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China sees sharp rise in sulphur dioxide pollution

by Staff Writers
Beijing, Aug 3, 2006
China has seen a sharp rise in sulphur dioxide emissions over the past five years due to increased coal use, leading to enormous economic and environmental losses, the government said Thursday.

China, the world's biggest emitter of sulphur dioxide, spewed nearly 26 million tons of the pullutant into the atmosphere last year, the State Environmental Protection Administration said.

This was up 27 percent up from the amount emitted in 2000 and coincided with an increase of 800 million tons in national coal consumption during those five years, it said.

Li Xinmin, deputy director general of the administration's pollution control department, said each ton of sulphur dioxide caused 20,000 yuan (2,500 dollars) of economic losses, without explaining how the figure was tallied.

This would mean China suffered nearly 65 billion dollars in economic losses last year from sulphur dioxide emissions.

One of the side effects of sulphur dioxide pollution is acid rain.

Over half of 696 cities and counties under a national monitoring program experienced acid rain last year due to sulphur dioxide pollution, the administration's report said.

Acid rain and sulphur dioxide pollution contribute to the acidification of soils, lakes, and streams, and accelerate corrosion of buildings and monuments.

Sulphur dioxide pollution can also directly cause serious health problems such as heart disease and bronchitis.

Despite the rise, Li said China was aiming to reduce sulphur dioxide emissions to 22.9 million tons annually by 2010 as part of a national target of cutting pollution by 10 percent by then.

However, China remains reliant on coal for around 70 percent of its energy needs, according to previously released government statistics.

With no dramatic change in the reliance on coal forecast by the government, China's pollution woes are expected to worsen over the coming years as the nation of 1.3 billion people grows wealthier and requires more energy.

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