Gas heating helps Tianjin cut pollution

North China's Tianjin municipality plans to to increase use of natural gas in central heating to reduce air pollution, the local authorities said.

Tianjin government announced on Tuesday four new gas-fired generators and conversion of some coal burning boilers by the end of 2014.

By 2014, more than sixty percent of heat will be provided by natural gas, said Zhang Zhiqiang,director of the Tianjin Municipal Committee of Development and Reform. Construction of the plants is part of the city's effort to optimize energy mix and reduce emissions.

Tianjin was one of the 10 cities with worst air quality in the third quarter of the year. Air pollution in Beijing, neighboring Tianjin and Hebei Province was worse than other parts of the country.

Beijing has an air pollution emergency response program in place. Cars with odd and even license plates are allowed on the roads on alternating days and 30 percent of government cars are banned from streets on an odd/even basis when a red air pollution alert is issued.

Hebei is cutting steel output capacity to reduce its polution by one third.

A central government action plan unveiled last month uses a multipronged approach to the issue, cutting coal use, shutting down polluters and promoting cleaner production.