$18bn later, Beijing still lies shrouded in smog

BEIJING'S unveiling of drastic measures, including a two-month freeze on all construction, is an admission that despite spending about $A18.3 billion in the past decade to reduce smog, the Chinese capital's air quality remains a formidable challenge.
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All construction in Beijing, which covers 100 square kilometres, must stop from July 20 to September 20, when both the Olympic and Paralympic Games will have finished.
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Four surrounding provinces and the municipality of Tianjin will also announce factory closures and other measures to make sure that their pollution does not blow into Beijing. Read all

China now world's biggest CO2 emitter
CHINA has already overtaken the United States as the world's biggest emitter of carbon dioxide, the chief greenhouse gas, a new report to be published next month says.
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Until now, it had been generally believed that the US remained the world's number one polluter. Read all