China should do more to fight pollution

White paper urges mult-pollution controls in coal-burning power plants.

The China Electricity Council and the Environmental Defense Fund, a US-based environmental advocacy group, said China should adopt a strategy of multi-pollutant control in reducing emissions from its coal-burning power plants.

The white paper said co-control of multiple pollutants is the right direction for China’s power sector as it is cleaner and more economical than dealing with single pollutants one at a time.

China should also make scientific plans to reduce emissions, adopt a strategy of multi-pollutant control and improve the legal framework and supporting policies.

CEC data showed the sector's carbon emissions dropped by 57.51 million tons year on year in 2011, which reflects on control pollution and carbon emissions. Most of China’s electricity is generated by coal-fired power plants.

China’s total installed power generation capacity reached 1.14 billion kilowatts in 2012, of which 819 million kW, or 72% came from coal-burning plants.