Excessive coal use main contributor to smog, expert says

Excessive use of "unclean" energy, not vehicle emissions or the burning of straw, is the main contributor to the country's recurrent smog, a China Youth Daily report quoted an expert as saying on Monday.

Speaking at a symposium organized by the China Association for Science and Technology, Zhang Xiaoye, director of an atmospheric composition committee under the China Meteorological Society, said that though straw burning, fireworks and vehicle emissions contribute to air pollution, "excessive use of 'unclean' energy is the real culprit".

According to the report, Zhang used the term "unclean" energy to refer mainly to coal.