Overt the past 12 months the environmental conditions in Shanghai have improved due to increased spending on green development and tighter control of pollution, according to the Shanghai Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau.

The amount of dust in the air fell by 7.4 percent during the first nine months of this year compared with the same period in 2005. The city's rivers are also cleaner the bureau said.

The power department announced recently that no blackouts or shifts in working hours would be necessary this winter. Such measures have been used in the past to deal with electricity shortages during periods of extreme weather.

The bureau said the improvements were the result of record-level spending on improving the city's environment and efforts by the government to improve life in the city.

Shanghai has spent 30 billion yuan (US$3.75 billion) this year on environmental protection. This is double the figure of 2001. It has also adopted strict rules on pollution.

Thirty-six construction projects that had brought billions of yuan worth of investment to Shanghai were suspended because of the amount of pollution being caused. And 70,000 polluting vehicles were removed from roads.

Local governments have also started including environmental conditions in their work evaluations.

Shanghai started a campaign to improve the environment in 2000 when it realized that the fast-growing economy was degrading the quality of life in the city. It has spent more than 100 billion yuan (US$12.5 billion) on measures to protect its environment.

Through the campaign the city has pledged to reduce the smells coming from its polluted rivers by 2008.

It will also add 15 million square meters of green space, further reduce the amount of dust in the air and trim energy consumption for every 10,000 yuan (US$1,250) GDP to 20 percent less than the level last year. In 2005 it was equivalent to 1.02 tons of coal.

Shanghai has adjusted its focus from pure economic success to sustainable development with more attention being given to improving the quality of life, according to the bureau.

Since 2000 the city has evaluated every new construction project according to its expected impact on the environment.

Any project that can't account for how it will deal with the waste and pollution it produces during construction won't receive approval. The rule applies to every undertaking including major infrastructure projects like metro lines and the Shanghai World Expo.

In the past two years 10 percent of the projects applying for permits have been rejected because of pollution concerns.

The environmental protection bureau said the government would spend and do more to protect the environment next year. The bureau also called on the business community to participate in the effort.

(China Daily December 28, 2006)