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China’s economy has skyrocketed， but at a price. Millions of Chinese now are breathing a hazardous cocktail of chemicals every day. These chemicals are caused by coal-fired power plants， factories and vehicles， and are responsible for heart disease， stroke， respiratory illnesses， birth defects and cancer.
For decades， the Chinese leadership sacrificed the environment in order to achieve breakneck economic growth. Now， power plants， factories and heavy industries are all belching out black， dirty air， at the cost of people’s health and environment.
According to a study， outdoor air pollution contributed to 1.2 million premature deaths in China in 2010 alone. One song circulating online includes the lyrics， “I live in the smog， I don’t want to die in the smog.”
The environmental crisis risks dragging down economic growth. In addition to having a huge impact on the economy and people’s health， air pollution “also threatens social security and China’s reputation”， and given growing public dissatisfaction， it could yet become a political problem for China’s new leaders.
According to a report， China generates over 20% of all carbon emissions worldwide. As the world’s largest polluter， and next super power in the making， China certainly has a re-sponsibility to act. It is time to sacrifice its heavy industry for the sake of both its people， and the very planet that people live on.
Beijing Airpocalypse： Fight against Haze Need to Be Intensified
At the last month of last year， a lung-burning haze choked the country’s capital Beijing， infuriating residents and reigniting debate about the costs of headlong development. In December 2015， Beijing issued its first ever “red alert” over the city’s smog， with the Chinese capital going into shutdown in an attempt to protect people from the deadly air.
According to the Beijing Municipal Severe Air Pollution Emergency Plan which took effect in March 2014， the municipal government can issue a red alert when severe air pollution is forecast to extend for more than three days， the orange alert for three days， the yellow alert for two days and the blue alert for one day.
It is the first time ever that the highest possible state of caution has been declared in the city， which has more than 21 million residents. The warning means schools will have to close down and construction and other industry in the capital will be limited.
In fact， the city had already been in a state of orange alert， which meant some construction and industry was being curbed. The city had also issued a ruling that said cars with odd and even number plates would be stopped from driving on alternate days.
The red alert came after Greenpeace warmed that the Orange Alert that had been declared for putting restrictions on construction and industry was “clearly not enough”.
“The city is blanketed in a thick， choking smog that has covered an area of North China the size of Spain and Beijing’s most famous landmarks have been completely obscured by the yellow haze，” wrote Zhang Kai at Greenpeace in a blog.
“At this level of response， schools and kindergartens can remain open， meaning that children are risking their health in order to attend class and car emissions haven’t been restricted at all，” the group wrote.
Beijing’s main children’s hospital was packed to overflowing， with rows of infants hooked up to drips in the corridors outside the emergency clinic， and queues of patients waiting to see doctors. According to official media， recently this hospital has seen 9，000 patients per day， a third of them with respiratory diseases.
The heavy air pollution in Beijing is expected to last more than three days so the red alert was issued， according to Zhang Dawei， director of Beijing Municipal Environment Monitoring Center.
In some parts of Beijing， people can only see around 200m. The air is also packed with poisonous particles that mean that people could become ill simply from being outside.
Air pollution monitors showed areas of Beijing had more than 256 micrograms per cubic metre of the poisonous particles. The World Health Organisation （WHO） says anything over 25 micrograms is considered unsafe.
The poisonous smog in Beijing is caused by the burning of coal for industry and heating， and huge amounts of dust from the city’s many construction sites. Coal burning is the biggest contributor of air pollution in Beijing and the surrounding area， according to a 2013 University of Leeds study sponsored by Greenpeace East Asia.
The problem is being made yet worse by high humidity and low wind. Beijing’s air quality has remained heavily polluted due to windless and warm weather， according to Beijing Emergency Management Office. In the city， smog is so bad that a few months ago， someone made a brick out of it. Artist ‘Nut Brother’ spent four hours a day， for 100 days， using a vacuum cleaner to collect dust from the city’s toxic pollution cloud.
Currently， Beijing is taking emergency action： shutting down some building sites and polluting factories temporarily and taking almost a third of official cars off the road. It’s also vowing to cut air pollution by 15% over the next three years.
But the surrounding provinces are actually stepping up coal consumption， dooming such pledges， according to Greenpeace’s Zhou Rong.
“It’s not going to work if Beijing city does the mitigation work alone，” she says. “If the surrounding areas don’t do the same work， Beijing will never get better air quality.”
Other major cities in China， such as Shanghai， Chongqing and Shenzhen are also faced with the problem. A study by Greenpeace and Beijing University focusing on four Chinese cities estimates the number of people dying prematurely from air pollution is close to three times that killed by traffic acci-dents.
It is time for China to change its role as the global factory and the “biggest construction site in the world.” According to data， 70% of global iron and steel， and about half of the world’s cement are produced in China. Against this backdrop， it is impossible for China to be as clean as the West.
China’s Efforts
Responding to previous bouts of public anger over air quality in Beijing， leaders have laid down stiffer standards for smokestacks and car exhaust， shut urban factories and power plants， and limited the number of cars and trucks on the road.
Such basic regulations haven’t always been followed， however， and more drastic measures haven’t made a lasting difference.
China has conjured blue skies for the 2008 Olympics and other major public events in Beijing by banning cars and closing factories， but each time a return to business as usual brought the smog back. The country clearly need bigger and more lasting reductions in vehicle and factory exhaust.
To make the air breathable and meet the goals it set itself at the Paris climate talks， China need to rethink their increasingly car-centric cultures. Beijing is now doing as an emergency measure. But the country should do more to raise the cost of driving through taxes， congestion charges and parking fees and upgrade public transport.
China， already the world’s No. 1 market for electric vehicles， should rethink the subsidies it’s announced for farmers to buy new gasoline-powered cars and invest instead in expanding the country’s electric-car infrastructure.
One important detail is pricing. In China， the government still puts the price of natural gas too high. Raising the first and allowing the market to set the second would encourage a shift to cleaner fuels.
Ultimately， China should put a price on carbon， discourage the use of fossil fuels and encourage the development of affordable clean energy. Otherwise， there’s a danger that they might favor cheap ways to reduce pollution -- such as putting scrubbers on coal-fired power plants -- that don’t do enough to ward off climate change. In racing to clear up the sky， the governments must keep in mind their long-term goals.
There is a long way to go before China wins the war against air pollution. Xue Jun， head of the Institute of Global Low-carbon Economy， said if the government adopts the toughest measure against smog and changes the economic pattern as soon as possible， it would still need 15 to 20 years to win the war.
In the reclently-closed 21st session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC， or COP21， held in Paris， French’s capital， representatives from 195 countries completed a new global accord on climate change which is laden with big expectations as it would affect the future of the planet and its people.
The biggest polluting countries， China， the US， and India， account for more than 40% of the world’s emissions， with China significantly in front of the US， the next biggest emitter， and India.
China’s special representative Xie Zhenhua said that the country vowed to continue to play a constructive role. The country also urged all the parties to accelerate the green and low-carbon transformation， said Xie.
As the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu once said： “All great acts are made up of small deeds. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
For decades， the Chinese leadership sacrificed the environment in order to achieve breakneck economic growth. Now， power plants， factories and heavy industries are all belching out black， dirty air， at the cost of people’s health and environment.
According to a study， outdoor air pollution contributed to 1.2 million premature deaths in China in 2010 alone. One song circulating online includes the lyrics， “I live in the smog， I don’t want to die in the smog.”
The environmental crisis risks dragging down economic growth. In addition to having a huge impact on the economy and people’s health， air pollution “also threatens social security and China’s reputation”， and given growing public dissatisfaction， it could yet become a political problem for China’s new leaders.
According to a report， China generates over 20% of all carbon emissions worldwide. As the world’s largest polluter， and next super power in the making， China certainly has a re-sponsibility to act. It is time to sacrifice its heavy industry for the sake of both its people， and the very planet that people live on.
Beijing Airpocalypse： Fight against Haze Need to Be Intensified
At the last month of last year， a lung-burning haze choked the country’s capital Beijing， infuriating residents and reigniting debate about the costs of headlong development. In December 2015， Beijing issued its first ever “red alert” over the city’s smog， with the Chinese capital going into shutdown in an attempt to protect people from the deadly air.
According to the Beijing Municipal Severe Air Pollution Emergency Plan which took effect in March 2014， the municipal government can issue a red alert when severe air pollution is forecast to extend for more than three days， the orange alert for three days， the yellow alert for two days and the blue alert for one day.
It is the first time ever that the highest possible state of caution has been declared in the city， which has more than 21 million residents. The warning means schools will have to close down and construction and other industry in the capital will be limited.
In fact， the city had already been in a state of orange alert， which meant some construction and industry was being curbed. The city had also issued a ruling that said cars with odd and even number plates would be stopped from driving on alternate days.
The red alert came after Greenpeace warmed that the Orange Alert that had been declared for putting restrictions on construction and industry was “clearly not enough”.
“The city is blanketed in a thick， choking smog that has covered an area of North China the size of Spain and Beijing’s most famous landmarks have been completely obscured by the yellow haze，” wrote Zhang Kai at Greenpeace in a blog.
“At this level of response， schools and kindergartens can remain open， meaning that children are risking their health in order to attend class and car emissions haven’t been restricted at all，” the group wrote.
Beijing’s main children’s hospital was packed to overflowing， with rows of infants hooked up to drips in the corridors outside the emergency clinic， and queues of patients waiting to see doctors. According to official media， recently this hospital has seen 9，000 patients per day， a third of them with respiratory diseases.
The heavy air pollution in Beijing is expected to last more than three days so the red alert was issued， according to Zhang Dawei， director of Beijing Municipal Environment Monitoring Center.
In some parts of Beijing， people can only see around 200m. The air is also packed with poisonous particles that mean that people could become ill simply from being outside.
Air pollution monitors showed areas of Beijing had more than 256 micrograms per cubic metre of the poisonous particles. The World Health Organisation （WHO） says anything over 25 micrograms is considered unsafe.
The poisonous smog in Beijing is caused by the burning of coal for industry and heating， and huge amounts of dust from the city’s many construction sites. Coal burning is the biggest contributor of air pollution in Beijing and the surrounding area， according to a 2013 University of Leeds study sponsored by Greenpeace East Asia.
The problem is being made yet worse by high humidity and low wind. Beijing’s air quality has remained heavily polluted due to windless and warm weather， according to Beijing Emergency Management Office. In the city， smog is so bad that a few months ago， someone made a brick out of it. Artist ‘Nut Brother’ spent four hours a day， for 100 days， using a vacuum cleaner to collect dust from the city’s toxic pollution cloud.
Currently， Beijing is taking emergency action： shutting down some building sites and polluting factories temporarily and taking almost a third of official cars off the road. It’s also vowing to cut air pollution by 15% over the next three years.
But the surrounding provinces are actually stepping up coal consumption， dooming such pledges， according to Greenpeace’s Zhou Rong.
“It’s not going to work if Beijing city does the mitigation work alone，” she says. “If the surrounding areas don’t do the same work， Beijing will never get better air quality.”
Other major cities in China， such as Shanghai， Chongqing and Shenzhen are also faced with the problem. A study by Greenpeace and Beijing University focusing on four Chinese cities estimates the number of people dying prematurely from air pollution is close to three times that killed by traffic acci-dents.
It is time for China to change its role as the global factory and the “biggest construction site in the world.” According to data， 70% of global iron and steel， and about half of the world’s cement are produced in China. Against this backdrop， it is impossible for China to be as clean as the West.
China’s Efforts
Responding to previous bouts of public anger over air quality in Beijing， leaders have laid down stiffer standards for smokestacks and car exhaust， shut urban factories and power plants， and limited the number of cars and trucks on the road.
Such basic regulations haven’t always been followed， however， and more drastic measures haven’t made a lasting difference.
China has conjured blue skies for the 2008 Olympics and other major public events in Beijing by banning cars and closing factories， but each time a return to business as usual brought the smog back. The country clearly need bigger and more lasting reductions in vehicle and factory exhaust.
To make the air breathable and meet the goals it set itself at the Paris climate talks， China need to rethink their increasingly car-centric cultures. Beijing is now doing as an emergency measure. But the country should do more to raise the cost of driving through taxes， congestion charges and parking fees and upgrade public transport.
China， already the world’s No. 1 market for electric vehicles， should rethink the subsidies it’s announced for farmers to buy new gasoline-powered cars and invest instead in expanding the country’s electric-car infrastructure.
One important detail is pricing. In China， the government still puts the price of natural gas too high. Raising the first and allowing the market to set the second would encourage a shift to cleaner fuels.
Ultimately， China should put a price on carbon， discourage the use of fossil fuels and encourage the development of affordable clean energy. Otherwise， there’s a danger that they might favor cheap ways to reduce pollution -- such as putting scrubbers on coal-fired power plants -- that don’t do enough to ward off climate change. In racing to clear up the sky， the governments must keep in mind their long-term goals.
There is a long way to go before China wins the war against air pollution. Xue Jun， head of the Institute of Global Low-carbon Economy， said if the government adopts the toughest measure against smog and changes the economic pattern as soon as possible， it would still need 15 to 20 years to win the war.
In the reclently-closed 21st session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC， or COP21， held in Paris， French’s capital， representatives from 195 countries completed a new global accord on climate change which is laden with big expectations as it would affect the future of the planet and its people.
The biggest polluting countries， China， the US， and India， account for more than 40% of the world’s emissions， with China significantly in front of the US， the next biggest emitter， and India.
China’s special representative Xie Zhenhua said that the country vowed to continue to play a constructive role. The country also urged all the parties to accelerate the green and low-carbon transformation， said Xie.
As the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu once said： “All great acts are made up of small deeds. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”