Pollution's Social Impact On China: A Complex Web

Air pollution in China is a pressing issue that has severe social, economic, and political implications. It is a leading cause of premature deaths, with millions of people dying annually from exposure to harmful pollutants. The problem is exacerbated by rapid industrialization, urbanization, and the extensive use of coal as a cheap energy source. China's air pollution has far-reaching consequences, affecting not only the health and quality of life of its citizens but also the global economy and climate change efforts.

The social impact of air pollution in China is profound, with an estimated 1.24 million deaths attributed to air pollution in 2017 alone. This issue disproportionately affects socially disadvantaged communities, with higher mortality rates observed in areas of high social deprivation. Long-term exposure to polluted air increases the risk of respiratory diseases, heart disease, lung cancer, and cerebrovascular diseases.

Moreover, air pollution contributes to environmental degradation, including water and soil contamination, which further exacerbates health issues and poses challenges to food security. The Chinese government has implemented measures to address air pollution, but the trade-offs between economic growth and environmental welfare present significant challenges.

Air pollution impacts health and life expectancy

Air pollution has a significant impact on the health and life expectancy of people in China. It is a major public health concern, with high levels of exposure to both ambient and household air pollution.

The average annual population-weighted PM2.5 exposure in China was 52.7 μg/m3 in 2017, which is 9% lower than in 1990 (57.8 μg/m3). In 2017, it was estimated that 1.24 million deaths in China were attributable to air pollution, including 851,660 from ambient PM2.5 pollution, 271,089 from household air pollution from solid fuels, and 178,187 from ambient ozone pollution. The age-standardised death rate attributable to air pollution was higher in males (90.4 per 100,000) than in females (57.1 per 100,000).

Air pollution is linked to various diseases, including ischaemic heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), type 2 diabetes, and acute lower respiratory infections. It is estimated that 40% of DALYs for COPD were attributable to air pollution, as were 35.6% of DALYs for lower respiratory infections, 26.1% for diabetes, 25.8% for lung cancer, 19.5% for ischaemic heart disease, and 12.8% for stroke.

Overall, the age-standardised death rate attributable to air pollution in China decreased by 60.6% between 1990 and 2017, driven by an 85.4% decline in household air pollution and a 12.1% decline in ambient PM2.5 pollution. However, it is important to note that the impact of air pollution varies across different provinces in China, with some provinces showing an increasing trend in mortality attributable to air pollution over the past 27 years.

If the air pollution level in China was below the minimum causing health loss, the average life expectancy would have been 1.25 years greater. The potential gains in life expectancy due to a reduction in household air pollution were particularly notable in western provinces compared to eastern provinces. For example, Tibet had a potential increase that was 46 times higher than that in Shanghai.

While China has made efforts to control emissions and reduce air pollution, it still faces challenges. In 2017, 81% of the population lived in areas with PM2.5 concentrations above the WHO Interim Target 1, indicating that ambient particulate matter pollution remains a significant issue. Sustainable development policies and further action are needed to reduce the impact of air pollution on public health and long-term economic development in China.

Pollution affects water sources and food safety

Water pollution is a serious issue in China, with half of the population unable to access water that is safe for human consumption and two-thirds of the rural population relying on tainted water. The World Bank has warned that this could have "catastrophic consequences for future generations".

Water pollution in China is caused by the dumping of toxic human and industrial waste, as well as agricultural waste. China's coastal manufacturing belt is the most affected by pollution, and a third of its waterways remain below the government's standards for water quality. Most of China's rural areas lack a system to treat wastewater.

Water pollution has been linked to high rates of liver, stomach and esophageal cancer in China. The government has found that 6.9% of surface water in China’s river basins was “Below Grade V” quality, meaning it was so polluted that it was unfit for any use. Another 18.9% was only suitable for agricultural or industrial use, but not for human consumption. Groundwater in 90% of China’s cities is contaminated.

To combat water pollution, the Chinese government has implemented policies such as the Water Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan, and revised the Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law in 2018. The government has also established a system of "river chiefs" and "lake chiefs" that makes local officials responsible for addressing pollution in specific bodies of water.

In addition to water pollution, food safety is also a concern in China. The country's food safety has been affected by large but inefficient chemical fertilizer and pesticide residue, cropland heavy metal pollution (especially cadmium), and high ozone concentration. The Chinese government has adopted policies to address these issues, such as the Action Plan for Zero Growth of Fertilizer Use by 2020 and the Action Plan for Zero Growth of Pesticide Use by 2020.

Overall, pollution is a significant issue in China that affects both water sources and food safety. The government has implemented various policies to address these issues, but more collaboration between agricultural and environmental agencies, as well as specific policies for pollution-induced food safety, are needed to effectively address the problem.

Climate change and environmental degradation threaten economic growth

China's environmental crisis, the result of decades of rapid industrialization, not only threatens the health and livelihoods of the country's 1.4 billion people but also the global fight against climate change. As the world's largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in recent years, China suffers from notoriously bad air pollution. Its carbon-intensive industries have caused additional environmental challenges, including water scarcity and soil contamination. And, like the rest of the world, China will face increasingly harsh consequences of climate change in the coming decades, including flooding and droughts.

China's economic rise—national gross domestic product (GDP) grew 10 percent on average each year for more than a decade—has greatly accelerated its emissions. In the past ten years, China has emitted more greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, per year than any other country in the world. It surpassed the United States as the top emitter in 2005. Coal, which makes up nearly two-thirds of China's energy consumption, is largely to blame. The country is the world's largest coal producer and accounts for about half of the coal consumed globally.

China's staggering pace of urbanization has also contributed. Urbanization increases energy demands to power new manufacturing and industrial centers, and construction of these centers relies on high energy-consuming products such as cement and steel. Another contributor is the increase in cars on the road: In 2018, people in China owned 240 million vehicles, up from about 27 million in 2004.

Internationally, China is the largest financier of fossil fuel infrastructure. Through its massive Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China has built or is planning to build hundreds of coal-fired power plants in countries around the world. More than 60 percent of BRI-specific energy financing has gone toward nonrenewable resources. Greenhouse gas emissions in more than a dozen BRI countries have soared. Researchers found in 2019 that BRI could drive the global average temperature to increase by 2.7°C, significantly higher than the Paris Agreement's goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C.

Like the rest of the world, China will increasingly suffer over the next few decades from the effects of climate change, which include sea-level rise, stronger storms, and more intense heat waves. China's average temperature and sea levels have risen faster than the global average, according to a 2020 report from China's National Climate Center. Some of China's coastal cities, such as Shanghai, could be submerged if the global average temperature continues to rise. An estimated forty-three million people in China live on land that could be underwater by the end of the century if the global average temperature rises by 2°C.

Additionally, experts predict that China will experience more frequent extreme weather events, such as heavy rainfall. Every year, natural disasters kill hundreds of Chinese people and destroy millions of acres of crops. As temperatures rise, China's glaciers will continue to melt at an alarming rate, which will likely lead to more devastating floods. Extreme heat events and droughts will also become more common.

President Xi Jinping has recognized climate change as one of his administration's top concerns, and Beijing has made a variety of pledges to address it. These include achieving carbon neutrality by 2060, reaching peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030, and having renewable energy sources account for 25 percent of total energy consumption by 2030.

Transitioning from coal to renewable energy is critical to China's efforts, and the country has already made some progress. In 2019, renewables accounted for nearly 15 percent of China's energy mix, compared to 7 percent a decade earlier. China has used hydropower for years, and it is installing more solar panels and wind power generators as the world's leading manufacturer of those technologies. It is also boosting its nuclear power capacity, with seventeen reactors under construction as of mid-2021. Moreover, Beijing and some provinces are incentivizing electric vehicle use. In 2020, 1.37 million so-called new energy vehicles—which include battery electric, plug-in hybrid, and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles—were sold in China, an 11 percent increase from the previous year.

Like the European Union and several other countries, China is working to launch a national emissions trading scheme, which would force polluters to pay for environmental harm and thus incentivize them to reduce their emissions. It would initially focus on coal- and gas-fired power plants. However, the rollout has been delayed since the scheme was first announced in 2017, and many details remain unclear.

Even if China reaches its domestic goals, its financing of nonrenewable energy projects abroad through BRI could make it "much harder for the planet to curb climate change," says American University's Judith Shapiro, coauthor of the book "China Goes Green: Coercive Environmentalism for a Troubled Planet". Beijing has attempted to make BRI more environmentally sustainable by announcing environmental standards, but so far, these have only been voluntary.

China's environmental crisis has had a significant impact on the health of Chinese people. Air pollution contributes to an estimated 1.1 million premature deaths in China annually. Epidemiological studies conducted since the 1980s suggest that poor air quality in northern Chinese cities causes significant health complications, including respiratory, cardiovascular, and cerebrovascular diseases. An estimated sixty thousand people in China die of illnesses caused by water pollution every year.

Moreover, environmental issues cost the economy billions of dollars each year, with some recent estimates putting the toll at up to 10 percent of GDP. The Ministry of Ecology and Environment calculated the cost of pollution to be around 1.5 trillion RMB ($227 billion), or roughly 3.5 percent of GDP, in 2010. (The ministry only releases such figures intermittently.)

The Chinese leadership has developed a five-part strategy to address environmental problems: policy guidance from the center, devolution of power to local governments, cooperation with the international community, the development of grassroots environmentalism, and the enhancement of the legal system.

Pollution and environmental degradation threaten government legitimacy

Pollution and environmental degradation are a threat to the Chinese government's legitimacy, as they are linked to public discontent and protests. The Chinese government has attempted to address these issues, but its efforts have been criticized as inadequate, with local authorities often prioritising economic development over environmental protection.

China's rapid industrialization and urbanization have led to increased pollution and environmental degradation, causing widespread social and health problems. Air pollution, in particular, has become a major public health issue, with fine particulate matter (PM2.5) contributing to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Water pollution and soil contamination are also significant concerns, affecting both human health and agricultural productivity.

The Chinese government has implemented various policies and measures to address these issues, including the signing of the Paris climate accord, renewable energy investments, and the establishment of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE). However, enforcement of environmental laws and regulations has been challenging due to corruption and resistance from powerful industries.

Public awareness and activism regarding environmental issues have increased in China, with citizens organizing protests and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) advocating for greater environmental protection. The government has responded by giving more attention to environmental protection and taking some actions, such as amending the environmental law and investing in renewable energy.

The impact of pollution and environmental degradation on government legitimacy is evident in the link between air pollution and political trust in local governments. Research has shown that exposure to air pollution can lead to a decrease in trust in local governments, which are evaluated based on their performance in improving citizens' economic welfare. Prolonged exposure to air pollution can lower citizens' life satisfaction, evaluation of government performance, and induce adverse health effects, all of which can spark public discontent.

Additionally, environmental issues have economic costs, with pollution estimated to have cost China up to 10% of its GDP in some years. The social and economic impacts of pollution and environmental degradation can undermine the government's legitimacy, particularly in an authoritarian regime like China, where economic success is a key source of political support.

To conclude, pollution and environmental degradation pose a significant threat to the Chinese government's legitimacy by affecting public health, economic welfare, and social stability. The government has implemented policies and taken actions to address these issues, but the effectiveness of these measures remains to be seen.

Pollution increases social unrest

The social unrest caused by pollution is evident in the increasing number of protests against power and chemical plants. In 2005, a riot over a planned power plant in Dongzhou, Guangdong province, resulted in police killing at least three villagers. In 2007, thousands took to the streets of Xiamen, Fujian province, leading to the suspension of a petrochemical plant.

The Chinese government has attempted to address the issue by implementing stricter regulations and shifting the economy towards a more sustainable development track. However, factory owners who violate state guidelines are often protected by local officials, and the absence of protection has further stirred up discontent.

The impact of pollution on social unrest is also reflected in the growing concerns over health and environmental issues. According to the government, two-thirds of China's 595 cities have unhealthy air. Additionally, a 2013 study found that severe pollution during the 1990s reduced the average life expectancy of people in northern China by 5.5 years.

The release of hourly air pollution readings, including measurements of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5), by the Beijing government in 2012 is a sign of responsiveness to the social unrest caused by pollution. This move towards transparency was likely driven by the understanding that the state of the cities' air could have serious repercussions on economic growth, public health, and social stability.

Overall, pollution has had a significant impact on social unrest in China, with the public expressing their anger through various forms of protest and the government struggling to balance economic development with environmental protection.

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