Beijing is to set up a new police division to crack down on activities harming the environment.<br /><br /> It comes amid a period of heavy smog in the Chinese capital and other regions in the country.<br /><br /> State media say the government plans to phase out hundreds of thousands of high-polluting vehicles, and close hundreds of factories as well as the city’s only coal-fired power plant.<br /><br /> Beijing’s deputy Communist Party chief and acting mayor Cai Qi said the environmental police force would tackle illegal practices – including open air barbecues and rubbish incineration where standards were not met.<br /><br /> “Through these measures, we plan to cut coal consumption by 30 percent year on year, to less than seven million tons,” the acting mayor told a media briefing.<br /><br /> On Friday the authorities in many Chinese cities including Beijing extended an orange alert – the second-highest level – for heavy air pollution.<br /><br /> Schools and other institutions have been ordered to stop outdoor activities.<br />
