Air pollution reduction during China's 11th Five-Year Plan period—local implementation and achievements in Shanxi province

Facing the increasing environmental degradation locally and globally, the Chinese government set mandatory goals of 10% reduction of SO2 emission in its 11th Five-Year Plan period (FYP, 2006–2010). In this paper we use Shanxi province to illustrate how policies and measures are implemented in practice at a provincial level as a response to the National FYP issued by the central government. Local policies are described and their effects are analyzed. We find that the 11th FYP goal for SO2 pollution reduction in Shanxi has been surpassed. SO2 reduction from estimated baseline level was calculated for the FYP period in order to identify which sectors have had the largest reductions. Regarding SO2, we find that Flue-gas desulfurization (FGD) in power plants has been the most important, while either the FGD operation rate or the efficiency, or both, are much lower in practice than officially required. SO2 emission reduction from closing down outdated production capacity is small according to our estimates. This is due to the comparatively small use of coal in the units being closed down in Shanxi. Necessary steps to achieve the targets in the 12th FYP are briefly discussed.

► We use Shanxi province to illustrate how local policies respond to the National FYP.
► The enforcement of mandatory reduction targets has played an important role.
► FGD in power plants has been most important for SO2 emission reduction.
► Close-down of outdated power plants has been of minor importance for SO2 emission reductions.