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March 29, 2016

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Home » Opinion » Chinese Views

China takes up challenge to improve environment

RECENTLY, as a friend and I were discussing our passion for travelling, I invited her to visit me in Shanghai.

To my surprise, her answer wasn’t an immediate yes, but a hesitant nod accompanied by questions: Isn’t air pollution really severe there, though? Do I have to wear a face mask every day? While there seems to be a general consensus about the environmental crisis in China, highlighted by media attention on periodic “airpocalypses” in Beijing, little is known about the efforts that China has put into saving its environment from rampant degradation.

When government policies and private sector efforts add up, the result is an amazing combination of economic growth, better environment and improved standards of living.

Historically, China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection lacked the necessary power to investigate, supervise and initiate policies.

However, in recent years, sweeping changes have been adopted by China’s national legislature, giving the ministry stronger enforcement power, such as the right to detain persistent violators for up to 15 days.

Environmental objectives are also being included as part of bureaucratic assessments, which used to be primarily based on economic performance. Just last year, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced China’s plan to launch a national emission trading system in 2017 that will cover industry sectors such as iron and steel, power generation, chemicals, building materials, paper-making and nonferrous metals. Under this system, the government sets a target emissions level and issues emissions permits to companies.

These permits can be bought and sold, which will encourage companies to reduce emissions and increase low-carbon technologies.

Urbanization drive

In developing countries, where saving has traditionally been favored over spending, the process of urbanization must take place in order to transform the nation to one of mass consumers, because city residents generally earn more and spend more. This is exactly what China is going through.

In the last several decades, hundreds of millions of Chinese have moved to cities in search of jobs.

Urban dwellers now make up 53.7 percent of the population, while developed countries are about 80 percent urban. The government seems convinced that by increasing that figure to 60 percent by 2020 and relocating roughly 100 million rural Chinese into cities, they can fuel domestic spending.

This process is also beneficial for the environment, considering that rural residents tend to use coal for household cooking, unable to convert to the more expensive electric appliances.

Burning coal releases particulate matters into the atmosphere, leading to smog, acid rain, and toxins in the environment.

China has made impressive strides in cutting coal emissions, with consumption down more than 5 percent in 2015 compared with an approximate 3 percent decrease in 2014.

From 2006 to 2010, China closed 72 gigawatts of inefficient coal plants in an attempt to reduce carbon emission.

On the private sector side, a growing number of Chinese firms are pursuing the fields of energy efficiency, new materials and renewable energy, encouraged by subsidies from the government.

Over the past few years, China has emerged as a global leader in clean energy, topping the world in production of compact fluorescent light bulbs, solar water heaters, solar photovoltaic (PV) cells and wind turbines.

In 1999 China made one percent of the world’s solar panels; by 2008 it was the world’s leading producer, with a 32 percent market share, and its solar-panel exports were valued at US$15 billion.

In addition to aiding the environment, this rapidly growing clean-technology sector will continue to increase employment and income in the future.

As the world’s largest energy consumer, China sees the challenge presented by climate change as a historical opportunity in the transformation of energy development to diversify its energy economy, reduce environmental concerns and enhance citizens’ living standards.

 

The author is a student at Bryn Mawr College, USA




 

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