In a bid to reduce the effects of air pollution, Chinese authorities are looking at the possibility of regulating emissions from the country's 100,000+ marine vessels.

According to Reuters, China's Ministry of Environmental Protection has announced plan of passing a new regulation that would include new criterion on the usage and quality of fuel utilized by the shipping sector.

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The ministry is reportedly awaiting feedback from the public on the new regulation plan. Experts say if this law is passed, it would be the first regulation of its kind in the country that specifically targets the shipping industry.

According to Xiong Yuehui, an official with the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the country can no longer ignore the detrimental effects that shipping emissions have on the environment. He added that the proposed regulation would help reduce the devastating pollution of the country's coastal, port and riverside cities.

According to a 2013 census, there were about 172,600 vessels in China, which have a combined weight of 244 million tonnes.  Xiong estimates that the shipping sector was responsible for about 8.4 percent of China's overall sulphur dioxide emissions and for around 11.3 percent of the nitrogen oxide discharged into the atmosphere that same year.

Reports indicate that China's current regulation of the shipping sector focuses on the emission of water and solid waste from ships. Ship-Technology reported that under the new regulation, the Chinese government is looking at regulating industrial waste, including explosive chemicals discharged during the building of ships.

China has been taking steps to protect the environment and reduce pollution. Last year, there was a revision of an environmental law that saw the enforcement of heavier punishments for those found guilty of pollution.

Globally, the International Maritime Organization superintends over the environmental regulations of ships. However, while the IMO has achieved positive results by reducing pollution in America and Europe, where low-sulphur marine fuel is the standard, Asia has remained uninfluenced by the IMO.

According to a report by the London School of Economics, China's greenhouse gas emissions is likely to peak in 2025, five years before it's estimated peak time in 2030. BBC reported that according to the study, by 2025 China's gas emissions would have reached an equivalent of around 12.5 and 14 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide.

Tagschina fights pollution, China shipa and boats pollution regulation, China greenhouse gas emissions, China environmental pollution