In a wide-ranging action plan published on Thursday, the Chinese government vowed not only the toughest-ever measures to combat airborne pollution, it also promised explicit targets to be attained within a given period.

The action plan is committed to cutting the concentration of inhalable suspended particles with a diameter of 10 microns or less by more than 10 percent by 2017 from the 2012 level for prefecture or higher-level cities. While Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei, which have witnessed the worst of the smog, will reduce particles with a diameter of 2.5 microns or less by 25 percent during the same period.

To meet these targets the action plan aims to cut the total consumption of coal to below 65 percent of the country's total primary energy use by 2017 and raise the share of non-fossil energy to 13 percent. It also promises a 20 percent cut in the country's energy consumption per unit of its industrial value added by 2017 from the 2012 level, and a wide range of other measures, such as concrete steps to promote the transformation and upgrading of industries and tighter control over high polluting and energy intensive industries.