Beijing businesses paid to reduce pollution

Businesses in Beijing are being offered cash incentives to reduce pollution.

Authorities in the Chinese capital are offering companies up to 2.3 million yuan ($340,000) in bonuses in an attempt to clean up the dirty air in the city.

The Finance Bureau of Bejing said the bonuses are intended to stimulate environmentally friendly economies, helping them to replace big polluters.

Bonuses will vary depending on how much pollution is cut back, or how much water and energy is saved.

The better a company performs environmentally compared to previous performance, the higher the bonus.

Small cement and paper producers will be targeted first by the scheme as these have big potential for pollution reduction.

The cash incentives follow other moves to reduce pollution in China’s capital city following the city’s success in cleaning up its air for the Olympics.

Residents in Beijing are currently taking part in a six month trial that bans them from using their cars for one day each week.

This has been done to reduce congestion and increase the number of ‘blue sky days’ in the city.