China has mapped out a set of constructive measures to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions.
The nationa was atop the world's ranking list for sulfur dioxide emissions in 2005, according to the country's national environmental watchdog.
The government has vowed to reduce emissions by ten per cent before 2010.
CRI's Yixiu has the report.
Reporter:
 China discharged more than 25 million tons of sulfur dioxide in 2005, 27 percent above the amount in the year 2000.
According to China's State Environmental Protection Administration, or SEPA, more than 85 per cent of the emissions came from industrial discharge.
Li Xinmin, deputy director of SEPA's air pollution department, says the pollutants have critically ravaged the nation's living environment.
"Sulfur dioxide emissions have caused severe damage to buildings, farmland, and plants, and of course to human health. According to statistics, each ton of sulfur dioxide discharge can cause 20,000 yuan in economic losses."
That's about 2,500 U.S. dollars in economic losses per ton of sulphur dioxide discharge. Calculating on that basis, China may have suffered total losses of more than 500 billion yuan, or more than 60 billion U.S. dollars, in 2005.
One of the major generators of sulfur dioxide is the coal-fired power plants, as coal accounts for 70 percent of China's energy sources, and coal-fired power plants have burnt half of the total available coal in China.
Over the past five years, China has put increasing amounts of money and research efforts into de-sulferizing coal-fired power generators, in order to make coal burning plants produce as little of the pollutant as possible.
By the end of 2005, more than 140 desulfurization projects had been established or were underway across the nation, with a total installed capacity of more than 50 million kilowatts of energy, ten times that of the year 2000.
Aside from this, the government has also promoted a low-sulfur campaign for motor vehicles, and encouraged the use of clean energy in urban areas.
In the nation's Eleventh Five-Year Social and Economic Plan which began this year, China has promised a ten percent reduction in total sulfur dioxide emissions by 2010, as compared with the end of 2005.
To achieve that end, Li Xinmin says there will be more constructive measures introduced.
"Firstly, we will set the amount of sulfur dioxide emissions allowed in each electricity plant according to its energy-generating capacity. Secondly, we will speed up the establishment of desulfurization facilities. Thirdly, more market-oriented measures will be introduced to encourage less discharge of sulphur dioxide."
Li Xinmin adds that SEPA has signed a set of documents with China's six largest electrical power companies, who discharge more than 60 percent of the country's total sulphur dioxide, prompting them to reduce their emissions to set levels.
Yixiu, CRI news.
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