Air Pollution In China: Understanding The Main Causes

Air pollution is a pressing issue in China, threatening the health of its citizens and the economy. China is the world's most populous country, with a population of 1.4 billion in 2019, and a large fraction of Chinese emissions are due to the manufacturing of goods for foreign consumption. The country's rapid economic growth, population growth, and increase in manufacturing outputs have led to a drastic increase in air pollutants, with measurable amounts of Chinese pollution being transported via the atmosphere to other countries. The combustion of fossil fuels, particularly coal, has contributed significantly to this issue, along with vehicle emissions, industrial pollution, and household solid fuel usage.

Population growth

China is the world's most populous country, with a population of approximately 1.4 billion people as of 2019. The country's rapid population growth, particularly in large cities like Beijing and Shanghai, has significantly contributed to air pollution.

The increasing population has led to a greater demand for consumer goods, vehicles, and energy. This, in turn, has resulted in a higher combustion of fossil fuels, specifically coal, which is the largest source of air pollutants in China. About 66% of China's power is produced by coal, and in 2014, the country's coal usage was higher than the rest of the world combined. The burning of coal releases harmful pollutants such as carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10). These pollutants have severe health impacts, including respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, and contribute to the approximately 2 million deaths in China attributed to air pollution annually.

The population boom in Chinese cities has also exacerbated soil pollution. The State Environmental Protection Administration considers this a threat to the environment, food safety, and sustainable agriculture. An estimated 38,610 square miles (100,000 square kilometres) of China's cultivated land has been polluted, impacting one-tenth of the country's arable land. Additionally, water resources are strained due to increased demand, and water pollution is a significant issue, with industrial discharges rendering many waterways unfit for direct human use.

Furthermore, the population density in cities like Beijing contributes to higher vehicle emissions, which are a significant source of air pollution. Beijing, for example, has 3.3 million registered vehicles, with an additional 1200 being added daily. Vehicle emissions, particularly from older models without modern emission-reducing technology, release pollutants such as PM2.5, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and carbon monoxide. While China has implemented stricter emission standards for vehicles, the sheer number of cars on the road continues to impact air quality.

The combination of population growth, urbanisation, and economic development has created a complex challenge for China in managing air pollution. While the country has taken steps to improve air quality, balancing economic growth with environmental and social welfare remains a significant endeavour.

Manufacturing outputs

China's economic boom has been accompanied by a large increase in manufacturing outputs, which has contributed significantly to the country's air pollution. Fossil-fuel-intensive manufacturing, large manufacturing volumes, and weak emission controls have resulted in China emitting a vast number of pollutants. The burning of fossil fuels, primarily coal, has drastically increased air pollutants such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, black carbon, and primary organic carbon.

China's manufacturing sector plays a significant role in producing goods for export, which has led to a notable increase in air pollutants. In 2006, 36% of anthropogenic sulfur dioxide, 27% of nitrogen oxides, 22% of carbon monoxide, and 17% of black carbon emitted in China were associated with the production of goods for export. The outsourcing of manufacturing to China by other countries, such as the United States, has resulted in a net increase in global emissions. Atmospheric modelling has shown that the transport of export-related Chinese pollution contributes significantly to surface sulfate concentrations and ozone levels in other regions.

The immense urban growth of Chinese cities has substantially increased the demand for consumer goods, vehicles, and energy. This, in turn, has led to a higher combustion of fossil fuels, resulting in smog and fine particulate matter in the air. These pollutants pose a severe threat to the health of Chinese citizens, causing respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.

China's rapid economic growth and industrialisation have resulted in a transition from a net importer to a large net exporter of energy-intensive industrial products. The energy required to support this transformation has predominantly come from the combustion of fossil fuels, particularly coal, contributing to increased emissions of carbon dioxide and other harmful pollutants.

To summarise, China's increasing manufacturing outputs have significantly contributed to air pollution through fossil fuel combustion, weak emission controls, and the production of goods for export. These factors have led to heightened levels of harmful pollutants, threatening the health and well-being of Chinese citizens and impacting the global environment.

Coal power plants

The combustion of coal releases harmful pollutants into the atmosphere, including particulate matter (PM2.5), sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and carbon monoxide (CO). These pollutants have severe impacts on human health, leading to respiratory infections, heart disease, lung cancer, and other serious illnesses.

China's construction of new coal-power plants reached a 10-year high in 2024, with 94.5 gigawatts (GW) of new coal-power capacity started and 3.3GW of suspended projects resumed. This expansion solidifies coal's place as a major source of electricity in China and poses a challenge to the country's climate commitments to reduce coal use.

While China has implemented large-scale environmental regulations to address air pollution from coal-fired power plants, including the Emission Standard of Air Pollution for Coal-fired Power Plants, more efforts are needed to transition away from coal and towards cleaner energy sources. The COVID-19 lockdown period provided evidence that coal-fired power plants were still contributing significantly to air pollution, as levels of PM2.5, SO2, and NOx remained relatively high despite the cessation of most economic activities.

The continued operation of coal-fired power plants during the pandemic and the resurgence in the construction of new coal-fired power plants underscore the need for further action to reduce coal's dominance in China's energy mix and improve air quality for the health and well-being of its citizens.

Vehicle emissions

China has been the world's largest vehicle market since 2009, and the vehicle industry has become an increasingly significant contributor to the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). However, this rapid development of the vehicle industry has also had a detrimental impact on air quality. Vehicle emissions have become a significant source of air pollution in China's cities, with researchers identifying vehicle emissions as one of the most important contributors to air pollution on both regional and national scales.

One of the main issues is the consumption of a large amount of fossil fuels by vehicles, which has been identified as a primary contributor to air pollution in China. The combustion of fossil fuels, particularly coal, in vehicle engines releases harmful pollutants into the atmosphere. Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH), the Yangtze River Delta (YRD), and the Pearl River Delta (PRD), China's most advanced industrial zones and densely populated regions, are under unprecedented pressure to mitigate vehicle emissions and improve regional air quality.

To address this challenge, the Chinese government has implemented various strategies and plans to reduce on-road vehicular pollution. For example, a fuel tax was imposed in 2009, and pilot subsidies for new energy vehicles (NEVs) were introduced in some regions in 2010. Additionally, the Air Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan (APPCAP) issued in 2013 promoted the use of substitute fuel vehicles in bus fleets and aimed to limit the number of vehicles. More recently, in 2022, the 14th Five-Year Plan for Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction outlined emission reduction projects in the transportation sector, including increasing NEV sales and implementing stricter emission standards for automobiles.

While these efforts are a step in the right direction, more comprehensive measures may be needed to address the scale of the problem effectively. This includes understanding the barriers in the vehicle industry and developing sustainable policies and regulations to manage vehicle-induced air pollution. Additionally, the integration of social participation, technical revolution, and regulatory innovation in vehicles, fuel, and roads can help break the stalemate between air pollution and the automobile boom in China.

Industrial pollution

A 1997 World Bank report on China's policy towards industrial pollution stated that "hundreds of thousands of premature deaths and incidents of serious respiratory illness have been caused by exposure to industrial air pollution". The report also acknowledged the environmental regulations and industrial reforms that have had some effect, and it predicted that continued environmental reforms were likely to significantly reduce industrial pollution.

China's ozone concentration has risen steadily, with 42.4% of cities exceeding the national secondary ozone standard of 160 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m3) in the first half of 2023. This is mainly due to carbon-intensive industries, which are also referred to as "two high" industries due to their high carbon emissions and high air pollution. The top three industrial emitters of nitrogen oxides, which contribute to ozone pollution, are power and heat generation and supply, non-metallic mineral products, and ferrous metal smelting and rolling.

In addition to ozone pollution, industrial pollution in China has also led to an increase in soil pollution. According to the State Environmental Protection Administration, 38,610 square miles (100,000 km2) of China's cultivated land has been polluted, with contaminated water being used to irrigate a further 31.5 million square miles (21,670 km2). An estimated 6 million tonnes of food grain are contaminated by heavy metals each year, resulting in direct losses of $2.57 billion.

Furthermore, industrial pollution has caused long-term health risks to residents in neighbouring villages. An article in The Lancet raised serious health and social concerns about the link between soaring cancer rates in certain villages and air and water pollution from nearby industries.

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