

Environmental pollution in China will finally begin to fall this year, the vice minister of the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) said Tuesday, AFP reported. "We should see a turning point … this year," Zhang Lijun said during a briefing to mark World Environment Day. "This will be the first time in many years that we will see a drop in the overall volume in emissions of major pollutants." China has targeted reducing sulfur dioxide and chemical oxygen emissions – two of the main contributors to pollution – by 10% between 2006 and 2010. However, last year discharges of the two gases increased by 1.8% and 1.2% respectively. Zhang said that, despite this setback, meeting the 2010 target "should not be a problem." He cited the installation of sulfur-removing equipment in coal-fired power plants, which has risen to 30% in 2006 from just 12% in 2005, as evidence of China's progress. Meanwhile, authorities have ordered the closure of heavily polluting industries around Tai Lake, the third-largest freshwater lake in the country. More than 2 million people were left without clean water last week due to an algal bloom choking the lake.