Special report:
2008 Olympic
Games
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International Olympic Committee
President Jacques Rogge answers questions during a news conference in
Vancouver, British Columbia, Feb. 28, 2008.(Xinhua/Reuters
Photo)
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DEAD SEA, Jordan, March 8 (Xinhua) -- The
International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge on Saturday said
that China is making big strides in clearing up its air quality ahead of the
2008 Olympics.
During the opening ceremony of the 4th World
Conference on Women and Sports, which was opened in the sort of Dead Sea,
Jordan, Rogge told some reporters that "we will see that Beijing has made major
progress."
China has taken some measures, including switching
from coal togas energy, closing 10 percent of its gas stations, and planting
millions of trees to improve its air quality, said Rogge.
He also said he was pleased that more female athletes
than ever, about 45 percent of the 10,500 participants, will compete in the
Beijing Games.
On Friday, Beijing launched its first census of
pollution sources for accurate statistics, amid a green drive to improve
environment ahead of the Olympics.
The survey will cover 90,000 sources of pollution,
among which 24,000 are industrial sources, 45,000 residential, 21,000
agricultural and 128 facilities for centralized treatment of pollutants,
according to the city's bureau of environmental protection.
Beijing authorities said last month that major
pollutants in Beijing were down and air quality in the city had improved for a
ninth consecutive year, but experts warned that the government should prepare
for a long and tough fight against air pollution, citing inhalable particles and
ozone as major obstacles for Beijing to achieve its "Green Olympics" goal.
China started its first national census of pollution
sources on February, focusing on industrial sources including metallurgy,
chemistry, construction materials, power plants, paper-making, pharmaceuticals
and mining.
The central government planned to finish data
collection and analysis this year and approve the findings in the first half of
2009.
