How successful is China at solving its environmental problems?

Environmental problems refer to the degradation and pollution of: air such as
sand storm and dust; land such as desertification, infertile soil and soil
erosion; water such as poisoned rivers and streams; depletion of resources
such as timer and coal; and fresh water supply. China has not been
successful to a large extent because despite many progresses made and
innovations designed at resolving its environmental woes, continued
unbridled economic growth, corruption and lack of respect for the rule of law
are reasons why Chinas success remained limited.
The Chinese government has displayed great political determination at
improving the environmental conditions of the country. This is related to
sustaining the political legitimacy of the country and the promotion of its
international image. Hu Jintao in the Seventeenth Party Congress in year
2008 has called for due attention to be paid to the environment as China
progresses. Hus scientific concept of development too stressed the need
to develop the economy in an environmentally friendly manner. The Green
GDP was implemented to assess local officials not only on their performance
at promoting the economy but also their efforts at protecting the
environment. China was able to ensure that Beijings sky stays clear and
remove tones of algae from the coasts of Qingdao prior to the 2008 Olympics
Games. The 2010 Shanghai Expo is designed to be a showcase for Chinas
achievements in the green technology. Chinese ministries have been
considering the implementation of an environmental tax to cut down on
pollution level.
Drastic measures undertaken to ensure environmental conservation have
attained some successes. To stem the momentum of desertification and soil
erosion leading to floods, Premier Zhu Rongji banned logging of old trees.
Huge programs at reforestation and reconstruction of lakes were also
embarked. High-sulphur coals are heavily taxed to discourage their usage.
Manufacturing and distribution of thinned plastic bags were banned in China.
The Water Pollution Law is drawn up to severely punish companies
responsible for water contamination. Dams are built to prevent floods and to
exploit hydro-power to generate electricity for regional needs.
Resources have also been poured into the research and development of
technologies that could solve Chinas environmental woes. China is the
worlds largest investor in developing eco-friendly alternative and renewable
energies. Bold initiatives are made by the government and public businesses
to harness wind and solar power for industrial and home usage. Pacts signed
with countries like Singapore to build eco-cities and ecologically-friendly
industrial parks. State-of-art green lungs are designed and constructed
around the Beijing city. Government subsidized and supported the
proliferation of privately-owned green technology industries. In 2010,

Chinese company, Suntech, is already the worlds largest manufacturer of

solar panels.
Governments efforts at educating the public on being environmental
consciousness have achieved some success. Advertisements and other
programs launched on the media strived to encourage its audience to be
more environmentally friendly in their lifestyle. Celebrities became role
models to Chinese youths in the countrys bid to promote environmental
awareness. Surveys have shown that more Chinese, as compared with the
Americans, are willing to sacrifice some comforts of modern living in order to
protect the environment. More NGOs are formed each year to monitor and
highlight concerns of victims suffering from pollution.
Despite efforts of the government, China is still home to some of the worlds
most polluted cities and waterways. According to the WHO, China has seven
of the ten most-polluted cities in the world. Acid rain continues to fall on
about 30% of Chinas total land area. Chinas water is polluted also by the
disposal of large quantities of organic and toxic waste form households,
agriculture and industry. Water pollution has led to severe water shortages in
some provinces. This is evident in the 2008 Olympics where guaranteed
fresh water supply to Beijing has resulted in drought around the capitals
surrounding countryside. Cancer villages are dotted along the polluted
rivers of the inland provinces. Rural unrests caused by resentment against
environmental contamination are commonplace.
Instances of environmental degradation continue as the annual double-digit
Chinese economic growth raises energy consumption and churns out more
polluting industries. Hu has mentioned in the Seventeenth Party Congress
that despite needs for a holistic national development, China must continue
to sustain its high economic growth. Such has served to defeat any ongoing
attempts at improving the countrys environmental conditions. Given the
governments current drive to hasten industrialization into inland China,
residents living in the Pearl River Delta suffered from air pollution every day.
Quality of air remained poor in major developed cities such as Guangzhou.
Large tracts of land were also deforested in Southwestern China each year to
give way to factories, recreational sites and farmlands.
Environmental problems are also exacerbated by rampant corruption and
widespread disregard for the rule of law. Private businessmen and
industrialists are able to circumvent environmental laws, so as to cut down
costs of production, through bribing the relevant local officials. This is a
major contributing factor of industrial pollution, especially in the western
provinces where supervision by the central government is negligible. Cases
of illegal logging are reported in Yuanan province, where corrupted officials
collaborated with unscrupulous businessmen to profiteer.

Inefficient and rising energy consumption is also an obstacle to the efforts at

improving the environment. Chinese energy consumption has been woefully
inefficient, even when compared with India. This results in huge wastage and
widespread environmental contamination. Rapid urbanization and a more
affluent lifestyle for the average citizen also mean higher national energy
consumption. Each year, millions of cars are added to the roads of China and
air pollution is worsened. Most factories and many households are still
dependent on cheap coals for the generation of energy.
In conclusion, Chinas attempts to solve its environmental problems, though
bold and impressive are inadequate given the general trend of rapid socioeconomic development. Unless the country is willing to compromise on its
materialistic ambitions, a green China remains a distant and idealistic dream.