(Yicai) June 3 -- The Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China plans to establish around 100 new key laboratories covering eight major research areas over the next ten years to enhance the country's environmental science and technology level.

The new labs will focus on improving air and water quality, resource utilization of solid waste and soil management, ecological protection and restoration supervision, environmental health and risk prevention, nuclear safety, synergistic reduction of pollution and carbon emissions, comprehensive ecological environment decision-making, and common foundational research, the MEE announced recently. The ministry encourages the participation of social capital in building the labs, it said.

The scientific and technological support platform system mainly includes ministry-level key labs and engineering centers, with the former as its core, the MEE told Yicai.

The MEE has set up 40 key labs covering water, air, soil, ecology, nuclear safety, and environmental management as of the end of last year. In addition, 16 more are under construction, focusing on the Yangtze River basin and the health exposure assessment of new pollutants.

Regarding aligning with the technological needs for environmental management and governance, the new plan also highlights insufficient foresight in the strategic layout of key labs in priority areas, including scientific frontiers and disruptive technologies.

Editor: Martin Kadiev