147 industrial companies have cut or suspended production in an effort to combat high levels of smog over the last week. Carnegie-Tsinghua’s Wang Tao appeared on CCTV English to discuss the effectiveness of this move. Wang explained that reduced industrial output, while essential to curbing the source of the smog, would not have a significant effect on the smog already present in northeastern China. Stricter enforcement of higher emissions standards is necessary to ensure that factories comply with regulations, and help reduce pollution over the long term. Wang concluded that more attention must be paid to local sources of pollution, such as transportation, in order to reach a sustainable solution to the air pollution problem.

This interview originally aired on CCTV News.