A smoggy present air could soon turn into clean air. There is hope. In an article I read, the government of China in January began to allow media to report the dangerous levels of air pollution in Beijing, which is something seemingly revolutionary to a government who has so long kept numbers disclosed or purposely reported the wrong numbers. This publication by the media in China is an indicator that the citizens' anger and discontent with government's ignorance toward environmental degradation has reached a tipping point. Air quality has gotten so bad in Beijing in the recent months, that there has actually been an increase in hospitalization due to respiratory issues, which are a result of air pollution. Talks about ecological improvement began before the new leadership of Xi Jinping in November, however, the coverage in January and into today has displayed a new interest in coverage. In another article from The Economist, the author jokingly notes that Xi Jinping's leadership alongside Li Keqiang's new leadership shall be finalized in March, despite the many levels of pollution and corruption in society. This simply reiterates the all to well known issues of pollution in China; however, the author ends with hope that Xi will be a reformer for China, which one can only hope will include reform of pollution.
As recently as February 28th, it was reported that the air in Beijing was not only polluted, but also worsened by a recent sandstorm. Air pollution levels have now reached hazardous levels. State agencies have been strongly encouraging citizens to stay inside. The readings from the government read off more than 400 microgrammes per cubic metre, yet from the US embassy, there were reports of levels up to 500 microgrammes. This raises questions of China's government's truthfulness in numbers released, however it is still encouraging that officials are no longer ignoring the air pollution, especially air worsened by a sandstorm. Therefore, there is hope for China's future air quality. There is hope that through government's willingness to take action and involve citizens in addressing the issue, will help reduce air pollution and possibly start to give citizens more of a voice. The issue of air pollution is important to those inside and outside of a college IPE class because, environmental issues are transnational issues that do have international effects. Also, it is important to learn of the real issues going on within China, seeing as it is a nation rising in economic power as well as a nation that the United States is indebted too. Finally, learning of the pollution issue is important because it highlights the fact that increases in industrialization and manufacturing can have negative effects on the environment. Though, China's air quality is presently bad, there is hope of improvement in the near future.
This was an interesting post, and it definitely connects with the concept of developing states being less environmentally responsible. Good to hear they're going to make moves on tackling those problems
ReplyDeleteI don't know that China's environmental problems will be solved through the assertiveness of the government. I think the govt is most concerned with growing the economy, and taking care of the environment usually does not go along with this, as long as there are not huge pressures from external actors. As we discussed in class, it will only be through the intense social pressures from the Chinese populations that there will be any huge changes.
ReplyDeleteI find it very interesting how the Chinese government censored the coverage of pollution in the media until it literally became impossible not to address the issue. The social pressures from the mass population of Chinese citizens who are fed up with environmental degradation is what the Chinese government fears. The last thing the government wants is a rebellion because they neglected what was happening to the environment due to increased industrialization. If the Chinese government does begin to address the environmental issues they will most likely exaggerate the extent to which their contributions are having in reducing pollution in order to appease the social unrest. The environmental issues going on in China are representative of how corrupt and inefficient the Chinese government is at serving their people.
ReplyDeleteThe Chinese government's acknowledgement of the issue of air pollution is not enough to bring forth real change, however it is an important step in the right direction. The attention drawn to Beijing's pollution, largely thanks to the US Embassy's social media outlets, has brought the issue into the light and the international public will assert its concerns. Environmental degradation is a cross-border concern and therefore requires the efforts of the international community as a whole, but international efforts will fail unless equally supported by domestic efforts on the part of the Chinese government. Hopefully this issue will be pushed even farther so that the international community, as well as Chinese citizens, will pressure the government to make a change.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you in this post. For the first time China admitted the existence of "cancer villages", which are places that are so badly polluted the population of the village is at an extremely high risk of cancer. I also think this is revolutionary for the Chinese government. By admitting that there are huge problems with pollution in their country the government has taken the first step to action. If they were not planning on going down the path to cleaner air, they would not have admitted how bad it actually is. Not only in the cities, but also in the rural parts of the country.
ReplyDeleteI believe that as long as China is this export driven, produce in quantity rather than quality, and the consumer countries keep on demanding low cost goods without the concern of how it is being made and what the consequences of this mass production are; the Chinese government will not be able to provide additional environment safer production into their manufactures. Regardless of the what other countries say about the Chinese air pollution, I believe that this is a change that has to be made by the consumers and not the producers (in a sort of supply and demand preference).
ReplyDeleteAn increasingly industrial economy or enacting environmental protection policies is often seen as a significant tradeoff for governments where they must choose one or the other for their country. China has worked to grow its economy and now it must work more towards a cleaner environment. I think it is important that they stop misreporting numbers on pollution and put a greater focus on cleaner technologies and environmental awareness.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately I do not believe that China can solve its pollution problems with the government revealing data. If China is more concerned with its economic development than the environmental implications that come with it, than trade agencies like the WTO need to stand up to China and sanction them if they do not make an honest effort to change this. Climate change is something that cannot be solved by individual states, its an effort that must be tackled by a global community. That or we should just send Dennis Rodman to meet with the Chinese PM to talk about the issues just like he did in North Korea this past week.
ReplyDeleteForbes article, Why China Cannot Solve Its Pollution Problem , offers a different opinion as to why China can't fix it's air pollution problem. The article confirms that China is the world’s top producer of carbon dioxide, the chief greenhouse gas, and by default the largest contributor to climate change. This is a status that isn’t expected to change any time soon, as China’s government is part of the problem rather than part of the solution.To be fair, China has developed a comprehensive environmental policy similar to that of the world’s second producer of carbon dioxide, the US; and it was the host of last UN’s conference on climate change. The problem, however, is that by contrast to the US — where the polluters are private companies — in China, by and large the polluters are government companies—State Owned Enterprises and Town Village Enterprises.This means that the government as owner and manager of these enterprises is part of the problem it is called upon to address.The bottom line: China cannot solve its pollution problem because it doesn’t have a climate strategy. It has goals and priorities, but it lacks an execution mechanism.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Lucas that while China remains driven towards fast-paced industrialization, they will not be able to curb their carbon dioxide emissions enough to keep people from suffering from health related issues. The article we read regarding China's purchasing of resources from other countries only indicates that China expects to continue producing at a high level for as long as they can. As Kayla shows, China does not have a climate strategy. What is apparent, is that the health risks are far outweighed by the benefits of a high level of production according to Chinese thought. Until the public as a whole cries out for a change in the environmental conditions, the government will continue to produce in a way that puts the whole nation at risk.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Lucas that while China remains driven towards fast-paced industrialization, they will not be able to curb their carbon dioxide emissions enough to keep people from suffering from health related issues. The article we read regarding China's purchasing of resources from other countries only indicates that China expects to continue producing at a high level for as long as they can. As Kayla shows, China does not have a climate strategy. What is apparent, is that the health risks are far outweighed by the benefits of a high level of production according to Chinese thought. Until the public as a whole cries out for a change in the environmental conditions, the government will continue to produce in a way that puts the whole nation at risk.
ReplyDeleteIt is great that China is trying to do something to combat the environmental problem but I am not sure that the problem can be solved solely by government assertiveness and increased citizen awareness. It will take years to fix the problem. The measures that Beijing took for the 2008 Olympic did show dramatic effect but this was a short term fix. China is so concerned about economic growth and improvement that it will be difficult to curb the effects of pollution.
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