IBM to help China control air quality

New York-based International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) said Monday it plans to help China manage its air quality and energy consumption.

IBM is working with Beijing’s municipal government on a program that would determine the type, source and level of emissions, and predict air quality in the capital, Bloomberg News reports.

{mosads}The venture will allow utilities to estimate the amount of renewable energy that will be used for grid operations, IBM said, according to Bloomberg.

Another element of the project could include a system that can track energy consumption of industrial companies that make up more than 70 percent of China’s energy consumption.

As the No. 1 emitter of greenhouse gases, China’s air quality problem has become a central issue in the nation’s political realm.