Even if it costs GDP growth of one or two percent, the Shanghai government yesterday reasserted its target to cut pollution levels in the air and water by two percent from the 2005 levels.

The government is measuring pollution by checking the amounts of sulfur dioxide emission in the air and chemical oxygen demand (COD) in water. COD is the measure of the capacity of water to consume oxygen.

According to the Shanghai Environmental Protection Bureau, the city needs to cut 10,000 tons of sulfur dioxide emission and 21,300 tons of COD to make this year's target.

"In the first half, because of the increase in population and power supply and because some businesses did not cooperate in cutting pollution, we failed to meet the goals," said Vice Mayor Yang Xiong.

"But in the second half we have made progress in our emission control work and we will work to cut the emissions of major pollutants to make the five-year target," Yang said.

China has set targets to reduce energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product (GDP) by 20 percent and major pollutant discharges by 10 percent in its 11th Five-Year Plan period (2006-2010).

To help make the target, six new sets of desulphurization units have been built and are in use at two thermal power plants at the Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Company and another four at the Shanghai Shengneng Xinghuo Thermo-Power Plant.

In the meantime three coal-fired units at the Nanshi Power Plant and six oil boilers at the Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Company have been shut down.

"These measures had helped cut 6,100 tons of sulfur dioxide emissions by the end of September and 11,300 tons are due to be cut by the end of the year," said Zhang Quan, chief of the Shanghai Environmental Protection Bureau.

(Shanghai Daily November 7, 2007)