China will launch three major targeted campaigns to improve air quality, with the goal of essentially eliminating severe pollution episodes by 2025.

　　The Ministry of Ecology and Environment, together with 14 other departments, recently jointly issued the Action Plan for Winning the Tough Battles to Eliminate Severe Pollution Episodes, Prevent and Control Ozone Pollution, and Tackle Diesel Truck Emissions. The plan sets out that by 2025, severe and worse air pollution episodes will be virtually eliminated nationwide; synergistic control of PM2.5 and ozone will yield significant results, effectively curbing the upward trend in ozone concentrations; and the level of diesel truck emission control will be markedly improved, leading to a substantial reduction in the total emissions of major air pollutants from mobile sources.

　　An official from the Department of Atmospheric Environment of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment stated that, in recent years, China’s air quality has improved markedly. However, the situation in addressing atmospheric pollution remains severe: heavy‑pollution episodes continue to occur frequently during the autumn and winter months in regions such as the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei area and its surrounding zones, and more than half of the country’s cities still experience days with serious air pollution. Ozone pollution is becoming increasingly prominent and, particularly in summer, has emerged as the primary factor driving air‑quality exceedances in some cities. Meanwhile, diesel‑truck emissions have yet to be effectively curbed; mobile sources account for roughly 60% of the nation’s total nitrogen oxide emissions and contribute significantly to both PM2.5 and ozone pollution.

　　According to the briefing, the campaign to eliminate severe pollution focuses on PM2.5 pollution, with the autumn and winter period (October to March of the following year) as the key timeframe. Priority regions include the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei area and its surrounding regions, the Fenwei Plain, and the Northeast region—where heavy‑pollution episodes are frequent—as well as urban agglomerations along the northern slopes of the Tianshan Mountains, where pollution control efforts have been relatively weak. Targeted measures are tailored to the distinct pollution characteristics of each region. Under the action plan, by 2025, severe and worse pollution events will be essentially eliminated; the national proportion of days with severe or worse pollution will be kept below 1%; more than 70% of prefecture‑level and above cities will achieve full elimination of severe pollution; and in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei area and its surroundings, the Fenwei Plain, the Northeast, and the Tianshan North Slope urban agglomeration, the number of days with severe or worse pollution attributable to human activities will be reduced by at least 30%.

　　The tough battle to prevent and control ozone pollution will focus on the period from May to September, with the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region and its surrounding areas, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Fenwei Plain designated as priority regions at the national level. The Pearl River Delta, the Chengdu–Chongqing region, the middle reaches of the Yangtze River urban agglomeration, and other cities exceeding ozone standards will carry out targeted efforts under national guidance, intensifying reductions in volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides, while strengthening capacity and addressing existing shortcomings. According to the action plan, by 2025, synergistic control of PM2.5 and ozone will yield significant results; the nationwide upward trend in ozone concentrations will be effectively curbed, and the total emissions of VOCs and nitrogen oxides will each decline by more than 10% compared with 2020 levels.

　　The tough battle to curb pollution from diesel trucks focuses on key regions with high freight volumes—namely the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei area and its surrounding provinces, the Yangtze River Delta, the Fenwei Plain, as well as cities in the central and western parts of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region—while promoting adjustments to the transport mix and the clean‑energy transition of vehicles and vessels. It also entails strengthening oversight of diesel trucks and non‑road mobile machinery and enhancing inter‑departmental and cross‑regional coordinated prevention and control. According to the action plan, by 2025, the cleanliness and low‑carbon nature of the transport and vehicle fleets will be significantly improved; fuel quality will continue to rise; instances of excessive black smoke emissions from motor vehicles, construction equipment, and internal‑combustion locomotives in key areas will be virtually eliminated; the national pass rate for diesel truck emission inspections will exceed 90%; nationwide nitrogen oxide emissions from diesel trucks will decline by 12%; the share of new‑energy and China VI‑compliant trucks in the total fleet will strive to surpass 40%; and the proportion of rail freight volume will increase by 0.5 percentage points.

　　The official stated that the progress in achieving the annual and final‑stage targets of landmark campaigns should be incorporated as a key component of the performance assessment for winning the tough battle against pollution. Efforts to implement these targets will be strengthened, and regions that fail to meet their obligations will be subject to public criticism and accountability talks in accordance with laws and regulations; the status of implementation will also be included in the central ecological and environmental protection inspection.

Source: Xinhua News Agency, Reporter Gao Jing