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{
  "authors": [
    "Wang Tao"
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  "type": "legacyinthemedia",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
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Source: Getty

In The Media
Carnegie China

Beijing Traffic Ban: Hard to Reach Public

Although the Chinese coal industry has been targeted as the country’s main source of pollution, traffic may well be the main cause of air pollution in Beijing.

Link Copied
By Wang Tao
Published on Oct 16, 2013

Source: CCTV News

Carnegie–Tsinghua’s Wang Tao appeared on CCTV News’ China 24 to discuss Beijing’s new traffic ban, part of its efforts to control the city’s air pollution problem. Although the Chinese coal industry has been targeted as the country’s main source of pollution, Wang argued that traffic is in fact the main cause of air pollution in Beijing. However, he suggested that Beijing’s new traffic ban is an attempted quick fix that offers no concrete improvement to the problem and instead inconveniences the daily lives of residents.

Wang stated that the overcrowded subways are a significan factor in the rise in ownership of personal vehicles, leading to more carbon emissions. To encourage more use of public transportation, Wang suggested that instead of a traffic ban, the government should reinstate Beijing's original plan for commuter trains which would be built above ground and are capable of transporting larger volumes of people.

This interview was originally aired on CCTV News.

About the Author

Wang Tao

Former Nonresident Scholar, Carnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy

Wang Tao was a nonresident scholar in the Energy and Climate Program based at the Carnegie–Tsinghua Center for Global Policy.

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Wang Tao
Former Nonresident Scholar, Carnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy
Wang Tao
EconomyClimate ChangeEast AsiaChina

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

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