Other Views 

In the past we relied mainly on administrative measures to cope with haze; why not try economic mechanisms? For example, many thermal power plants do not invest in saving coal because the amount of money saved is too small to cover the research costs. If the resource tax covers the coal industry, the whole industrial chain will be affected, encouraging more enterprises to save energy and cut emissions.

Jia Kang, former director of the Research Institute for Fiscal Science, China Environment News, Oct 14

China burns the most coal in the world, which is a major cause of smog. Behind the large amount of coal consumption lies the country's high economic reliance on low-end industries. To get rid of smog permanently, China needs technology innovation and economic transition to upgrade its industries. The more efficiently China drives the restructuring process, the sooner its people will breathe clean air again.

China Youth Daily, Oct 14

Like it or not, we have to accept that haze will remain a problem for a long time. There are many negative consequences, one of them being that our young people have to avoid outdoor sports such as football during hazy days, and instead take up indoor sports such as table tennis. Some online jokes suggest that this is the root cause of the Chinese national football team's bad performances - let's hope the same joke won't be told about other sports in the future.

eastday.com, Oct 14

Smog is not an insoluble problem - whenever major international events are held the authorities always find ways to keep the air clean. If officials treated this environmental issue as seriously as during international events, smog might have long since disappeared.

cfi.cn, Oct 14

Every smoggy day is a test for the government agencies responsible for dealing with the issue. The latest inspection of the Ministry of Environmental Protection revealed many flaws, one of the most serious being the lack of cooperation between government departments. Environmental agencies cannot fight pollution alone - other branches of government should give more support.

Beijing News, Oct 14