Chinese cities will need to coordinate efforts to clear the sky while a new mechanism to improve regional air quality is set up. According to the latest plan released by the State Council, the system will be established by 2015.

Besides the existing pollution control program for sulfur dioxide, regional emission caps for nitrogen oxides will be established in the three "key air polluting areas"--the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Province region.

Coal-consumption caps will also be piloted in some areas, according to the plan.

Zhang Lijun, Vice Minister of Environmental Protection, told Xinhua on June 21 the plan is aimed at tackling regional air pollution, such as acid rain, haze and smog, which have become increasingly distinct in China in recent years and pose a severe threat to public health.