China continues to tackle noise pollution in 2021-25

BEIJING -- China will continue to tackle noise pollution and improve the country's acoustic environment during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), according to environmental authorities.

By 2025, China aims to keep the nighttime environmental noise level at 85 percent of the acoustic environment function zones up to standard, said an action plan jointly issued by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and 15 other departments.

With remarkable progress being made in pollution control, public expectations on the ecological environment are growing, and noise pollution is now among the hottest issues in environmental complaints, said the ministry.

In 2021, of the over 450,000 complaints received by China's national platform for environment-related complaints from the public, 45 percent were about noise disturbance, ranking second among all types of pollution, according to the ministry.

The plan pledged to enhance control of the sources of noise, as well as noises from industrial firms, construction sites, transportation, and social activities.

China will also establish a valid system to prevent, control and manage noise pollution, improve relevant laws, regulations and standards, strengthen science and technology education, and boost monitoring and law enforcement, it said.