Power plants urged to cut pollution

BEIJING - China should adopt a strategy of multi-pollutant control in reducing emissions from its coal-burning power plants, according to a report released Tuesday.

The China Electricity Council (CEC) and the Environmental Defense Fund, a US-based environmental advocacy group, jointly unveiled a white paper looking into the emission reduction efforts of China's power plants.

The white paper said co-control of multiple pollutants is the right direction for the country's power sector as it is cleaner and more economical than dealing with single pollutants once at a time.

The government should make scientific planning for the sector's work to reduce emissions, adopt the strategy of multi-pollutant control and improve the legal framework and supporting policies, the paper said.

China's power sector has increased efforts to cut pollutants and carbon emissions in recent years, it said.

Data from the CEC showed the sector's carbon emission dropped by 57.51 million tons year on year in 2011.

At present, a major proportion of China's electricity comes from coal.

The country's total installed power generation capacity reached 1.14 billion kilowatts (kw) by the end of 2012, among which 819 million kw, or 71.6 percent of the total, came from coal-burning plants, according to latest official data.