Beijing vows fresher air this year

Photo shows a turret of the Forbidden City under blue sky in Beijing. (Xinhua/Mao Huibin)

Beijing has announced measures to further reduce air pollution.

BEIJING, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- Beijing Municipality has announced measures to further reduce air pollution in 2020 after the air quality has improved remarkably in recent years.

The average concentration of PM2.5 was 42 micrograms per cubic meter of air in 2019, dropping by 53 percent over 2013, the year a national action plan was issued by the State Council to fight air pollution.

To further improve air quality, the city will continue to make efforts in control of vehicle emissions and construction dust, promotion of clean energy and closing of more manufacturing factories, according to an action plan to fight against pollution released Thursday.

The pollutant caused by vehicle emissions this year should be reduced by 30 percent compared with the levels in 2017, said the plan.

A total of 90 manufacturing or polluted companies would be phased out this year, it said.

According to the plan, the coal consumption of the city should be within 3 million tonnes this year, and new and renewable energy should account for more than 8 percent of the city's total energy consumption.

The plan also addressed water and soil pollution.