Some 70 per cent of companies still violating pollution regulations in Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei

After two months of government inspections in 28 cities in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area, some 13,785 companies (70.6 per cent) have failed to meet emissions standards or lack pollution control equipment.  Particulate matter should have been reduced in the smoggy region by 25 per cent this year over 2012 levels, but the target has not been met. One third of the deaths in the region are related to pollution.

Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) – After two months of inspections in 28 cities in the notoriously smoggy Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and other nearby areas, government officials found that 70.6 per cent of companies had failed to meet environmental standards, the Xinhua news agency reported.

Some 13,785 companies failed to meet standards, with problems ranging from excessive emissions to insufficient pollution control equipment. This confirms findings reported a few months ago by China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection.

Despite having 70,000 public employees charged with enforcing pollution regulations, China is far from meeting its targets due to the close relationship between local governments and companies that influence them.

The offer a 50,000-yuan (US$ 7,000) prize to people who report unlawful practices did not produce the desired results. Even sanctions proved fruitless.

In fact, in 2016 fines surpassed those of the previous year by almost a billion dollars, according to the Ministry of Environmental Protection.

In its annual report, the Ministry noted that last year it had punished 137,800 environmental violations (an increase of 34 per cent on an annual basis).

Now Chinese authorities are working on a plan to move heavy industry further away from the more populated urban centres to areas not under local governments.

Particulate matter (PM2.5) in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region is supposed to be cut by 25 per cent this year compared to 2012 levels.

One study found that up to a third of deaths in the area is related to pollution.

• china
• beijing
• tianjin
• hebei
• pollution
• particulate matter