By LI Linxu

The State Council executive meeting reviewed and approved an action plan to continuously improve air quality on November 24.

Efforts will be made to coordinate the high-level environment protection and high-quality development, according to the meeting, calling for people from all walks of life to take an active part in curbing air pollution.

It emphasized developing a green and low-carbon circular economy system, and accelerating the green and low-carbon transformation of industries, energy and transport.

A wetland park in Hunan province. (PHOTO: XINHUA)

In recent years, China has rolled out a series of policies to combat air pollution, which has significantly improved the air quality.

Ten years ago, an action plan for prevention and control of air pollution was implemented, setting specific goals of lowering the particulate matter (PM) level.

In 2018, a three-year action plan to win the battle for a blue sky was released.

Thanks to these efforts, China has seen the fastest improvement in air quality across the world.

From 2013 to 2022, China's average PM2.5 concentration decreased by 57 percent, and the number of heavy pollution days reduced by 93 percent, according to the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE).

The country will stringently control the increase in emissions, reduce existing emissions, and strengthen supervision and support efforts, said Huang Runqiu, minister of MEE, in an earlier press briefing, vowing to make relentless efforts to control air pollution and protect the blue sky for the people.

The low-carbon transformation of energy will be speeded up, and new and clean energy sources will be vigorously developed, while the development of a green transportation system will be advanced, according to Huang.