N. China slashes emissions for IAAF, military parade in Beijing

Coal-fired power plants in Beijing and adjacent regions in north China will slash emissions by 30 percent to ensure good air quality for Beijing during the IAAF World Championships and military parade. The IAAF World Championships kicked off in Beijing on Saturday, the nine-day competition will be followed by a military parade on Sept. 3. Authorities have enacted a spate of measures, including taking half of the vehicles off the road, cutting production at polluting industries and suspending construction projects, to guarantee blue skies and good air quality in Beijing. China has taken extraordinary steps in the past to ensure good air quality including for the summer Olympic Games in 2008 and APEC summit last year. This year sees unprecedented curbs on emissions as regional authorities have considered the impact activities in the surrounding provinces have on air quality in the capital. Such curbs affect industrial activity in the region. The temporary production halt imposed for the APEC summit caused manufacturing activities to drop to 50 in November, the level separating contraction from expansion.