Pollution in China

Beijing air on a 2005-day after rain (left) and a smoggy day (right)

Pollution is one aspect of the broader topic of environmental issues in China. Various forms of pollution have increased as China has industrialized, which has caused widespread environmental and health problems.[1][2]

Pollution is a problem

Soil contamination

The immense growth of the People's Republic of China since the 1980s has resulted in increased soil pollution. The State Environmental Protection Administration believes it to be a threat to the environment, food safety and sustainable agriculture. 38,610 square miles (100,000 km2) of China’s cultivated land have been polluted, with contaminated water being used to irrigate a further 31.5 million miles (21,670 km2.) and another 2 million miles (1,300 km2) have been covered or destroyed by solid waste. In total, the area accounts for one-tenth of China’s cultivatable land, and is not known as the first time mostly in economically developed areas. An estimated 19 million tonnes of grain are contaminated by heavy metals every year, causing direct losses of 29 billion yuan (US$2.57 billion).

Waste

As China's waste production increases, insufficient efforts to develop capable recycling systems have been attributed to a lack of environmental awareness.[3] In 2012 the waste generation in China was 300 million tons (229.4 kg/cap/yr).[4]

A ban came into effect on June 1, 2008 that prohibited all supermarkets, department stores and shops throughout China from giving out free plastic bags.[5] Stores must clearly mark the price of plastic shopping bags and are banned from adding that price onto the price of products. The production, sale and use of ultra-thin plastic bags - those less than 0.025 millimeters (0.00098 in) thick - are also banned. The State Council called for "a return to cloth bags and shopping baskets."[6] This ban, however, does not affect the widespread use of paper shopping bags at clothing stores or the use of plastic bags at restaurants for takeout food. A survey by the International Food Packaging Association found that in the year after the ban was implemented, 10% fewer plastic bags found their way into the garbage.[7]

Electronic waste

In 2011, China produced 2.3 million tons of electronic waste.[8] The annual amount is expected to increase as the Chinese economy grows. In addition to domestic waste production, large amounts of electronic waste are imported from overseas. Legislation banning importation of electronic waste and requiring proper disposal of domestic waste has recently been introduced, but has been criticized as insufficient and susceptible to fraud. There have been local successes, such as in the city of Tianjin where 38,000 tons of electronic waste were disposed of properly in 2010, but much electronic waste is still improperly handled.[9]

Industrial pollution

Air pollution caused by industrial plants

In 1997, the World Bank issued a report targeting China's policy towards industrial pollution. The report stated that "hundreds of thousands of premature deaths and incidents of serious respiratory illness [have been] caused by exposure to industrial air pollution. Seriously contaminated by industrial discharges, many of China's waterways are largely unfit for direct human use". However, the report did acknowledge that environmental regulations and industrial reforms had had some effect. It was determined that continued environmental reforms were likely to have a large effect on reducing industrial pollution.[10]

In a 2007 article about China's pollution problem, the New York Times stated that "Environmental degradation is now so severe, with such stark domestic and international repercussions, that pollution poses not only a major long-term burden on the Chinese public but also an acute political challenge to the ruling Communist Party." The article's main points included:[11]

  1. According to the Chinese Ministry of Health, industrial pollution has made cancer China’s leading cause of death.
  2. Every year, ambient air pollution alone killed hundreds of thousands of citizens.
  3. 500 million people in China are without safe and clean drinking water.
  4. Only 1% of the country’s 560 million city dwellers breathe air considered safe by the European Union, because all of its major cities are constantly covered in a "toxic gray shroud". Before and during the 2008 Summer Olympics, Beijing was "frantically searching for a magic formula, a meteorological deus ex machina, to clear its skies for the 2008 Olympics."
  5. Lead poisoning or other types of local pollution continue to kill many Chinese children.
  6. A large section of the ocean is without marine life because of massive algal blooms caused by the high nutrients in the water.
  7. The pollution has spread internationally: sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides fall as acid rain on Seoul, South Korea, and Tokyo; and according to the Journal of Geophysical Research, the pollution even reaches Los Angeles in the USA.
  8. The Chinese Academy of Environmental Planning in 2003 produced an unpublished internal report which estimated that 300,000 people die each year from ambient air pollution, mostly of heart disease and lung cancer.
  9. Chinese environmental experts in 2005 issued another report, estimating that annual premature deaths attributable to outdoor air pollution were likely to reach 380,000 in 2010 and 550,000 in 2020.
  10. A 2007 World Bank report conducted with China's national environmental agency found that "...outdoor air pollution was already causing 350,000 to 400,000 premature deaths a year. Indoor pollution contributed to the deaths of an additional 300,000 people, while 60,000 died from diarrhea, bladder and stomach cancer and other diseases that can be caused by water-borne pollution." World Bank officials said "China’s environmental agency insisted that the health statistics be removed from the published version of the report, citing the possible impact on 'social stability'".

A draft of a 2007 combined World Bank and SEPA report stated that up to 760,000 people died prematurely each year in China because of air and water pollution. High levels of air pollution in China's cities caused to 350,000-400,000 premature deaths. Another 300,000 died because of indoor air of poor quality. There were 60,000 premature deaths each year because of water of poor quality. Chinese officials asked that some of results should not be published in order to avoid social unrest.[12]

China has made some improvements in environmental protection during recent years. According to the World Bank, 'China is one of a few countries in the world that have been rapidly increasing their forest cover. It is managing to reduce air and water pollution.[13]

Vennemo et al. in a 2009 literature review in Review of Environmental Economics and Policy noted the wide discrepancy between the reassuring view in some Chinese official publications and the exclusively negative view in some Western sources. The review stated that "although China is starting from a point of grave pollution, it is setting priorities and making progress that resemble what occurred in industrialized countries during their earlier stages of development." Environmental trends were described as uneven. Quality of surface water in the south of China was improving and particle emissions were stable. But NO2 emissions were increasing rapidly and SO2 emissions had been increasing before decreasing in 2007, the last year for which data was available.[14]

Conventional approaches to air quality monitoring are based on networks of static and sparse measurement stations. However, there are drivers behind current rises in the use of low-cost sensors for air pollution management in cities.[15]

Water pollution

The water resources of China are affected by both severe water shortages and severe water pollution. An increasing population and rapid economic growth as well as lax environmental oversight have increased water demand and pollution. In response, China has taken measures such as rapidly building out the water infrastructure and increased regulation as well as exploring a number of further technological solutions.

Air pollution

Thick haze blown off the Eastern coast of China, over Bo Hai Bay and Yellow Sea. The haze might result from urban and industrial pollution.
Map of PM2.5 pollution over China from April to August 2014

Air pollution has become a major issue in China, and poses a threat to Chinese public health. Coal combustion generates particulate matter also known as "PM". Currently, Beijing is suffering from PM2.5, which is a particulate matter with diameter of 2.5 micrometers or less. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, such fine particles can cause asthma, bronchitis, and acute and chronic respiratory symptoms such as shortness of breath and painful breathing, and may also lead to premature death.[16] The Telegraph reported a case of an 8-year-old girl who had contracted lung cancer, becoming the youngest victim of lung cancer in China.[17] Doctors pointed out that the likely cause was exposure of air pollution, specifically fine particulates from vehicles. The case has gathered large national public attention and also international attention.

Zhong Nanshan, the president of the China Medical Association, warned in 2012 that air pollution could become China's biggest health threat. Lung cancer and cardiovascular disease were increasing because of factory and vehicle air pollution and tobacco smoking. Lung cancer was two to three times more common in cities than in the countryside despite similar rates of tobacco smoking. Zhong stated that while transparency had increased in recent years much more information was needed, and called for detailed epidemiological research. He questioned official data stating that air pollution was decreasing. Until recently the governmental air quality index did not include ozone and PM2.5, despite these being the most dangerous to human health.[18] Measurements in January 2013 showed that levels of air pollution, as measured by the density of particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micrometres in size, were beyond index – higher than the maximum 755 μg the US Embassy's equipment can measure.[19] Smog from mainland China has been observed to reach as far as California.[20]

Sulfur dioxide emissions increased until 2006, after which they began to decline. This was accompanied by improvements on several related variables such as the frequency of acid rainfall. The adoption by power plants of sulfur reducing technology was likely the main reason for the reduced SO2 emissions.[21]

Large scale use of formaldehyde in construction and furniture also contributes to indoor air pollution.[22]

Particulates

According to the World Bank, the Chinese cities with the highest levels of particulate matter in 2004 of those studied were Tianjin, Chongqing, and Shenyang.[23] In 2012 stricter air pollution monitoring of ozone and PM2.5 were ordered to be gradually implemented so that by 2015 all but the smallest cities would be included. State media acknowledged the role of environmental campaigners in causing this change. On one micro-blog service more than a million mostly positive comments were posted in less than 24 hours although some wondered if the standards would be effectively enforced.[24]

The US embassy in Beijing regularly posts automated air quality measurements at @beijingair on Twitter. On 18 November 2010, the feed described the PM2.5 measurement as "crazy bad" after registering a reading in excess of 500 for the first time. This description was later changed to "beyond index",[25] a level which recurred in February, October, and December 2011.[26][27][28]

In June 2012, following strongly divergent disclosures of particulate levels between the Observatory and the US Embassy, Chinese authorities asked foreign consulates to stop publishing "inaccurate and unlawful" data.[29] Controversy arose when U.S. Embassy declared Beijing air as “very unhealthy” on 5 June; underlying data showed 199 micrograms of particulate matter. In contrast, readings from the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau declared Beijing air as “good”; its data showed levels between 51 and 79 micrograms for the corresponding period.[30] Officials said it was "not scientific to evaluate the air quality of an area with results gathered from just only one point inside that area", and asserted that official daily average PM2.5 figures for Beijing and Shanghai were "almost the same with the results published by foreign embassies and consulates".[29]

By January 2013 the pollution had worsened with official Beijing data showing an average figure over 300 and readings of up to 700 at individual recording stations while the US Embassy recorded over 755 on January 1 and 800 by January 12.[31][32]

On October 21, 2013, record smog closed the Harbin Airport along with all schools in the area. Daily particulate levels of more than 50 times the World Health Organisation recommended daily level were reported in parts of the municipality.[33]

2015 Air pollution in Beijing as measured by Air Quality Index (AQI)
   Severely Polluted
   Heavily Polluted
   Moderately Polluted
   Lightly Polluted
   Good
  Excellent

Government's response to the air pollution

In an attempt to reduce air pollution, the Chinese government has made the decision to enforce stricter regulations. After record-high air pollution in northern China in 2012 and 2013, the State Council issued an Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Air Pollution in September 2013. This plan aims to reduce air pollution by over 10% from 2012 to 2017.[34] The most prominent government response has been in Beijing.[35] As the capital of China, it is suffering from high levels of air pollution. According to Reuters, in September 2013, the Chinese government published the plan to tackle air pollution problem on its official website.[36] The main goal of the plan is to reduce coal consumption by closing polluting mills, factories and smelters and switching to other eco-friendly energy sources.[35]

On 20 August 2015, ahead of the 70th anniversary celebrations of the end of World War II, the Beijing government shut down industrial facilities and reduced car emissions in order to achieve a "Parade Blue" sky for the occasion. This action resulted in PM2.5 concentration better than the 35 mg/m³ national air quality standard, according to data from Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Monitoring Centre (BMEMC). The restrictions resulted in an average Beijing PM2.5 concentration of 19.5 mg/m³, the lowest that had ever been on record in the capital.[37]

China’s strategy has been largely focusing on the development of other energy sources such as nuclear, hydro and compressed natural gas. The latest plan entails closing the outdated capacity of the industrial sectors like iron, steel, aluminum and cement and increasing nuclear capacity and other non-fossil fuel energy. It also includes an intention to stop approving new thermal power plants and to cut coal consumption in industrial areas.

Four-color alert system

Beijing launched four-color alert system in 2013. It is based on the air quality index (AQI), which indicates how clean or polluted the air is.[38]

The Beijing government revised their four color alert system at the start of 2016, increasing the levels of pollution required to trigger orange and red alerts. The change was introduced to standardise the alert levels across four cities including Tianjin and four cities in Hebei, and perhaps in direct response to the red alerts issues the previous December.[39][40]

AQI Description
101-150 Slight pollution
151-200 Moderate pollution
201-300 Heavy pollution
301-500 Hazardous
Color Condition
Blue "Heavy pollution" in the next 24 hours
Yellow "Hazardous" in the next 24 hours; or "Heavy pollution" for three consecutive days
Orange Alternate "Heavy pollution" and "Hazardous" days for three consecutive days
Red Average of "heavy pollution" for four consecutive days, "hazardous" for two consecutive days or average AQI over 500 for one day

Pollutants

Lead

Lead poisoning was described in a 2001 paper as one of the most common pediatric health problems in China. A 2006 review of existing data suggested that one-third of Chinese children suffer from elevated serum lead levels. Pollution from metal smelters and a fast-growing battery industry has been responsible for most cases of particularly high lead levels. In 2011, there were riots in the Zhejiang Haijiu Battery Factory from angry parents whose children received permanent neurological damage from lead poisoning. The central government has acknowledged the problem and has taken measures such as suspending battery factory production, but some see the response as inadequate and some local authorities have tried to silence criticisms.[41]

A literature review of academic studies on Chinese children's blood lead levels found that the lead levels declined when comparing the studies published during 1995-2003 and 2004-2007 periods. Lead levels also showed a declining trend after China banned lead in gasoline in 2000. Lead levels were still higher than those in developed nations. Industrial areas had higher levels than suburban areas, which had higher levels than urban areas. Controlling and preventing lead poisoning was described as a long term mission.[42]

Persistent organic pollutants

China is a signatory nation of the Stockholm Convention, a treaty to control and phase out major persistent organic pollutants (POP). A plan of action for 2010 includes objectives such as eliminating production, import and use of the pesticides covered under the convention, as well as an accounting system for PCB containing equipment. For 2015, China plans to establish an inventory of POP contaminated sites and remediation plans.[43] Since May 2009, this treaty also covers polybrominated diphenyl ethers and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid. Perfluorinated compounds are associated with altered thyroid function and decreased sperm count in humans.[44] China faces a big challenge in controlling and eliminating POPs, since they often are cheaper than their alternatives, or are unintentionally produced and then released into the environment to save on treatment costs.

Dust

The Yellow Dust or Asian dust is a seasonal dust cloud which affects North East Asia during late winter and springtime. The dust originates in the deserts of Mongolia, northern China and Kazakhstan where high-speed surface winds and intense dust storms kick up dense clouds of fine, dry soil particles. These clouds are then carried eastward by prevailing winds and pass over Northern China into Korea and Japan.

Desertification has intensified in China. 1,740,000 square kilometres of land is classified as "dry", and desertification disrupts the lives of 400 million people and causes direct economic losses of 54 billion yuan ($7 billion) a year, SFA figures show.[45] Sulfur (an acid rain component), soot, ash, carbon monoxide, and other toxic pollutants including heavy metals (such as mercury, cadmium, chromium, arsenic, lead, zinc, copper) and other carcinogens, often accompany the dust storms, as well as viruses, bacteria, fungi, pesticides, antibiotics, asbestos, herbicides, plastic ingredients, combustion products and hormone mimicking phthalates.[46]

Other pollutants

In 2010 49 employees at Wintek were poisoned by n-hexane in the manufacturing of touchscreens for Apple products.[47]

In 2013, it was revealed that portions of the country's rice supply were tainted with the toxic metal cadmium.[48]

Impact of pollution

A 2006 Chinese green gross domestic product estimate stated that pollution in 2004 cost 3.05% of the nation's economy.[49]

A 2007 World Bank and SEPA report estimated the cost of water and air pollution in 2003 to 2.68% or 5.78% of GDP depending on if using a Chinese or a Western method of calculation.[50]

A 2009 review stated a range of 2-10% of GDP.[14]

A 2012 study stated that pollution had little effect on economic growth which in China's case was largely dependent on physical capital expansion and increased energy consumption due to the dependency on manufacturing and heavy industries. China was predicted to continue to grow using energy-inefficient and polluting industries. While growth may continue, the rewards of this growth may be opposed by the harm from the pollution unless environmental protection is increased.[51]

A 2015 report from the University of California at Berkeley estimated that 1.6 million people in China die each year from heart, lung and stroke problems because of polluted air.[52]

Criticisms of government environmental policies

Critics point to the government’s lack of willingness to protect the environment as a common problem with China’s environmental policies. Even in the case of the latest plan, experts are skeptical about its actual influence because of the existence of loopholes. This is because economic growth is still the primary issue for the government, and overrides environmental protection.

However, if the measures to cut coal usage were applied strictly, it would also mean dismantling of the local economy that is highly reliant on heavy industry. The Financial Times interviewed a worker who stated, “if this steel mill didn’t exist, we wouldn’t even have anywhere to go to eat. Everything revolves around this steel factory – our children work here."[53]

Pollution ratings

As of 2004:

According to the National Environmental Analysis released by Tsinghua University and The Asian Development Bank in January 2013, 7 of the 10 most air polluted cities in the world are in China, including Taiyuan, Beijing, Urumqi, Lanzhou, Chongqing, Jinan and Shijiazhuang.[55]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "The Most Polluted Places On Earth". CBS News. 2010-01-08. Retrieved 2013-01-21.
  2. ↑ "Air Pollution Grows in Tandem with China's Economy". NPR. Retrieved 2013-01-21.
  3. ↑ Violet Law (July 28, 2011). "As China's prosperity grows, so do its trash piles". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
  4. ↑ Waste Atlas (2012). Country Data: CHINA
  5. ↑ Prashant, Kumar,; Lidia, Morawska,; Claudio, Martani,; George, Biskos,; Marina, Neophytou,; Di, Sabatino, Silvana; Margaret, Bell,; Leslie, Norford,; Rex, Britter, (2015-02-01). "The rise of low-cost sensing for managing air pollution in cities". eprints.qut.edu.au. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  6. ↑ "China bans free plastic shopping bags", AP Press via the International Herald Tribune, January 9, 2008
  7. ↑ David Biello, Scientific American, Does Banning Plastic Bags Work?, August 13, 2009.
  8. ↑ BONN. "Urgent Need to Prepare Developing Countries for Surge in E-wastes." UN University, 22 Feb. 2010. Web. 22 Dec. 2015.
  9. ↑ Mitch Moxley, "E-Waste Hits China", Inter Press Service, 2011 http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=56572
  10. ↑ Dasgupta, Susmita; Hua Wang; Wheeler, David; (1997-11-30). "Surviving success: policy reform and the future of industrial pollution in China, Volume 1". The World Bank. Retrieved 2009-03-14.
  11. ↑ Kahn, Joseph; Jim Yardley; (August 26, 2007). "As China Roars, Pollution Reaches Deadly Extremes". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-03-14.
  12. ↑ "China 'buried smog death finding'". BBC. 2007-07-03.
  13. ↑ Wassermann, Rogerio (2009-04-02). "Can China be green by 2020?". BBC.
  14. 1 2 Vennemo, H.; Aunan, K.; Lindhjem, H.; Seip, H. M. (2009). "Environmental Pollution in China: Status and Trends". Review of Environmental Economics and Policy 3 (2): 209. doi:10.1093/reep/rep009.
  15. ↑ Kumar, Prashant; Morawska, Lidia; Martani, Claudio; Biskos, George; Neophytou, Marina; Di Sabatino, Silvana; Bell, Margaret; Norford, Leslie; Britter, Rex (2015-02-01). "The rise of low-cost sensing for managing air pollution in cities". Environment International 75: 199–205. doi:10.1016/j.envint.2014.11.019.
  16. ↑ "PM2.5". United States Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
  17. ↑ T, Phillips (5 November 2013). "China’s air pollution blamed for eight-year-old’s lung cancer". The Telegraph. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
  18. ↑ Jonathan Watts, Air pollution could become China's biggest health threat, expert warns, Friday 16 March, The Guardian, http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/mar/16/air-pollution-biggest-threat-china
  19. ↑ Wong, Edward (April 3, 2013). "2 Major Air Pollutants Increase in Beijing". The New York Times. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
  20. ↑ Kaiman, Jonathan (16 February 2013). "Chinese struggle through 'airpocalypse' smog". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 4 March 2013.
  21. ↑ Lu, Z.; Streets, D. G.; Zhang, Q.; Wang, S.; Carmichael, G. R.; Cheng, Y. F.; Wei, C.; Chin, M.; Diehl, T.; Tan, Q. (2010). "Sulfur dioxide emissions in China and sulfur trends in East Asia since 2000". Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 10 (13): 6311. doi:10.5194/acp-10-6311-2010.
  22. ↑ "Pollution makes cancer the top killer". Xie Chuanjiao (China Daily). 2007-05-21.
  23. ↑ "2007 World Development Indicators: Air Pollution." Table 3.13.. World Bank (2007). Washington, DC.
  24. ↑ Hennock, Mary (1 March 2012). "China combats air pollution with tough monitoring rules". The Guardian.
  25. ↑ "US Embassy Accidentally Calls Beijing's Pollution 'Crazy Bad'". Techdirt. 2010-11-23. Retrieved 2013-01-21.
  26. ↑ "Beijing's polluted air defies standard measure". Ctv.ca. 2011-02-26. Retrieved 2013-01-21.
  27. ↑ Barbara Demick (2011-10-29). "U.S. Embassy air quality data undercut China's own assessments". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2013-01-21.
  28. ↑ "Pollution in Beijing Reach Beyond Index Levels". 2ndgreenrevolution.com. 2011-12-13. Retrieved 2013-01-21.
  29. 1 2 "Foreign embassies' air data issuing inaccurate, unlawful: official". Xinhua, 5 June 2012
  30. ↑ BNO News (5 June 2012). "China asks U.S. Embassy to stop publishing Beijing air quality data", Channel 6 News.
  31. ↑ "Beijing, China Air Pollution Hits Hazardous Levels". Huffingtonpost.com. 2013-01-12. Retrieved 2013-01-21.
  32. ↑ "BBC News - Beijing air pollution soars to hazard level". Bbc.co.uk. 2013-01-12. Retrieved 2013-01-21.
  33. ↑ "China: record smog levels shut down city of Harbin | euronews, world news". Euronews.com. Retrieved 2013-10-21.
  34. ↑ Andrews-Speed, Philip (November 2014). "China’s Energy Policymaking Processes and Their Consequences". The National Bureau of Asian Research Energy Security Report. Retrieved December 24, 2014.
  35. 1 2 Usman W. Chohan (May 2014). "An Eco-friendly Exodus: Heavy Industry in Beijing 环保政策". McGill University Economic Publications.
  36. ↑ Stanway, D (6 November 2013). "China cuts gas supply to industry as shortages hit". Reuters.
  37. ↑ Boren, Zachary Davies (27 August 2015). "China air pollution: Beijing records its cleanest air ever". Retrieved 29 August 2015.
  38. ↑ "China to Unify Color-coded Pollution Alert System". China Radio International. 2014-12-03.
  39. ↑ "Beijing raises 'red alert' threshold for air pollution warning". The Guardian. 2016-02-21.
  40. ↑ "环保部：京津冀6城统一重污染预警分级". 新华网. 2016-02-05.
  41. ↑ LaFraniere, Sharon (2011-06-15). "Lead Poisoning in China: The Hidden Scourge". New York Times.
  42. ↑ He, K.; Wang, S.; Zhang, J. (2009). "Blood lead levels of children and its trend in China". Science of the Total Environment 407 (13): 3986–3993. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2009.03.018. PMID 19395068.
  43. ↑ "The People’s Republic of China: National Implementation Plan for the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants" (PDF). Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. 2007.
  44. ↑ "Swimming in Poison: A hazardous chemical cocktail found in Yangtze River Fish". Greenpeace China. 2010-08-26.
  45. ↑ Wang Ying. "Operation blitzkrieg against desert storm". China Daily. Archived from the original on April 10, 2007. Retrieved April 3, 2007.
  46. ↑ "Ill Winds". Science News Online. Archived from the original on March 19, 2004. Retrieved October 6, 2001.
  47. ↑ "N-hexane Poisoning Scare At Apple Supplier In China". China Tech News. 2010-02-22.
  48. ↑ China to Survey Soil Amid Fears Over Rice June 12, 2013 Wall Street Journal
  49. ↑ Sun Xiaohua (2007) "Call for return to green accounting", "China Daily", 19 Apr 2007.
  50. ↑ Cost of Pollution in China Economic Estimates of Physical Costs. 2007. World Bank. http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTEAPREGTOPENVIRONMENT/Resources/China_Cost_of_Pollution.pdf
  51. ↑ Polluting China for the sake of economic growth. 27-Apr-2012. EurekAlert!. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-04/ip-pcf042712.php
  52. ↑ Associated Press (2015-08-13). "Air pollution in China is killing 4,000 people every day, a new study finds". The Guardian. Retrieved 2015-08-14.
  53. ↑ Hornby, L (22 October 2013). "Cleaner air a bitter pill for north China cities". Financial Times.
  54. 1 2 3 Qin, Jize (2004-07-15). "Most polluted cities in China blacklisted". China Daily.
  55. ↑ "WEATHER & EXTREME EVENTS 7 of 10 Most Air-Polluted Cities Are in China". JAN 16, 2013 (Imaginechina/Corbis). http://news.discovery.com. Retrieved 1 September 2014.

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