1.0 Introduction
Within this report, it will be discussing on the third article titled “Can China clean up fast enough?” as well as the implication on two main theories, which are environment theory and social performance theory. China has been identified as the worst world polluter as it consumes 40-45% of the world’s coal, copper, steel, nickel, aluminum and zinc due to the scale and speed of China’s development (The Economist, 2013). China’s consumption pattern to support the development of the industries has impacted on a very bad air pollution in China especially Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei that have always been China’s most air polluted region (Greenpeace East Asia, 2014).
The breach in corporate social responsibility indentified in this case is the country's rapid growth in coal consumption has been brought on by extensive industrial expansion, which in turn, has increased pressure on the environment and public health conditions. Besides, government also fails in responding to the protest given by activist by jailing anyone voicing his or her opinion against the government’s industrialization policies. Moreover, negative impact from China’s rapid industrialization is not only felt by local population but it is also affecting globally resulting on global warming. Lastly, China simply cannot afford to allow air pollution to continue taking such a heavy toll and is taking action to control the emissions by turning around the deteriorating air conditions through various means, such as changing its fundamental on development model and starting with a significant reduction in coal consumption which depends on the support of the western countries as it is in the interest of all for China to reduce their global emissions (Greenpeac...
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The Economist. 2013. The East it greys. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21583245-china-worlds-worst-polluter-largest-investor-green-energy-its-rise-will-have. [Accessed 19 June 14]
The Economist. 2013. Can China clean up fast enough? [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21583277-worlds-biggest-polluter-going-green-it-needs-speed-up-transition-can-china. [Accessed 19 June 14].
Traore, K, et all. 2012. Assessing Health Risks at Hazardous Waste Sites. The World’s Worst Pollution Problems, [Online]. 2, 5. Available at: http://www.worstpolluted.org/files/FileUpload/files/2012%20WorstPolluted.pdf [Accessed 19 June 2014].
Wynn, G. 2014. Growth in China’s carbon emissions has halved. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.rtcc.org/2014/03/24/growth-in-chinas-carbon-emissions-has-halved/. [Accessed 19 June 14].
In order to understand why China is in such environmental difficulties we need to understand why the lifestyles of people in Europe and the US could be to blame. The first area to consider is the environmental issues that China is currently suffering with. Once this is established I can assert what impact the US and Europe has in relation to these issues and what actually causes them. In linking the events it will be easier to see the chain of events. To do this I am going to work backwards and understand the issues that exist within China and then secondly what they are a result of. This will give me the background of why China’s environmental issues have become so dire.
Examine, The World May Have Hit Peak Carbon Emission, document E, which talks about how there is a chance that we may be on our way to lowering carbon dioxide emissions, but the future of climate change lies in the hands of China’s and India’s growth and how they plan on fueling their growth. It also depends on the national leaders that signed the Paris climate agreement and whether they plan on upholding their part of the agreement through the years. The author of the paper Fast Company describes the unpredictable future by saying “Even if emissions were to peak soon, global emissions would still take years to decline substantively. An acceleration in the transformation of energy use and production is needed.” This shows that even though nations are finally coming to the reality of climate change and are planning on taking action with the treaty,
Hildebrant, Timothy . "Environmentalists cry 'fore!' in China." csmonitor.com. 16 Jul 2003. the Christian Science Monitor. 12 Apr. 2005 .
American economist, Rostow through his ‘Stages of Economic Development’ demonstrates that economies may ignore environmental quality in their quest for growth. This notion is true in China, with government and private firms using unsustainable practices in order to maximise globalisation opportunities. China suffers mostly from chronic air and water pollution caused by both the demand for energy (i.e. coal mines) as well as the process of manufacturing. This effect on the Chinese economy is quantified through China’s emissions, which in 2010, was 8,286 million metric tonnes, 35% higher than the next uppermost emitter, the United States. China is also home to 16 out of 20 most polluted cities in the world. Consequences for not cleaning up the environment will not just be a health crisis but an economic one. The Chinese government is now recognising and addressing the environmental problems which have occurred due to both rapid economic growth and industrialisation. It has set targets which aim at reducing pollution levels with $6.6b committed in spending in order to achieve such targets. Such examples include investment in nuclear power instead of coal, hydroelectricity (i.e. Three Gorges Dam) as well as new stringent environmental laws. It is hoped that new regulations and investment will lead the way for renewable energy and a sustainable
Desertification has consistently haunted Chinese climatic history. However, recent evidence suggests that the Chinese might have a little more on their hands than the global climate change experienced by generations before them. While global warming and climate change are a world concern, the Chinese have an invested interest in combating the desert destruction of their capital city. If these methods prove futile and anthropogenic forces accelerate desertification, then Beijing could be the first victim in the battle against global warming.
Wong, Edward. "China’s Plan to Curb Air Pollution Sets Limits on Coal Use and Vehicles." 12 September 2013. New York Times. 18 November 2013.
China has overtaken Germany as the world’s top exporter of goods, which marks another breakthrough in China’s rise to the top and its ever growing economic influence. As China’s export rates rise to the highest in the world, so does its pollution. Judith Shapiro, the director of the Masters in Natural Resources and Sustainable Development for the School of International Service at American University, states that with “20 of the World’s 30 most polluted cities [residing] in China” it is an easy task to see the severity of pollution (Sharpiro). In order to rise to its high economic position China’s government ignores pollution regulations, allowing the release of waste into the air and water to skyrocket. Lee Liu, Associate Professor of Geography at the University of Central Missouri, discusses that pollution has increased to the point where it has caused “459 cancer villages across 29 of China’s 31 provincial units” (9). Cancer villages are small communities near pollution creating factories where cancer rates have soared far above the national average. Most one the 459 cancer villages remain unofficially reported, due to the Chinese government not wanting to own up to its own pollution issues. China’s lack of environmental law enforcement is the reason for its large increase of water and air pollution, which is the cause of the cancer villages.
Morris, D., 2009. Feeding China. In: T. O. University, ed. U116 Environment: journeys through a changing world, Block 5, 'Changing China'. Milton Keynes: The Open University.
(9) Liu, L. -., Wu, G., Wang, J. -., & Wei, Y. China's carbon emissions from urban and rural households during 1992-2007. Journal of Cleaner Production, 19(15), 1754-1762. (2011).
China’s economy is one very large indicator of its role in globalization. “In 2010 China became the world’s largest exporter” (CIA World Factbook). Without China many places such as the United States of America would be without billions of goods imported from China annually. An influx of companies moving their manufacturing to China has allowed people to flock to cities and find jobs. China’s economy has grown exponentially over the last few decades. In the last three years China’s economy has grown by nearly ten percent every year. Despite this influx of money to China it has also resulted in many drawbacks. For example, China’s environment has been obliterated. China burns more coal than every country in the world combined. Beijing has been so badly polluted that there are actually companies that sell cans of fresh air to people, and gas masks are a common sight. On January 12th 2013 Beijing’s air pollution reached a record setting 775 PPM. To put that into perspective, the scale for measuring pollution is 0-500 PPM. This set an all-time recorded high. In Los Angeles a high ...
However, China accounts for 33% of the worlds Greenhouse gas emissions, mainly arising as a result of rapid urbanisation and industrialisation, and the deforestation that occurs in its wake. China is also suffering from desertification, coastal reclamation and severe climate change as are result of their long time blasé attitude towards environmental issues. While the Chinese Government now do acknowledge that environmental oversight has occurred, strict censorship within China deprives outsiders of receiving the full story of the environmental calamity that is occurring within China. Citizens within China are becoming increasingly concerned with governmental policy that regards further unnecessary degradation of the environment. A retired party official revealed that there had been 50,000 environmental protests within China in 2012 alone. China has amended numerous government acts and implemented strict new regulations in an attempt to curb pollution and Greenhouse gas production. However, the problem China faces cannot be swept under the 'bureaucratic rug' so to speak. The problem rests with the lack of an alternative clean energy to the fossil fuels currently used to fuel China's resource hungry industry. China has implemented numerous 'real world' measures to reduce environmental impact. Perhaps the most well known of these projects is 'Green Wall of China', which is a 4,500 km green strip of
It’s become a common sight to behold. In other cities, popular must have fashion items include scarves, sunglasses and perhaps a striking pair of shoes. In Beijing however, surgeon masks have been “in style” for years and more recently more people have been sporting a can of fresh air; from Canada. The pollution has gotten so bad that people are willing to pay as much as 22.95 U.S dollars for a 10-liter bottle of “Pure Premium Oxygen’. “[The] first shipment of 500 bottles of fresh air were sold in four days,” said co-founder Moses Lam to the Telegraph. The government has faced increased domestic and international pressure to address the situation. Throughout the years, China’s industrialization and economic boom has brought millions of people out of poverty and skyrocketed their economy to first place, but in doing so, their environment has been seriously damaged. A new poll done by Gallup shows that 57% of Chinese adults believed that protection of the environment should be given top priority even at risk of slowing economic growth.
Vidal, J., & Adam, D. (2007, June 19). China overtakes US as world's biggest CO2 emitter. The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2007/jun/19/china.usnews
The environment is far from protected in countries like India and China. Pollution which is a commonly large factor in both the countries is present in every aspect of nature and the main concern being the change in mentality about urbanisation and industrialisation in people’s minds. To add to the pollution issue both these countries deal with several environmental problems which caused pollution problem in their regions. The three main problems faced by India and China are Deforestation, Industrial Air Pollution and Industrial Water Pollution. The common factor causing these problems are industries in their respective country. Both countries produce goods on a large scale which determine and explain the pollution problem.
"China Plans to Regulate Some of Its Carbon Emissions for the First Time Ever." Smithsonian. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2014.