Watch | Beijing will implement the \"strictest in the world\" boiler emission standards next year

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According to the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau, starting from April 1 next year, Beijing will implement new emission limit standards for newly built boilers, as well as for boilers currently in use in areas where the use of highly polluting fuels is prohibited. This standard limit is already close to the strictest boiler emission standards in the world today. According to a report in the Beijing Daily on December 6, as an important precursor of PM2.5, the control of nitrogen oxides has also become a key focus in Beijing’s efforts to address air pollution. To further reduce nitrogen oxide emissions, on July 1 last year, Beijing introduced new \"Emission Standards for Air Pollutants from Boilers.\" These new standards tighten the limits on nitrogen oxide emissions from boilers; they stipulate that as of April 1, 2017, all newly installed boilers in the city must comply with an emission limit of 30 milligrams per cubic meter ； For boilers in use within areas where the use of highly polluting fuels is prohibited, Beijing imposes an emission limit of 80 milligrams per cubic meter; this standard is already close to the strictest boiler emission standards in the world today. 2017 was the final year of the \"Beijing Clean Air Action Plan 2013–2017.\" Various specific targets had to be achieved, including the phasing out of heating and industrial coal-fired boilers with a capacity of 10 steam tons per hour or less in the plain areas of the city; achieving a coal-free status in the plain areas of the seven key districts; and ensuring that the emissions from all old gas-fired boilers in the city met relevant standards. All departments and districts in Beijing **will work together in coordination to further intensify engineering-based emission reduction measures, and to steadily advance various initiatives aimed at replacing coal with cleaner energy sources. Thanks to 18 years of continuous efforts, last year the average annual concentration of sulfur dioxide in the city dropped by 89% compared to 1998, reaching 13.5 micrograms per cubic meter ； This year, during the non-heating season, the sulfur dioxide concentration remained in the single digits (**the standard is 60 micrograms per cubic meter), thus essentially resolving the problem of coal-fired pollution during that period. This year, the city has reduced coal consumption by another 2.5 million tons, and the proportion of coal in the energy mix during the heating season is decreasing year by year. It is expected that by 2020, the city’s coal consumption will be reduced to less than 9 million tons. At the same time, this year the city has made extensive efforts to upgrade coal-fired boilers in suburban areas with clean energy alternatives and to address the issue of household coal use; it was also the first in the country to carry out low-nitrogen upgrades for gas boilers. To date, the city has phased out over 8,400 steam tons of coal-fired boilers, and carried out low-nitrogen upgrades to 13,000 steam tons of gas-fired boilers. Through the above measures, it is expected that the annual emissions of the three pollutants—dust, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides—will be reduced by approximately 39,000 tons, 21,000 tons, and 10,000 tons respectively. Source: China Securities Network