China pledges $56 billion to curb air pollution in major cities

China will spend 350 billion Yuan by 2015 to curb air pollution in major cities, said the environmental watchdog. Local governments will fund most of the programs aimed at cutting the level of harmful particles in the air in 117 cities by at least 5% between 2011 and 2015, the Ministry of Environmental Protection said in a statement on its website.Doctors warn that the tiny floating PM 2.5 particles, named for their less than 2.5 micrometer diameter, can settle in the lungs and cause respiratory problems and other illnesses. China began publishing data on the amount of such pollution readings were grossly understated. Chinese officials have acknowledged that the thick cocktail of smokestack emissions, vehicle exhaust, dust and aerosols that often fills the air in many cities is a growing concern to increasingly prosperous urban residents. China has cited its ongoing reliance on heavy industry as the reason it failed to meet some of its 2011 air and water pollution reduction targets.

source: Terra Green