Shanghai achieves comprehensive improvement of environment over past five years

Key environmental indicators in Shanghai, such as air and water quality, had improved greatly during the period of the country's 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020), a municipal official announced at a news conference on Thursday.

Cheng Peng, the director of the municipal bureau of ecology and environment, said that the levels of chemical oxygen demand, ammonia nitrogen, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide had fallen by 68.1 percent, 38.1 percent, 46.6 percent and 28.2 percent respectively compared with 2015.

The annual average PM2.5 density was 32 microgram per cubic meters in 2020, down 36 percent from 2015.

As for water quality, 95 percent of the 259 major rivers in the city have met the national standard, and 74.1 percent of all monitored sections have reached Grade III, which is 59.4 percent higher than in 2015.

Meanwhile, forest coverage reached 18.49 percent, and the city's greenery area per capita rose to 8.5 square meters.

Cheng noted that these achievements were made possible through bold environmental initiatives, such as the upgrading of coal-burning power plants, phasing out high-emission vehicles, and the expansion and construction of sewage treatment plants.

According to Cheng, Shanghai can now treat 8.4 million cubic meters of wastewater per day, which is 97 percent of the total wastewater produced in the city, while the capacity of domestic garbage treatment has reached 16,900 metric tons per day.

The city has also increased its non-fossil energy consumption. The ratio of coal energy consumption in primary energy has been reduced from 37 percent to 31 percent, and the ratio for non-fossil energy has exceeded 17 percent.

In the period of the country's 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025), the city will strive to hit the peak of carbon emissions, continue to promote green development in the energy, transportation and agriculture industries, and ensure good soil and water quality, Cheng said.