The Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic GamesAugust 8-24 2008
Related story: Du Shaozhong: Beijing is meeting air-quality commitments
Date/Time: 11:00 a.m., Saturday, July 26
Venue: Main Press Center (MPC)
Wang Hui
Press friends, good morning. It's a great pleasure to meet you all here at the Main Press Center and welcome to participate in this regular press conference.
As you all know, the air quality in Beijing is a problem that matters to us all. It is also a major task facing BOCOG. We have been taking efficient measures to address this issue in relation to plant production. They have taken special measures recently. Today, our press conference is concentrating on this matter.
First, I'd like to introduce you the people present here: Du Shaozhong, deputy director of Beijing Municipal Environment Protection Bureau; Guo Hu, director of the Beijing Meteorological Observatory; and Zhang Jianyu, Environmental Defense China Program.
First of all, I wish to give floor to Mr. Du who will introduce you about the air quality in recent months.
Du Shaozhong
Good morning to all, today I wish to share with you some of the most recent changes in the air quality in Beijing since July. I guess this is a matter of concern to you all.
From July 1 to 25, there are 22 days reaching the standard, that is above 88% of the days monitored, which is also, two days more than the same period last year. Since the beginning of this year, we have seen the total 145 days of air quality that has reached the standard, which is 70% of the days monitored.
For the concentration of the pollutants, the major pollutants are related to traffic, that is carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and inhalable particulates. The concentration has been reduced by 20%.
Another thing that I would like to share with you is that over the past 20 or so days, API, that is the air pollution index, compared to the last year, reduced by 20%. That is, if you look at the days of the grade two, last year, the index was 90. But this year, the index lowered to 70. That means, if you look at the air quality, you might be able to say we have more days of better air quality. In corresponding to that, if you look at the meteorological conditions, we tend to believe that the meteorological conditions are very good to control the air pollution. We have seen high temperature and high humidity and high wind speed, which is good for the dispersion of air pollution. We have seen many major rainfalls in the first half of this month.
Entering the second half, meteorological conditions that are against the dispersion of air pollutants, such as high temperature and humidity. These factors have been prevalent. It is observed that the wind speed only one meter per second or even less. The accumulation speed of atmosphere pollutions has been obviously slowing down, which means that the emission reduction measures have indeed a significant role. Corresponding to that, the concentration of pollutants in the air has been reduced.
There are reasons for such phenomena, that we have done something about restricting vehicles on the road since July 20. We have been taking measures to reduce pollutants by 30% for those major heavily polluting enterprises as well as highly pollutant processes. Since July 20, temporary emission reduction measures have been in full screen.
That is all I have to say at this stage. I am more than happy to answer any questions you might have.
Wang Hui
Thank you Mr. Du. Mr. Zhang, please, if you have anything to add to what Mr. Du have said.
Zhang Jianyu
Thank you very much. Friends from the press, my name is Zhang Jianyu. I am from EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) of the US headquartered in New York. It is a non-government organization. Since 1998, as invited by the Chinese government, we started a serious environmental protection work including policy studies, project, publicity, education, training, and etc.
We are very pleased with the fact that Beijing is hosting the Olympics. It is our hope that we can contribute to the Olympic Games and the environment protection in Beijing. That is why since 2006, with some Chinese non-government organizations, some media, and enterprises, we have conducted enormous measures such as reducing the traffic, do something about pollution. The purpose is to make people themselves come out to do their part to control the pollution. In the past three years, with the Olympic Games approaching, people who care about the Olympics is on the raise and people have demonstrated their willingness to contribute to the Games in their own ways. Recently the Beijing Municipal Government has taken some measures. Before July 20, we've done something together with the association as well as some other partners so as to complement measures taken by the government. So that we can do something about traffic control, in conduction with the traffic restriction measures taken by the government. People can make use of the on-line calculator to count the volume of pollutants emission of different transportation means, by entering the beginning and the end of the journey. Over 5,000 people registrated the on-line calculator, and the campaign is gaining more and more popularity. We have seen more than hundreds of thousands people who have been involved in our campaigns. We hope that with the traffic restriction campaign, we all try to do something more to make sure that the new vehicles will be off the road so as to reduce the emission, and in this way, make contribution to the Games.
I guess that is all I have to say about what we have been doing so far. I am more than happy to answer questions that the press may have. Thank you.
Wang Hui
Now the floor is open. You can raise questions to any of our guests today.
Reporter from Australia
Thank you very much. The API website in Beijing said it was 104. Can you give us some indication of where within Beijing you get this measurement rating from? And secondly, certainly, for Australia, we have a number of athletes with asthma breathing problems. What guarantee you can give the athletes and the international communities within two weeks to go that the quality of this air can get better during the Games-time?
Du Shaozhong
You mentioned the figure of 104. I don't know how you came up with that figure. However I can tell you that yesterday, the air quality, the automatic monitoring system has done this job and the result we got was 110 in terms of the index. For your second question, how can we make sure it is the optimal air quality during the Games-time? That is indeed a major effort that we are making. I can brief you on something related to that. We have three commitments in terms of the air quality. No. 1, every day we monitor the four major pollutants, that is sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and inhalable particulates. Secondly, we strive for the improvement of annual air quality. Thirdly, we'll try to maintain a good air quality during Games-time. With regard to the three commitments, first, we have realized our first commitments. Beijing has established the complete monitoring system with 27 branches situated on the different parts of the city. At the same time, everyday, we conducted monitoring of 4 major pollutants and the results will be made public. In that sense, we have indeed exceeded our commitment. Secondly, we have been also committed to improving the air quality throughout the year. Since 1998, Beijing has conducted a large scale of air quality improvement. In 1998, we have only 100 days when you find the air quality optimal. However, by 2007, we have 246 days when the air quality is optimal. During the period of 9 years, the days reaching the standard increased by 40%. These four pollutants they have reduced by 60.8%, 39.4%, 10.8% and 17.8%. Since 2001 after Beijing won this bid, the reduced rate was 34%, 26%, 7%, 9%. In terms of four pollutants, the first three pollutants, we have reached the national standard, a stable basis, and particles have seen obvious reduction. With regard to the third commitment, we have indeed reached our committed scale. That is to make sure the air quality is satisfactory during the course of the Games. To see whether or not we have done a good job to this commitment, we have to see what the condition is after the Games. But based on what we have achieved so far, as well as the measures we have been taking and as well as the measures we intend to play, we can conduct scientific, logical assessment of the air quality during the course of the Games. As for the progress made so far, we also introduce to you the improvement of the air quality since the beginning of the year. As you know, the part in terms of the particulates, there are still room for improvement. 70% of the air quality is indeed up to the standard, and 30% is on the par. That is the reality. In order to adjust the problem, we spent two years to organize the scientific research institution, major universities, experts and scholars working in the field to get involved in the studies and assessment, joined by the 6 provinces. Under the guidance of Beijing Municipal Government, we have formulated a plan on air quality, including pre-Games comprehensive environmental measures and the temporary emission reduction measures during the Games. And we have carried out the plan since October last year after approved by the State Council.
The 14th pollution measures published by the Municipal Government of Beijing include the vehicle exhaust emission, facility pollution and construction site, etc. Of the total of 21 measures, we conducted the national standard IV on fuel oil. And standard for coal fired emission of the new built facilities are subject to emission standard that is similar to gas fired facilities. All these standards are the most stringent and all the measures as elaborated has been playing an important role.
During the first half of the year, the major pollutants have been observed at least 20% off with an exception of particles reduced by 7%. All the other major pollutants have been reduced by at least 20% during the first half of this year. We have seen notable improvement of the air quality of the first half of the year in Beijing at the same time.
The third part of my answer is about the tentative emission reduction measures during the Games. During the Games, we can compare all the measures to three-step jump. The first step has been nine year consecutive improvements in the air quality and reduction improvement. And the step two refers to the comprehensive measures started at the beginning of this year. The third step can be compared to the tentative emission reduction measures. Having become effective as from sometime in July, our initial improvement has been observed. According to our analysis, we are very confident about the effectiveness and we are going to ensure a good air quality during the Games and strive for further improvement in Beijing. Thank you very much for your question.
CBS
Thanks very much. Could I make a brief conclusion about your answer? Every city with a large population and a large number of vehicles has this problem. Los Angeles and Athens have this problem too. Every city tries to put the best picture on their improvement. I congratulate you for the efforts you are trying to do and the claims you have made about reducing the pollution. However, can you guarantee to the athletes that the air will be safe and healthy enough for them to compete? I don't want to talk about the numbers of reductions. Again, I would like to congratulate you on that. Would the air be healthy enough for the athletes to compete? What do you think one specialist would say about the air here?
Du Shaozhong
I think the answer has been explicit enough. The conclusion is that we can guarantee the good air quality so as to provide good atmosphere environment for the athletes. According to the most authentic replies given by the IOC and related medical commission, their conclussion is that it is completely guaranteed during the Games.
Los Angeles Times
If any of us walk outside today and any of us was here with you yesterday, the air condition is not very good. It is brown and grey. How do you explain that? I walk for a few minutes on street, and my lungs started to hurt. How do you explain about this fact?
Du Shaozhong
Well, I was wondering if BBC is present here or not. I have plans to talk about common sense issues with BBC. One of which is that on July 8 this year, BBC published two photos on its website about the same building. One photo is with completely transparent color, and the other one is grey, showing the problematic air quality in Beijing.
The air quality in Beijing has further improvement, that's for sure. During 70% of the year, we have reached the requiring standard; and for 30% else, we are not up to standard. It's the reality.
However, if you simply use some photos to access air quality, this is not the right method, not the scientific method because it is a visual product. It does not represent the essence of air quality. The very nature of air quality should be expanded by the data gathered through the monitoring process instead of photos. That's a very important issue. Throughout the year, 70% of all the days, we are up to standard. For the rest we are not up to standard. How can we make sure that during the Games, the air quality is up to standard? It's a very simple issue for anyone with professional background or for anyone who has done thorough studies with the air quality in Beijing. For the 30% sub-standard days, they are spread out throughout the year, which means surrounding the parameter, there are some particles. Also, the 30% is spread unevenly throughout the year in those days when the pollutants are more difficult to disperse under the certain meteorological conditions.
It is more likely that those sub-standard days will be experienced especially in Spring when there are lots of dusts. But in days with favorable conditions for the dispersal and the removal of pollutants, especially during summer and autumn, the air quality seems to be better, and it will be less difficult for us to ensure air quality. Therefore, in response to those substandard days throughout the year, we worked out a comprehensive plan to guarantee air quality during the Games which is designed to reduce urban pollutants. I come up with an important piece of statistics.
Although we have had 2 more days up to standard performance compared with that of last year, the average environmental performance has featured a further 20% reduction of pollutants as against that of last year. It shows that emission reduction and environment improvement is on the rise. With the urban improvement, we can ensure that during the Games, there will be less or no substandard days. That's a very important foundation for the guarantee of our commitment. Thank you.
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