VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - Pollution is a problem for the 2008 Summer Olympics, but China is making a major effort to address the issue, International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge said on Wednesday.
"I can't hide the fact that there is today a danger of atmospheric pollution in Beijing, but our Chinese friends are doing tremendous efforts to reduce this," Rogge said in Vancouver, which will host the 2010 Winter Games.
"This is going have good results not only for August in Beijing but for the decades to follow," he said.
Rogge praised Chinese efforts to plant more trees, switch power plants from coal to natural gas and for a plan to remove cars from Beijing to cut emissions during the Games in August.
This month Chinese officials ordered Beijing and five surrounding provinces to cut industrial pollution for two months from late July to ensure clean air for the Olympics and Paralympics.
Rogge has warned several times that endurance events would be postponed if air pollution presents a danger.
(Reporting Allan Dowd, Editing by Rob Wilson)
