The country will take effective measures to strengthen environmental protection, especially in improving air quality, in 2017, aiming to markedly reduce major airborne pollutants, according to the Government Work Report.

Premier Li Keqiang delivered the report to lawmakers on Sunday at the opening of the annual session of the National People's Congress, the top legislature.

Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions will be both cut by 3 percent year-on-year, and the PM2.5 density in key areas will fall sharply, it said.

To better improve air quality, the central government plans to take comprehensive measures to reduce emission of pollutants, especially from coal burning, and more than 3 million households will use electricity and natural gas as fuel to replace coal.

All small coal-fired furnaces in cities will be shut down, and the governments will upgrade coal-fired power plants to cut emissions, according to the report.

In addition, other polluting industries will face stricter controls in emissions and placed under round-the-clock monitoring.

There will be comprehensive steps in curbing air pollution, including strengthening research and stricter enforcement of laws and regulations.

"Tackling smog is down to every last one of us … as long as the whole of our society keeps trying, we will have more and more blues skies with each passing year," the report said.

The annual work report also set targets and measures to control water and soil pollution.