IOC chief praises China's anti-pollution efforts

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-08-07 21:04

BEIJING - International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge lauded China on Thursday for its extraordinary efforts to tackle pollution.

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge speaks during a press conference on August 7, 2008 in Beijing. [Agencies]

"The Chinese authorities have done everything that is feasible and humanly possible to address this situation. What they have done is extraordinary," Rogge told a press conference.

Beijing has invested billions of US dollars to improve its environment since it won the Olympic bid, and a number of drastic measures have been implemented to guarantee good air quality during the August 8-24 event, including shutting down construction sites and reducing the operations of polluting industries in and around Beijing.

However, air quality has been a concern for many in the build-up to the Beijing Games, and the Chinese organizers have been under fire from the media.

With Beijing shrouded in a haze just one day before the start of the Olympics, Rogge snubbed attempts to categorize the air as polluted in the Chinese capital, stating that there is a difference between the haze that has enveloped the city and damaging air pollution.

"The fog you see is based on humidity and heat. It does not mean that this fog is the same as pollution," he said.

Earlier this week, several IOC officials including medical chief Arne Ljungqvist and Pal Schmitt, chairman of the IOC environmental commission, said on different occasions that there was no danger to the health of athletes and visitors in Beijing.

Rogge also said he intentionally doesn't know anything about the opening ceremonies.

"Only Mr. Hein Verbruggen (chairman of the IOC's coordination commission) knows, and he seems very happy," Rogge said with a smile.