China finds itself in the grip of a serious air pollution crisis. A new report from Greenpeace in December suggested more than 8,000 people were killed by the pollutant PM2.5, fine particulate matter linked to asthma and lung cancer, in four Chinese cities this year.
As the country continues its rapid pace of urbanisation and industrialisation, with a large reliance on coal, sources of air pollution are also rising.
During the 11th Five-Year Plan period (2006-2010), emission of nitrogen oxides increased by about 40%. That means that even if nitrogen oxides emissions fall by 10% by the end of the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015), levels in 2015 will still be higher than in 2005.