China declares war

At the start of the National People’s Congress, the Chinese government announced a substantial increase in their military spending and now, officials have declared war – that is, against pollution. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang himself has acknowledged that pollution has become a very big problem in his country and is threatening GDP growth, not to mention the lives of citizens.

Out of 74 cities monitored by China’s Environmental Protection Ministry, 71 have failed to meet air quality standards, with Beijing described by environmental scientists as “almost unfavorable for human living.” The terrible smog across many cities is being blamed for premature deaths in China estimated at half a million every year, according to an article in the Lancet medical journal, with reports that Chinese life expectancy has been reduced by an average of 5.5 years due to the air pollution, a lot of it coming from millions of vehicles spewing toxic fumes as well as the thousands of small coal-fired power plants scattered in many cities all over the country.

Authorities are threatening “harsher punishment” for violators, but they are also offering incentives totaling $1.6 billion to cities and regions that show significant progress in the fight against pollution. Aside from lower energy consumption, the government is looking at alternative energy sources and has disclosed plans to shut down 50,000 small coal-fired furnaces. Unfortunately, it seems that another plan to combat air pollution is to outsource the smog by transferring the power plants to the western regions in China, mostly inhabited by minorities – with the reports triggering outrage from residents.

The fact is, China has been “exporting” the pollution to Asian countries as well as the US West Coast, with reports saying as much as 24 percent of sulfate concentrations in America came from China. That’s definitely one Chinese product nobody wants to buy. –Babe G. Romualdez (The Philippine Star)