Shanxi issues environmental improvement plan for 2024

Shanxi province is set to enhance its ecological environment through efforts in pollution prevention and control, ecological restoration, dual-carbon initiatives, and modern environmental governance systems. 

For instance, Shanxi plans to implement comprehensive measures to control air pollution during the autumn and winter seasons, intensify efforts to improve air quality in key cities, and manage the ecological environment along the main stream of the Yellow River. It will also strengthen the investigation and remediation of sewage outlets and foul-smelling water bodies, and take action to prevent soil pollution at its source. 

The province will carry out demonstration projects for the reclamation of abandoned mines, and continue comprehensive management in coal mining subsidence areas. It aims to plant 2,000 square kilometers of forest, increasing its forest coverage by 0.5 percentage points, and establish the Taihang Mountain National Park. 

It will implement graded protection and a new management system for its wetlands, while also strengthening the protection of biodiversity and intensifying the management of overexploited groundwater. 

In an orderly manner, Shanxi will implement 10 major actions related to peaking carbon emissions, enhancing the carbon sequestration capacity of forests, developing green and low-carbon industries, and constructing low-carbon and zero-carbon industrial parks and development zones. 

Furthermore, the province has plans to improve its compensation system for the protection of key ecological areas and ecologically vulnerable areas.