(BEIJING, Jan. 11) -- Beijing's air quality and water environment has been improved as the city cut the total emission of Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) by 5.2 percents and 7.9 percents respectively in 2006.

Chemical Oxygen Demand refers to the total measurement of all chemicals in the water that can be oxidized.

In 2006, the city's SO2 emission dropped to 175,500 tons from 190,600 tons in 2005 while the COD emission went down from 116,000 tons in 2005, to 109,900 tons in 2006. The reduction took place when the city's GDP grew 11 percent.

The Beijing municipal government has included the issue of main pollutants' reduction in the city's 11th five-year plan and authorized a specific plan to task each county and department to reduce emissions to permitted levels.

In addition to the routine precautions, the city took the initiative to further bring in clean energies such as the natural gas. In 2006, the total consumption of the natural gas increased to 4.2 billion cubic meters.

Also in last year, some 1,479 coal burning boilers in the downtown area turned to use clean energies. The Shougang Group's No. 2 coke oven and coke plant were closed and the desulphurization facilities were put in operation at coal burning power plants.

As to water pollution control, domestic sewage treatment plants started to operate in towns in the rural area, while polluting industrial enterprises enhanced water pollution management, in a collaborative effort to reduce the COD emission.

According to China's 11th five-year plan, Beijing has to reduce the emissions of SO2 and COD by 20 percents and 15 percents respectively from 2006 to 2010. The city plans to reduce the SO2 emission by 10 percent and the COD emission by 3 percent this year.