Introduction
Recent years have been marked by increased effects of pollution and the growing harmful impact of humans’ activities on the planet. Since people are now paying attention to pollution, scientists and activists have started searching for effective ways to reduce its level and adverse influence on nature, animals, and humans themselves. During the last years, environmental degradation in China has been becoming more and more severe, and industrial agglomeration is contributing to this issue (Chen et al., 2013). Pollution emissions in China have an extremely negative effect on the whole planet and play one of the primary roles in the adverse state of air and water. However, it is believed that if people and government are more aware and involved, it will be possible to improve the situation to some extent. Although some persons state that the recently adopted strategies are insufficient and do not improve the difficult situation, research shows that the efforts of residents and the government of China are actually effective.
Pollution Emissions in China and Solutions
To begin with, the state of China’s environment is truly devastating and alarming. Reports show that solid waste emissions, wastewater, dust, smoke, and other harmful factors greatly contribute to the overall pollution of nature (Liu & Lin, 2019). People are exposed to sulfur dioxide (SO₂) emissions (Jin et al., 2016), and in some villages, residents still use coal ovens, which has a significant impact on the overall level of air pollution in the country (Yu, 2018). According to Zhang et al. (2019), “increased industrial agglomeration across China has significantly worsened environmental pollution” (25775). Therefore, the country and its residents are in a very tricky and challenging situation: the development of China leads to harmful effects on worldwide nature.
Thankfully, the seriousness of the situation has not been left without consideration. According to researchers, “the Chinese government has formulated a series of environmental policies and regulations aimed at improving environmental quality” (Zhang et al., 2019, p. 25775). For example, in 2013, the Air Pollution Action Plan was released by the government to help the nation significantly improve air quality and address the alarming trends. What is more, according to Jin et al. (2016), from 2006 to 2012, “the national goal of reducing total sulfur dioxide (SO₂) emissions by 10% was achieved” (p. 1219). Consequently, small results add to more global changes, and the 10% decrease is a significant win.
What is more, citizens of China are also becoming more involved. Those who have personally experienced the negative effects of environmental pollution are now more aware and have developed pro-environmental behaviors, which is another positive sign (Chen et al., 2013). Further, as noticed by Vennemo et al. (2020), “China is able to contain, and to some extent improve, air and water quality” (para. 1). Therefore, though the situation is alarming and threatening, the Chinese government and citizens are not indifferent to the state of their environment and are trying to improve it with rulings and better attitudes.
However, some researchers and ordinary people do not believe in China’s ability to solve the problem in the nearest future. While many scientists evaluate the effectiveness of previous and current Chinese measures and encourage the country’s authorities and residents to be more active (Vennemo et al., 2020), some people focus on the negative aspects of the state’s strategy. For example, as noticed earlier in the paper, in some Chinese villages, people use coal ovens for cooking food and staying warm (Yu, 2018). In 2017, the government of China made a decision to convert houses to natural gas. Coal ovens were confiscated, and gas systems were installed, and since then, about four million Chinese households have started using gas (Yu, 2018). However, some people are not satisfied with such a measure – they say that, instead of addressing a more pressing factor, which is pollution from factories and power plants, the government decided to focus on an insignificant issue.
This opinion is valuable because everyone is concerned with worldwide pollution and wants China to improve its situation as soon as possible. However, before judging the outlined governmental decision and saying that it is not very sufficient, it is vital to see the whole picture. As noticed by Yu (2018), precisely coal dust was one of the primary contributors to air pollution. In many villages, the streets were black, and people could not breathe properly because of the necessity to store and use great amounts of coal. At the same time, “transitioning to cleaner fuels cut the average person in China’s exposure to PM2.5 — the most dangerous particles contained in air pollution — by 47 percent” (Yu, 2018, para. 9). Thus, the decision to convert most households to gas is actually efficient.
Conclusion
To draw a conclusion, one may say that China is not the only country that had accidentally let pollution become uncontrolled. It is also not the only state that greatly contributes to the adverse condition of the planet. However, current policies and behaviors matter more than the previous attitudes. The Chinese government is now more involved in the situation and is trying to improve it with the introduction of new effective acts and rulings. Despite the fact that a number of past interventions did not appear to be useful, and some current strategies eliminate one symptom and contribute to another, China is on the right way to reducing the levels of air pollution. As stated earlier in the paper, since many acts and methods are actually very efficient, if China continues addressing the environmental state, it will be possible to stop its degradation.
References
Chen, X., Peterson, M. N., Hull, V., Lu, C., Hong, D., & Liu, J. (2013). How perceived exposure to environmental harm influences environmental behavior in urban China. AMBIO, 42, 52–60.
Jin, Y., Henrik, A., & Shiqiu, Z. (2016). Air pollution control policies in China: A retrospective and prospects. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 13(12), 1219. Web.
Liu, K., & Lin, B. (2019). Research on influencing factors of environmental pollution in China: A spatial econometric analysis. Journal of Cleaner Production, 206, 356-364.
Vennemo, H., Aunan, K., Lindhjem, H., & Seip, H. M. (2020). Environmental pollution in China: Status and trends. Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, 3(2).
Yu, K. (2018). The good news (and not so good news) about China’s smoggy air. National Public Radio. Web.
Zhang, K., Xu, D., & Li, S. (2019). The impact of environmental regulation on environmental pollution in China: An empirical study based on the synergistic effect of industrial agglomeration. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 26, 25775–25788.