China wrestles with cost of cleaning up neglected environment

BEIJING (AP) - Facing public outrage over smog-choked cities and filthy rivers, China's leaders are promising to clean up the country's neglected environment - a pledge that sets up a clash with political pressures to keep economic growth strong.

An array of possible initiatives discussed by officials and state media ahead of this week's meeting of China's legislature include tightening water standards and taxing carbon emissions.

No change is expected at the National People's Congress, which will be dominated by the installation of a new Cabinet under Communist Party leaders who took power in November. But the meeting offers a platform to try to appease the public by discussing possible changes.

Pollution and public frustration about it are hardly new to China.