Chongqing - The Chongqing Ecology and Environment Bureau recently held a press conference to announce the ecological and environmental achievements for the first half of 2024, which showed significant improvements in the city's environmental quality.

Chongqing recorded 163 days of good air quality, an increase of six days compared to the previous year. The average PM2.5 concentration decreased by 4.3 micrograms per cubic meter to 36.6 micrograms per cubic meter. The water quality of the Chongqing section of the Yangtze River's main stream remained at Grade II.

Here are some highlights of Chongqing's achievements in water and air quality, and other areas.

98.6% of state-controlled sections had excellent water quality, which is 1.3% higher than the national target. (Graphic/Zheng Ran)

Chongqing enjoyed 163 good air quality days, marking an increase of 6 days year-on-year. (Graphic/Zheng Ran)

336,000 square meters of contaminated soil were remediated. (Graphic/Zheng Ran)

The city's radiation environment remained stable and controllable. (Graphic/Zheng Ran)

Chongqing's ecological quality index was 66.81, which is 7.21 points higher than the national average. (Graphic/Zheng Ran)

Liu Qin, deputy director of the Chongqing Ecology and Environment Bureau, noted that Chongqing implemented 20 measures to regulate centralized drinking water sources, resulting in a 94% completion rate in remediating 4,012 river outfalls on the Yangtze, Jialing, and Wujiang rivers.

In soil environment management, Chongqing launched a pilot reform reducing remediation time for slightly polluted sites by two-thirds. The city also established over 1,600 waste-free city cells and launched China's first solid waste recycling center for the electric power industry.

Additionally, measures to address plastic pollution involved guiding the courier industry to adopt biodegradable plastic tape and bags, recycling 16.85 tons of single-use plastic products, and using more than 3.32 million recycled boxes and bags.

Chongqing's carbon market, which began trading in June 2014, saw a cumulative turnover of 51.09 million tons of carbon emission indicators valued at 1.2 billion yuan (about USD 170 million) in 10 years. 

The trading volume from January to June ranked third among the country's eight local carbon markets. The carbon market price grew to 45 yuan per ton, and over 80 carbon reduction projects were implemented, reducing nearly 21 million tons of carbon emissions.