Experts and entrepreneurs gather in Beijing for 2016 China Eco-development Forum. [Photo provided to China Daily]

About 400 experts and entrepreneurs from home and abroad in the fields of environmental research, air-pollution control and new energy recently gathered in Beijing for the 2016 China Eco-development Forum.

Keynote speakers shared their opinions on such topics as the causes of smog, new energy vehicles and indoor-air purification.

China aims to increase the proportion of non-fossil fuels in the energy mix to 20 percent by 2030 from the current level of about 11 percent.

The major causes of air pollution are the large amount of coal burned, the high consumption of energy during industrial production and automobiles' emissions, says Wan Bentai, formerly a chief engineer at the Ministry of Environmental Protection.

So solutions include reducing coal, increasing energy efficiency and new energy, and promoting a low-carbon philosophy among the public.

The government's awareness campaigns and compensation policies have encouraged more Chinese to buy new energy vehicles in recent years, says Wang Hewu, an associate researcher of Tsinghua University's automotive engineering department.

It's forecast over a million such autos will be on the road this year.

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