China?s drive for economic growth is in direct conflict with efforts to safeguard the environment, the government warned yesterday, and degradation is worsening despite official efforts to curb pollution. A paper released by the cabinet on World Environment Day came amid rising public concern about smoggy skies and toxic spills that are poisoning rivers and drinking water, despite government pledges to clean up in time for the 2008 Olympics.

?The conflict between environment and development is becoming ever more prominent,? the paper said.

The conflict is obvious in urban centres such as Beijing, where 1,000 new vehicles take to the road each day. To mark World Environment Day, about 250,000 people pledged to take up a local initiative to leave their cars at home. But in the city of more than 16 million, there was little discernible impact on the capital?s smoggy skies and the evening rush hour was as congested as ever.

Auto emissions would only get worse, the China Daily said in an editorial, warning that even better fuel standards would have limited impact in the face of car ownership that is likely to double in the next decade.