Kevan Gosper, Vice-Chairman of the IOC Coordination Commission for the Beijing Olympics has allayed concerns over air pollution in the run up to the Olympics. He said the IOC was confident that the organizers will ensure a healthy environment for athletes and spectators.

He said, ‘All preparations for the Games in August are going on smoothly including measures to curb pollution.’

Similar worries over pollution had emerged in the run up to the Olympics in Los Angeles in 1984 as there were more cars and less public transport and in Seoul in 1988, but they were all overcome.

Kevan Gosper said, ‘The Beijing authorities have been spending a lot of money on air quality, both as part of Beijing’s needs as well as the games’ needs.’

Amid concerns over the quality of air in the Chinese capital, authorities have said US$16 billion had been spent from 1998 to 2006 to improve the environment.
As part of intensified efforts towards clean air, pollutant-emitting factories have been shut down and public transport system has been expanded and made cheaper, a step authorities say has yielded good results.

Gosper said Beijing would also have its expertise to share with the 2012 Olympics host, London, just as it had learned from the experiences of the Games organized in Sydney and Athens.
Source: The Hindu

Faced with persistent air pollution despite promises to stage a green Olympics, Beijing is planning to reduce its motor traffic by half during the Games to improve air quality and ease traffic flow.

This according to an article in The Beijing News which said the number of vehicles in the city was expected to reach 3.3 million by August, meaning that roughly 1.65 million cars and trucks would be pulled off roads each day. The city will dedicate lanes to Olympic traffic and increase public transportation with new shuttle buses to accommodate visitors and local residents, the article said.

Beijing officials have not announced Olympic contingency measures, but the newspaper said the traffic plan had been completed.

The city’s air pollution — ranked by some studies as among the worst in the world — is one of the most pressing challenges facing Olympic organizers, with fewer than 200 days until the opening ceremony on Aug. 8.

Many Olympic teams plan to train outside the city to protect athletes.

Besides whatever measures Beijing officials take to reduce pollution, factories throughout north China may face shutdowns during the Games.

Guo Jinlong, the acting mayor of Beijing, said, ‘The task of controlling pollution and traffic congestion is arduous.’

Traffic restrictions have been anticipated for the Olympics since last August, when Beijing conducted a four-day experiment that limited motorists to driving on alternate days, depending on whether the last number on their license plate was odd or even.

That test eliminated more than one million vehicles each day, easing traffic but having a less substantial effect on air pollution. The Beijing News did not specify whether the odd-even system would be used for the Games.
Source: New York Times

Beijing’s biggest steel company has shut down another of its blast furnaces as part of efforts to clean up the city before the Summer Olympics.

The Beijing Shougang Group, one of the capital city’s major polluters, extinguished the fire in the number four blast furnace after 35 years in operation.

The number two furnace will be shut down by March and operations in number three will be suspended during the games according to Li Yan, head of Shougang’s production department.
Source: Belfast Telegraph

Beijing has done its utmost to provide a good image to the citizens of the world who will be attending the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympic Games this August. Yes, there have been articles against China and against Beijing and against the government but these are starting to subside as the reality of the preparation of the games becomes apparent.

Beijing is deploying about 80 sniffer dogs to patrol the subway system to sniff out flammable products such as fireworks. Xinhua quotes police officer Wang Ning as saying, ‘the security patrol ahead of the festival will be good practice for the police dogs ahead of the Beijing Olympic Games later this year’. Eight dogs have already started patrolling five downtown stations.
A special monitoring centre for food safety will be set up for the Games. Zhang Zhikuan, head of the Beijing Municipal Bureau for Industry and Commerce said the Olympic Food Safety Command Center will issue warnings of food risks and deal with food related emergencies. Food to be provided for the Games will be classified into 345 items under 10 categories, with each item checked against specific technical standards.
Beijing has started enforcing a stricter auto fuel standard to help further reduce pollution. Gasoline and diesel sold in Beijing must meet the China IV standards equivalent to the European Union’s Euro IV requirements. Beijing introduced China III fuel standards at the end of 2005 which cut emissions by 2,480 metric tons annually, and the latest benchmark is intended to cut annual emissions by a further 1,840 tons.
Nearly every policeman, from new graduates to those close to retirement, is studying foreign languages and ‘refined’ manners hoping to polish the city’s image. A handbook containing useful phrases in seven languages — English, French, Russian, German, Japanese, Korean and Arabic — has been given to all police and state-approved volunteers who will assist security service forces at the Games.
Beijing police has launched a campaign to eradicate illegal activities in Tiananmen Square and along the Chang’an Avenue ahead of the Games. Beggars, unlicensed peddlers, those distributing flyers, and illegal motorcycle and tricycle taxi riders will be fined, detained, or have their equipment confiscated.

Source: Games Bids

Beijing saw its 246th blue sky in 2007, narrowly fulfilling its annual target of 245 days of blue skies. (For the record that leaves, say, London for dead and is not that far from Sydney.)

Beijing’s air quality has shown steady improvement for nine straight years. Last year, Beijing had 241 ‘blue sky’ days.

As the Olympic Games near, Beijing has intensified its efforts to curb air pollution. The city planned to have 245 days with fairly good air quality in 2007, or two thirds of the total days.

Statistics show that although the number of ‘blue-sky’ days did not increase dramatically, there were also fewer extremely bad air days. Beijing recorded only three heavily-polluted days this year, lasyt year there were 13.

The capital launched a drive called ‘Defending the Blue Sky’ in 1998, when it only had 100 days of fairly good air quality.

The Olympic host city aims to have 70% of the days in 2008 up to the standard. Which means at least 11 more blue sky days.

Beijing has been working to reduce pollution and improve the air quality to ensure a ‘Green Olympics.’

For example, the municipal government cut public transport fares in an attempt to lure local residents out of their private cars. The city has also converted 18,000 outdated coal-fired boilers and installed electrical heaters in 20,000 detached houses, replacing coal-heated devices.

Beijing is also considering traffic controls during the Olympics, in which drivers with even-and odd-numbered license plates, except taxis, buses and emergency vehicles, would only be able to drive on alternate days.

During a test of this proposal conducted from August 17-20, about 1.3 million cars were taken off the city roads each day and the amount of pollutants discharged was cut by 5,815.2 tons, according to a report by the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau. It is not known why this plainly beneficial rule has yet been brought into effect.
Source: China View