A majority of Chinese provinces have performed well in reducing airborne pollutants and have a good chance of reaching the targets set in the national action plan by 2017, according to an assessment by the Chinese Academy of Engineering that was released on Tuesday.
Environmental quality is the only criterion to measure the performance of the environment watchdog, Vice Minister for the Environment Pan Yue said on Monday, vowing to further reduce air pollution.
The United Nations and other international bodies have vastly overestimated China's greenhouse gas emissions over the past decade or more, according to a study released on Wednesday.
China's efforts to combat smog will last for more than a decade as fossil energy sources will continue to power the world's second largest economy.
The capital will also restrict cars based on an odd-and-even-number rule, almost halving the number of cars on the road during the APEC meetings.
The pollutants discharge in Beijing and neighboring regions of Tianjin and Hebei is expected to be cut by a third during next month's APEC meeting.
The central and eastern part of Beijing and the west part of Hebei province will be plagued by extremely heavy smog in the coming hours till Friday morning.
Beijing's health authority plans to establish an air quality monitoring system in schools, the Beijing Morning Post reported.
Outrage runs high as polluters in China continue ignoring environmental damage, coveting maximum profits amid lax inspection laws.
A revised draft would require governments above the county level to establish pollution monitoring systems and levy heavier fines.
Beijing's neighbor Tianjin released its air pollutant analysis at the weekend, in which dust pollution was blamed as main cause of smog.
China has issued a "behavioural standards" guide to combat pollution and reduce environmental damage, urging people to do everything from walking and riding bicycles to buying goods with less packaging.