Official refutes CAS about source of Beijing smog

Buildings are blanketed in heavy smog near Guomao Bridge in Beijing, capital of China, Oct 28, 2013. (Xinhua/Luo Xiaoguang)

(ECNS) -- A top-ranking official at China's environmental watchdog has expressed doubts about research conducted by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), which said that fossil-fuel combustion is the biggest contributor to air pollution in Beijing, China Business News reports.

"To be honest, we don't know how the result came out, nor do we know about the contributors to smog," said Zhu Jianping, deputy head of the Ministry of Environmental Protection's monitoring department.

The CAS, the country's top research body, released a study on Dec 30, 2013, which said that coal-burning, industrial pollution and secondary inorganic aerosols were respectively responsible for 18 percent, 25 percent and 26 percent of Beijing's air pollution.

These sources amounted to 69 percent of the city's notorious haze, while vehicle emissions accounted for just four percent, the CAS concluded.

Yet Han Yingjian, an expert at the China Research Academy of Environmental Science, said vehicle emissions are the major source of Beijing's air pollution.

At a news conference on Thursday, Fang Li, head of Beijing's environmental protection department, also doubted the CAS's result. He said vehicle emissions accounted for 23 percent of the smog, based on the research of many organizations.

The country's Committee of Vehicle Emission Control, a professional association, agreed with that view.