Proceso de administración

Development

Jing   Zhang

Introduction

Rapid economic growth enhanced by the expansion of industrial produc- tion and consumption has had a signifi cant eff ect on pollution in China. Th e high level of air pollution leading to thick smog in many cities has led to an unprecedented number of environmental crises, which have forced the government and the new leader Xi Jinping to make environmen- tal protection their top priority. According to the China Environment Bulletin 2013 published by the Ministry of Environmental Protection

J. Zhang ()

School of Contemporary Chinese Studies , University of Nottingham , Nottingham , UK

e-mail: [email protected]

Research funding from the British Academy (SG110318) is gratefully acknowledged. Parts of the chapter come from Chaps 6 and 13 in J. Zhang (2014) Foreign Direct Investment , Governance , and the Environment in China : Regional Dimensions (Palgrave Macmillan), reproduced with

(MEP, 2014), China had an average of 35.9 smog days in 2013, the highest level since 1961. Some cities in Central and Eastern regions had on average 50–100 days of smog a year, others experienced more than this. Th e surrounding Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area experienced high air pollution on more than 60% of days on average. Among the 320 cities at prefecture level and above, 74 cities fi rstly adopted the new Air Quality Standards in 2013. However, only three cities (4.1%), namely Haikou, Zhoushan, and Lasa, met the new standards, while 69.5% of the other 256 cities met the old standards that do not measure PM 2.5 . 1

In April 2013, Th e New York Times published fi ndings from a study con-

ducted by the University of Washington, the World Health Organization (WHO), and several other universities which showed that in 2010 out- door air pollution contributed to 1.2 million premature deaths in China, about 40 % of the global total of premature deaths from air pollution. 2 Th is fi gure is three times higher than estimated in 2007 when it was pre- dicted, in a study carried out by the World Bank and the Chinese State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA), the predecessor to the MEP, that between 350,000 and 400,000 people would die prematurely in China each year due to outdoor air pollution.

Th e condition of water quality is also challenging in China. Th e 2013 Environment Bulletin showed that surface water is lightly polluted and some river stream segments in cities are heavily polluted. 3 _{Th e quality of} groundwater is cause for concern as 59.6 % of 4,778 monitoring sites are polluted or heavily polluted. Water pollution has also been a source of pub- lic anger after a series of scandals, including a leak of chemical aniline into a river in Shanxi Province, the incident in which 20,000 dead pigs were found in the Huangpu River, and the red well water incident in Hebei Province.

According to a joint report from the World Bank and the Chinese government in 2007, the health costs of air and water pollution account

1 _{China’s current air quality standards (GB3095-1996) were published in 1996 and revised in 2000.}

Th e updated standards (GB3095-2012) has been fi rstly adopted in 74 cities since 2013 and extended to all cities in 2016. Th e new standards include the standard of concentration of PM 2.5 ,

which refers to tiny pollutant particles smaller than 2.5 microns that can penetrate deep into the lungs and blood stream and hence cause serious health problems, such as heart attacks and prema- ture death.

2 _{Wong, “Air Pollution.”}

for 4.3 % of China’s national gross domestic product (GDP) and the total cost of air and water pollution is about 5.8 % of GDP. 4 _According to the Chinese Environmental and Economic Accounting Report made by the MEP and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the total envi- ronmental cost, measured by the cost of environmental degradation and losses from ecological destruction, was about RMB1391.62 billion (about $204 billion) in 2009, equivalent to 3.8 % of that year’s GDP. 5 Th e report also shows that poor regions are disproportionately aff ected by pollution and environmental degradation and usually have a vulnerable ecological system.

Whilst China’s recent annual GDP growth has remained at about 8 %, the above estimations of the costs of economic growth indicate that the real growth would be 4 % or less, even negative, after off setting pol- lution related losses, such as damages to natural resources, associated health problems, damages to agriculture and industry, and other negative impacts to the economy and society. Th erefore, the costs incurred by the current levels of pollution, as well as the serious environmental issues, mean that it is no longer viable for China to continue its current system of economic growth.

Th ere have been numerous theoretical and empirical studies that examine the relationship between economic growth and pollution. Th e theory of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) suggests an inverted relationship between pollution and economic growth, indicating that when income increases, pollution initially grows, reaches a peak, and then falls. 6 _{Severe air pollution has tended to occur during periods of} rapid industrialization such as in early 20th century London (the UK), the Meuse Valley (Belgium), and St. Louis and Donora (both in the USA). Air quality in these countries subsequently improved with further economic development. Does it mean that the turning point of pollu- tion will be achieved automatically if China simply focuses on economic

4 _{Th e World Bank and Th e Government of the People’s Republic of China, “Cost of Pollution.”} 5 _{Latest news of environmental and economic accounting reports can be found at the website of the}

MEP’s Chinese Academy for Environmental Planning. CAEP, “Environmental and economic accounting reports.”

development, without paying special attention to the environment itself? Th e answer is an unequivocal ‘no’.

In London, for example, stricter environmental regulations, such as the City of London Act (1954) and the Clean Air Acts (1956 and 1968), were implemented after the Great Smog in 1952 to reduce air pollu- tion. Financial incentives were also provided to encourage householders to change to central heating, using gas, electricity, or other fuel. Policy intervention at an earlier stage of development is crucial as it could bring the turning point of the EKC forward and at a lower level of accumulated environmental cost. In order to achieve sustainable development there must be no delay in carrying out environmental protection and pollution treatment. 7 _{Th e current environmental crisis has forced the new lead-} ers led by Xi Jinping to rethink air pollution and its future economic development model. Chinese economic reform since 1978 has gener- ated a previously unimaginable scale of wealth. In 2010, China overtook Japan to become the second largest economy in the world which marked the success of its economic reforms. It is predicted that China’s nominal GDP will exceed that of the United States by 2020. 8 _{Th erefore, its great} wealth and the present stage of its development enable China to put greater focus on environmental protection, as was done in other devel- oped countries such as the UK and the USA.

China’s new leaders have vowed to make the environment a top prior- ity. In March 2014, Premier Li Keqiang said that they would wage ‘war against pollution and fi ght it with the same determination [that they] battled poverty’. 9 _{China will ‘take strong measures to strengthen pollution} prevention and control’ and will ‘fully implement the plan for preventing and controlling air pollution, with the focus on mega cities and regions with frequent occurrence of smog’. Some steps have already been taken. Th e Action Plan on Prevention and Control of Air Pollution was issued by the State Council in September 2013 followed by the Trial Assessment Methods for the Implementation of the Action Plan published in May 2014; the Environmental Protection Law was revised and promulgated in

7 _{Zhang, Foreign Direct Investment , 47.} 8 _{Yao and Zhang, “Chinese Economy 2010.”} 9 _{Li, “Work of Government Report.”}

April 2014; Beijing announced its investment of RNB760 billion (about $121.5 billion) to improve the city’s air quality by 2017; and action plans on soil and water pollution will soon be introduced. Th ese signalled an intensifi ed eff ort by the top leaders to protect the environment.

Heavy reliance on burning fossil fuels in industrial production and transportation has been the major source of air pollution in China, while industrial production and household usage have contributed to water pollution. Li Keqiang pointed out that improving the industrial infra- structure and raising energy effi ciency are crucial to reduce pollution emissions. However, how does China achieve visible improvement in the environment over the next decade? What are the challenges in chang- ing the industrial infrastructure and implementing stricter environmen- tal regulations? How does China strike the balance between economic growth and environmental protection? Th is chapter provides some policy recommendations on sustainable development in China over the coming decade under Xi Jinping’s leadership through analysing the challenges the country faces and the reasons behind them. Due to the scale of the topic, this chapter will focus on issues related to industrial infrastructure and the implementation of environmental regulations.

First, I introduce energy effi ciency and environmental quality as it relates to China; this is followed by the achievement’s of the country regarding environmental protection in the fi rst decade of the 21st cen- tury. I then examine the challenges of environmental protection and analyse the reasons for ineffi ciency in implementing environmental regu- lations. I then provide some suggestions on the way to balance economic growth and environmental protection.