Chongqing - A report on ecological and environmental conditions in Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality for 2022 has been released to the public on June 2, covering the main areas in pollution control, such as water resources, air quality, and rural-urban living environments. Future goals in low-carbon development were also outlined as the municipality optimizes high-quality governance mechanisms.
Overall water quality in the Yangtze River and related tributaries has been determined as excellent based on testing results from a network of 218 monitoring stations, while 97.7% of the waters meet functional requirements, and all stations in the Wu River Basin either met or exceeded standard targets.
Centralized drinking water sources achieved a quality compliance rate of 100% across 63 cities, while the groundwater environment has remained stable, with water quality above national targets according to the established range of assessment criteria.
The number of days with fine air quality in Chongqing increased to 322 per year, according to a report on ecological and environmental conditions in Chongqing Municipality released on June 2, 2023. (Photo/James Alexander)
The number of days with fine air quality increased to 322 compared with the previous year, with no severe air pollution days reported throughout 2022. Meanwhile, the average concentration of inhalable particulate matter and harmful gases like sulfur dioxide all met stipulated environmental standards.
In response to climate change, the carbon trading market in Chongqing has undergone improvements in quality and efficiency, with a cumulative trading volume of 40 million tons of carbon dioxide last year, the value of which amounted to 835 million yuan through various products. A sizable proportion of these trades occurred through the Carbon Huitong platform, which now registered 1.17 million users.
Household waste totaling 8.76 million tons was treated environmentally friendly, as the city has now achieved a full incineration rate and no longer resorts to landfill sites. Furthermore, waste collection occurs daily across the city for all disposal points.
Regarding natural ecological protection, Chongqing is now home to 58 nature reserves covering 804,000 hectares, accounting for 9.8% of the total land area in the municipality. In addition, there are forest, ecological, and wetland parks home to 112 species of protected terrestrial wildlife and over 6000 species of wild vascular plants.
Near zero carbon is listed among future goals
In the interests of further reducing water and air pollution at the source, there are plans to construct the big data application system Greater Chongqing Water Control, while protection mechanisms both up and downstream on the river systems will see governance enhanced to strengthen pollution control in residential, industrial, and agricultural settings.
The cause of environmental protection in Chongqing has made outstanding achievements over the past decade, and citizens enjoy access to fine ecological environments across the municipality. (Photo/James Alexander)
Emissions stemming from a wide range of sources will be continually reduced. This involves taking 21,000 old vehicles off the roads for scrapping or refits and deepening governance toward key industries linked to volatile organic compounds, such as cement and glass enterprises.
Additionally, transformational upgrades will be applied to the steel industry to attain ultra-low emission rates, and gas boilers will produce less nitrogen in the combustion process.
The Chongqing Municipal Ecological Environment Bureau recently released the first batch of near-zero carbon emission industrial parks, with nine such projects earmarked for areas including the Changshou Economic Development Zone and Bishan High-Tech Zone.
Meanwhile, the philosophy of near-zero carbon is to be widely promoted among public institutions, campuses, scenic spots, and other relevant bodies to benefit society and the environment through green, low-carbon, sustainable, and high-quality development.