The Chinese government Thursday released a detailed action plan to fight air pollution that has been increasingly choking up cities across the country.

Admitting air pollution has been deteriorating to a point that has shaken "social stability," the government vowed to reduce the number of smog days in five years, especially in heavily polluted Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta areas.

The action plan involves cutting coal use, closing polluters and promoting cleaner production, as well as controlling the number of private cars in major cities.

Analysts and environmental advocates applauded the government's determination shown in this action plan, though it will be a daunting task for local governments to carry out, especially when it means holding back the momentum of industrial development in exchange for clean air in some areas.

China aims to cut its total coal consumption to below 65 percent of its total primary energy use by 2017, says the plan.

New industrial projects set to be constructed in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta regions will be banned from setting up their own coal-fired power plants, it says.

It also aims to cut the concentration of PM2.5, the particles that pose the greatest health risk, by 25 percent in areas around Beijing.

Coinciding with the central government's long-anticipated plan, the government of Hebei, one of the most heavily polluted areas in China, also publicized its action plan Thursday, vowing to consume 40 million tons less coal in 2017 than in 2012.

Along with Beijing's plan to cut 13 million tons of coal use and Shandong's 20 million tons target, observers said the effect around the Bohai Sea areas will be impressive.

"The root of China's air pollution lies in the excessive reliance on coal use," said Huang Wei, director on climate and energy at Greenpeace. "Curbing the expansion of heavy polluters by controlling coal consumption will play a major role in improving regional air quality."

However, Huang said the results of the ambitious plans set by local governments, without a binding target set by the central government, are yet to be seen.

Many provinces and regions previously disclosed their own plans to deal with air pollution. Yet some places, such as Tianjin, Shanghai and Guangdong, still have not shown their plans to cut coal use.

Under the new plan, by 2017, the total capacity of China's nuclear power reactors in operation will reach 50 million kilowatts, and the share of non-fossil fuel energy will be raised to 13 percent in overall primary energy use.

Greater efforts will be made to eliminate outdated production of iron and steel, cement, electrolytic aluminum and flat glass, the plan says. China will take this painful process as a chance to promote the transformation and upgrading of industries, the plan said.

Authorities have for the first time required local governments to sign liability contracts with the central government. Provinces which fail to meet their emission cut targets will see their officials "invited for a talk" with the CPC's organizational and supervisory departments, according to the Ministry of Environmental Protection.

The results of the inspection will play a big role in the assessment of local government leaders. Those who are found to have not fulfilled their duties will be held responsible, Wang Jian, an official of pollution prevention at the ministry, told Xinhua.

Wang Tao, a resident scholar at Carnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy, cast his doubt over local government officials' willingness to fight pollution.

"It is prevalent among officials for economic development to be the benchmark for their political performances. They might not prioritize anti-pollution work, as by 2017, they might have got promoted or been transferred elsewhere," Wang noted.

Yang Mingsen, president of the China Environment News, a newspaper under the Ministry of Environmental Protection, told the Global Times that the program is pragmatic, whereas authorities are also facing tough challenges in implementation of the program.

"The gross domestic product will be reduced and slower economic growth could also lead to other social problems including unemployment," he said.

Xinhua contributed to this story