Pollution in China: Peril and Hope x5

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in , at 6/21/2007 12:50:00 AM
Here is a collection of recent news on China's environmental situation. The first three are rather depressing, but the last two show some hopeful signs for the country. You know, you could have your hands filled 24/7 with a blog that covered environmental issues in China alone. Although Gideon Rachman makes the argument that environmental damage hasn't hurt Chinese growth till now so it is doubtful if it will in the future, he ignores the cumulative damage that has already been caused which may lead to a proverbial "tipping point." In any event, I highly recommend the book The River Runs Black by Council on Foreign Relations scholar Elizabeth Economy (great name, by the way) if you are further interested in China's environmental challenges.

As you might have probably read by now as it's been splattered all over the Web like in this piece from Bloomberg, the Danish environmental authority MNP has determined that China surpassed the United States as the world's top greenhouse gas emitter last year. This contrasts with earlier International Energy Agency prognostications that China would surpass the US this year, not last year (I have reproduced the chart above depicting a considerable increase in China's share of world GHG emissions for your viewing pleasure):
In 2006 global CO2 emissions from fossil fuel use increased by about 2.6%, which is less than the 3.3% increase in 2005. The 2.6% increase is mainly due to a 4.5% increase in global coal consumption, of which China contributed more than two-third. China’s 2006 CO2 emissions surpassed those of the USA by 8%. This includes CO2 emissions from industrial processes (cement production). With this, China tops the list of CO2 emitting countries for the first time. In 2005, CO2 emissions of China were still 2% below those of the USA. These figures are based on a preliminary estimate by the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (MNP), using recently published BP (British Petroleum) energy data and cement production data. In the 1990-2006 period global fossil-fuel related CO2 emissions increased over 35%.
Next, China is also seeking to reduce emissions which arise from agricultural activities, though it needs to balance environmental concerns with those of food security for its citizens:
Pressure from global warming is unlikely to change China's policy of maximizing domestic grain production, a prominent climate scientist said, but the country is starting to look at ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from farming.

Water scarcity and extreme weather related to global warming could cut the country's agricultural production capacity by 5 to 10 percent by 2030 if adaptive steps are not taken, according to estimates included in China's Climate Change Assessment.

But Lin Erda, a climate expert at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences who advises the government, said officials were confident their grain goals would not be badly dented.

"The Ministry of Agriculture believes it can find ways to offset that and maintain output levels," Lin told Reuters.

"China can't afford to give up its grains sufficiency goals. We're such a big country -- where can we buy from?

Even if overall output levels are maintained, China's patterns of grain production could change along with shifting water availability and temperatures.

Third, here is an article from China Daily on how major lakes that are sources of drinking water have once again suffered from algal bloom as industrial and agricultural runoff as well untreated sewage have gotten into these bodies of water. If you haven't got an idea of what these outbreaks of algae look like, the picture to the left provides a rather vivid image. We're not talking about your average, ordinary seaweed here but large-scale breakouts of yucky stuff. These outbreaks can debilitate entire marine ecosystems by draining them of oxygen and nutrients:

Huge algae outbreaks again pose a threat to drinking water supply from Taihu and Chaohu, two of China's major freshwater lakes.

Satellite pictures showed blue-green algae covering about a third of both lakes in the country's densely populated east, according to the National Satellite Meteorological Center.

In the 2,400-sq-km Taihu Lake, the country's third largest freshwater lake on the border of Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, about 800 sq km is covered with the fast-growing and foul-smelling green plant.

A large outbreak a few weeks ago contaminated the lake and resulted in the shutdown of tap water to about 2 million residents in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province.

But the latest outbreak has not affected drinking water safety because the algae is found far from the water intake points, said Li Jianqiu, a spokesman with Wuxi utilities bureau…

The nearby city of Changzhou, which uses the Yangtze River as its water source, has also not been affected, said a government spokesperson.

In the 780-sq-km Chaohu Lake in Anhui, China's fifth largest freshwater lake, 280 sq km is carpeted by algae.

Last week, the satellite monitoring system showed that patches of algae had spread over 40 sq km in the lake, a source of drinking water for some 260,000 people...

Zhang Bangguo, an expert with the Chaohu bureau of environmental protection, said excessive nutrients in the lake, including nitrogen and phosphate from fertilizers, industrial runoff and untreated sewage, as well as high temperatures, have provided good conditions for the algae bloom.

Clearly, China needs to find a balance between development and a sustainable environment. After all, that's what sustainable development is all about. One way of killing two birds with one stone is lessening its dependence on export markets and pollution-intensive production. As I have noted elsewhere, export-tax rebates have been used by China in its export policy. These rebates grant refunds for certain taxes based on export performance. China has gradually been lessening the rebates granted to exports from highly polluting industries, and has raised the bar again in this regard:

China will remove or reduce tax rebates on nearly 3,000 export categories, including some metals products, textiles, shoes and other manufactured goods, to help reduce its trade surplus, the Finance Ministry said Tuesday.

The long-anticipated changes could temporarily stem a flood of exports, particularly of steel and aluminum products, that helped widen China's trade surplus to $216.7 billion in the 12 months through May.

"The export tax rebate policy adjustment is an important part of a series of measures to curb export growth and to mitigate the excessive trade surplus problem," the ministry said in an announcement on its Web site.

The rebate changes are expected to have a cooling effect on exports, but "will not have a significant negative impact," it said without elaborating. The changes will take effect starting July 1.

There will be no grace period for most products, except ship sections and some construction equipment, since previous grace periods on export-policy changes resulted in many cases of fraudulent export contracts, the announcement said...

"The trade surplus is not merely an economic issue, it's also a political problem," said Wang Yuanhong, an economist at the State Information Center in Beijing, a unit of the government's top planning agency. "China must adjust its cost of production, including the cost of labor, resources and the environmental impact, to rein in the trade gap."

The U.S. Congress, labor unions and manufacturers have accused China of spurring exports by keeping its currency weak against the dollar and giving rebates.

"It's rare to see so many items changed at once," said a European diplomat in Beijing. He noted that China usually balanced lower rebates on low-end products with higher rebates to encourage exports from higher value-added industries.

China has cut export rebates three times this year. The Chinese tax bureau in April reduced tax breaks on seven products, including stainless steel and cold-rolled coils.

Lastly, the International Herald Tribune features this story on the renewal of the historic Grand Canal in Hangzhou. The measures taken may be emulated elsewhere, to the benefit of China's water quality--especially in major cities:

Until the early 1990s, crews on barges and boats chugging down the 2,400-year-old Grand Canal in China didn't need familiar landmarks to tell them they were approaching the scenic city of Hangzhou.

They could smell it.

"The water was black," said Zhu Jianbai, assistant director of the city government's Grand Canal Restoration and Development Group. "There was no life in it. If you lived beside it, you had to live with the stink."

Effluent from textile and petrochemical factories lining the canal, combined with raw sewage from the surrounding suburbs, had poisoned this section of the world's oldest man-made waterway.

At the time, Hangzhou was in the midst of a gathering economic boom that has since transformed this traditional tourist center into one of China's richest centers. But, this new wealth and a growing sense of civic pride did not sit easily with the foul stretch of canal winding through the city.

"It was an embarrassment," Zhu said.

That shame and a growing realization that the canal could contribute to economic development were the catalyst for a makeover that has seen more than $250 million spent since 2001 on improving water quality and urban renewal along a section of its banks stretching for 39 kilometers, or 24 miles.

There is no deadline for finishing the cleanup and restoration work, but Zhu estimates that the final cost will reach about $2.5 billion.

Walkways and parkland now line sections of the canal, and some of China's most expensive apartment buildings have sprung up in what has become prime real estate. Water taxis connect historic piers and bridges along the winding route through the city where old shop houses and tenements are now being restored.

The canal does not smell, and small fish swim between the pylons supporting cargo wharves.

For a growing number of activists campaigning for the preservation of the 1,794-kilometer canal and its many cultural and historical sites, this success is an important step in reversing almost two centuries of neglect, during which long sections of the waterway that links Hangzhou with the capital, Beijing, were abandoned or fell into disrepair.

"We can borrow from this experience," said Zhu Bingren, a well-known Hangzhou artist who with fellow activists has called on the central and local governments to develop a comprehensive strategy for rehabilitating the canal. "It can't be copied for every city, but a lot of experts are generally satisfied with Hangzhou's method."