China’s War on Pollution: How Beijing Won the Battle for Blue Skies | The Times

Beijing residents are breathing cleaner air than at any point in decades, a transformation driven by aggressive government policies and massive investment, but concerns remain about long-term health impacts and the sustainability of the progress. The shift, once considered impossible, has seen PM2.5 levels – tiny, dangerous particles – fall almost 70% since 2013, according to the Beijing municipality.

The dramatic turnaround began in 2013, following a public outcry over crippling pollution levels. The People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, acknowledged PM2.5 pollution had reached a staggering 900 µg/m³ in Beijing, 3,500% higher than levels considered safe by international standards. This admission, approved by President Xi Jinping shortly after he assumed leadership, marked the official launch of the “battle for blue skies.”

The scale of the response was unprecedented. Chinese government sources indicate initial funding for the effort reached £200 billion, later increasing to over £400 billion through combined government and private investment. Policy advisor and professor of environmental economics, Guojun He, estimates the total cost to be between £1 trillion and £2 trillion. Over 80,000 polluting businesses were closed, relocated, or forced to adopt cleaner technologies. Tens of thousands of officials were dispatched to enforce regulations, with purges of officials in heavily polluting regions like Hebei province for failing to meet targets.

One major contributor to Beijing’s pollution was concrete production. Between 2011 and 2013, China poured 6.6 billion tonnes of concrete, exceeding the entire 20th-century usage in the United States. Thousands of compact, unregulated cement plants were targeted for closure or modernization. The government also addressed dust storms originating from the Gobi and Taklamakan deserts, which carried pollutants alongside sand. Billions were invested in water conservation projects and reforestation efforts, including the planting of almost 70 billion trees as part of a “great green wall” stretching 2,800 miles.

The transition also involved a significant shift in energy and transportation. Beijing implemented a lottery system for petrol car ownership, with odds of winning a license less than one in a thousand, while actively promoting electric vehicles (EVs). EVs now account for approximately 12% of cars on China’s roads. The city also aggressively replaced coal-fired boilers in homes with gas and electric alternatives.

China’s green electricity production now exceeds the total energy output of the entire European Union, with nearly a trillion dollars invested in the sector in 2024, almost matching the global investment in fossil fuels. Coal apply has declined from 60% of the energy mix in 2011 to 48.2% in 2023, and is projected to fall to 32% by 2035, according to consultants Wood Mackenzie.

Despite the progress, challenges remain. While pollution levels in some London boroughs can reach 16 µg/m³, “safe” levels of PM2.5 in cities like Shanghai and Beijing are set at 35 µg/m³. The World Health Organization estimates that ambient air pollution still causes a million premature deaths annually in China. Past exposure to high pollution levels is projected to result in an additional 180,000 pollution-related deaths by 2030, even with continued improvements.

You’ll see also concerns about displacement of pollution. Poorer regions in western China, such as Yunnan, have seen a surge in pollution as factories relocate from wealthier areas. These regions often lower emission standards to attract investment. Still, this shift could also help rebalance the Chinese economy, as wages in western regions remain significantly lower than in urban centers like Shanghai and Beijing.

Recent government warnings indicate an 8% increase in ozone gas levels, an invisible but harmful pollutant. Analysts like Guojun He caution that a slowing economy could lead to a relaxation of enforcement measures, potentially jeopardizing the gains made. “The low-hanging fruit has now been picked, and further improvements will be far tougher,” he said.