Environmental challenges in Chinese mega-city regions: Focusing on air-quality management

Abstract

Mega-city regions in China have received high priority in national air pollution control, as they are home to the main sources of pollution and the vast majority of China’s urban population. The mega-city regions are currently part of the key regions subject to more stringent regional air-quality targets than the national standards. The strengthened regional aspects will likely lead to improved outcomes in traditional air-quality control based on administrative boundaries, given the need for industrial relocations and restructuring, prevalent transboundary pollution, and increased rural contributions to secondary pollutant formation. Current regional intervention schemes, however, are still at an early stage of implementation, leaving room for further improvement. The key areas of improvement include the establishment of regional monitoring/reporting systems, cross-municipality policy collaboration, and scientific foundations for policy targets.