China's top economic planner unveiled goals Wednesday on cutting PM2.5, unhealthy particulate matter with a diameter of less than 2.5 microns, which is the main pollutant in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.
An official of the Department of Resource Conservation and Environmental Protection said at a news briefing that by 2020, PM2.5 is expected to drop by 40 percent compared to the figure in 2013.
By 2017, the annual average PM2.5 in the heavily polluted Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region must be no more than 73 micrograms per cubic meter. And the figure has to be reduced to 64 micrograms per cubic meter annually by 2020.
The safety guideline for PM2.5 set by the World Health Organization is 25 micrograms per cubic meter, whereas the Chinese government sets a limit of 75 micrograms per cubic meter.
A blueprint for ecological and environmental protection for the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region was released on Wednesday to reduce air, water and soil pollution in the region.
