Recently, the State Council issued the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan" Comprehensive Program for Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction, which sets the total emission control targets for chemical oxygen demand, ammonia nitrogen, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides for all provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) nationwide during the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan" period, and allocates the burden among different regions. It also proposes 50 policy measures, including "using total pollutant control as a pre-condition for environmental impact assessment," "implementing total coal control in the three regions and six groups," and "implementing denitrification electricity prices." It is understood that currently, provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) have begun to formulate implementation plans and specific implementation opinions based on their respective emission reduction tasks.

According to the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan" outline, China's pollution reduction indicators will expand from two items (chemical oxygen demand and sulfur dioxide) to four, adding ammonia nitrogen and nitrogen oxides. The plan also details energy conservation and emission reduction targets: by 2015, the total national emissions of chemical oxygen demand and sulfur dioxide will both decrease by 8% compared to 2010; and the reduction in ammonia nitrogen and nitrogen oxide emissions will reach 10%. The plan also specifies the emission reduction amounts for the four pollutants for each province (autonomous region and municipality). Among these, Beijing's reduction for all four pollutants exceeds the national target.

Liu Bingjiang, deputy director of the Total Pollutant Emission Control Department of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, said that the emission reduction targets for each province (autonomous region and municipality) are linked to the local environmental conditions. The environmental protection department has designed the indicators well, which will create a reverse mechanism for provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) with prominent pollution problems, prompting them to eliminate backward production capacity and adjust their secondary industry structure.

　　It is understood that currently, provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) have begun to formulate implementation plans according to the emission reduction indicators. The Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau stated that it has formulated relevant policies and is currently soliciting opinions.