Beijing

Beijing says it will increase the number of clean energy taxis by a factor of 20 within the next two months. The plan, which will take increase natural gas taxis from 99 at present to 2,000 by the end of July, is part of a trial to promote the use of clean energy in public transportation.

Most first-tier cities in China are barely suitable for living due to their poor ecological environment, despite rapid economic development and preferential regulations for investment, said a newly released report by a top Chinese think tank.

New research from Greenpeance and Peking University revealed that the Chinese capital’s air contains excessive amount of heavy metals, especially arsenic, which can lead to nerve system damage, cardiovascular disease and cancer.

With air quality seriously deteriorating in some of China's major metropolises last year, the decision by expatriates to leave Beijing has been described as wise by the author of a green report, based on government data, which has just been released in Beijing.

Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau (EPB) has announced it will enforce eight measures in 2013, to decrease the intensity of major pollutants by two percent annually. But experts say that they do not feel optimistic about the new clean air plan which includes closing more than 450 high-polluting companies and scrapping 180,000 old motor vehicles.