Beijing is confident it will be able to stage an Olympic Games in a comfortable environment, said the Games organizers in Beijing.

During a video meeting (how times change) with the International Olympic Committee, Liu Qi, president of BOCOGsaid the environment kept improving, which filled the organizers with confidence of holding a Games with good air quality.

Liu Qi said, ‘Until Nov. 22, Beijing had 226 days of good air quality (air quality level II or better) this year, nine days more than the same period last year.

‘Take August as example, we had 28 days of good air quality, including two days of level I air quality and 26 days of level II.’ He added that the level of sulfur dioxide and inhalant particulate matter in the air also dropped to a new low. The illustration is a genuine one of blue skies in Beijing.

Beijing has spent RMB120 billion between 1998 and 2006, more than 3% of its GDP, on environmental protection.

The Chinese capital has urged citizens to take public transportation instead of private cars by reducing ticket prices and building subway lines as vehicle exhaust emissions became a major source of the city’s pollution.

The city has also limited the use of small coal-burning stoves and urged natural gas as the clean energy alternative.
Source: English.eastday.com