Beijing has made substantial improvements in environmental protection in the past decade, said Chen Jining, mayor of the city.
The city showed unprecedented determination to improve the environment, Chen said, adding that it set up a committee to study and address important environmental issues.
Government officials at different levels in Beijing are called on to shoulder responsibilities such as protecting water, forest and grassy areas as well as farmlands and use methods of supervision and auditing to find illegal actions.
The city amended 11 regulations on resources and the environment and released three action plans to reduce atmosphere, water and soil pollution.
It focused on pollutant sources such as coal, motor vehicles and flying dust. Law enforcement became more normative while companies strengthened their environmental awareness.
Cooperation could be seen in different districts and departments in Beijing and nearby regions to protect the environment.
Financial departments at city and district levels earmarked more than 430 billion yuan ($61.32 billion) for environmental improvement in the past decade. Infrastructure related to environmental protection was greatly improved.
Beijing's annual treatment capacity of garbage rose from 17,500 metric tons to 25,100 tons.
Green space expanded substantially in this period. Forest area increased in the past decade by about 161,333 hectares. A total of 309 urban leisure parks and 609 small green belts and pocket parks were built.
The city's air quality and water environment improved. Labagoumen Manchu township in Huairou district became a popular area for observing and taking photos of stars.
The average density of PM2.5, particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers or less, declined to 33 micrograms per cubic meter in 2021, down 63.1 percent compared with the level in 2013.
As the environment improved, animals and plants that had disappeared came back. The number of bird varieties increased by nearly 80 in the past 10 years in Beijing.
The Beijing Swift, a popular bird, saw its group number surpass 3,000 in previous years and increase to nearly 10,000 the past few years.
The past decade was a period in which Beijing's environment undertook historic changes, Chen said, adding the city steadily aided China's goal of peaking carbon emissions before 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality before 2060.
褰檽锟斤拷?