It is an overview of environmental aspects of China with supportive figures and facts. some statistical part and recent reports were given. the steps taken by the government to improve the situation
2. POLLUTION & CLIMATE CHANGE
๏ข China is the worldโs biggest
producer of carbon dioxide
๏ข By 2030, Chinaโs carbon
dioxide emissions could equal
the entire worldโs CO2
production today
๏ข Three quarters of Chinese
cited environmental problems
such as climate change as a
major threat to Chinaโs
security
3. ๏ข China is home to 20 of the
worldโs 30 most polluted
cities
๏ข The worldโs most polluted
city is Linfen, China
๏ข Only 1% of Chinaโs 560
million urban residents
breathe air that is deemed
safe by European Union
standards
๏ข Two thirds of Chinaโs cities
donโt meet the countryโs
own air emissions
standards
4. ๏ข Three quarters of a million Chinese people in die
prematurely from pollution each year
๏ข Auto emissions accounted for 79% of Chinaโs total air
pollution in 2005
๏ข Half of Chinaโs land is arid or semi-arid: making it โvulnerable
to drying out in the early stages of climate changeโ. Because of this
fact, by 2030, Chinaโs agricultural output could be reduced by 5 to 10
percent, which โwould be a disaster in a country thatโฆhas 20
percent of the worldโs population and 7 percent of its arable land.โ
๏ข In 2010, the Chinese government conducted its first
national pollution census: involving 570,000 people, and
included 1.1 billion pieces of data from nearly 6 million sources of
pollution, including factories, farms, homes and pollution-treatment
facilities.
5. POLLUTED RIVERS & WATER CRISIS
๏ข The 2010 pollution census revealed that Chinaโs โwater is far
more polluted and its industry is producing far more waste
than previously realized
๏ข 43.2% of state-monitored rivers were classified as grade 4 or
worse in 2010
๏ข Over one third of fish species native to the Yellow River are
now extinct because of damming or pollution
6. ๏ข By 2030, China will have exploited all of the countryโs
available water supplies
๏ข 90% of Chinaโs urban groundwater is contaminated
๏ข About 300 million Chinese people in rural areas rely on unsafe
drinking water
๏ข Thermal Pollution: Warm Water Kills (18/20):Fishermen row a
boat in the algae-filled Chaohu Lake in Hefei, Anhui province,
China.
7. THE RACE FOR A GREEN ECONOMY
๏ข China and Germany are leading the โrace for a Green
Economyโ
๏ข China is investing about US$75 to $100 billion EACH year
in clean energy for the 10 years between 2010 and 2020
8. ๏ข China retained the top spot in 2010 as the worldโs leading
investor in low-carbon energy technology
๏ข China sees clean energy as a โgreat economic
opportunity
9. FORESTS AND RE-FORESTATION
๏ข China possesses about 4% of the worldโs total forest area
๏ข Chinaโs forest cover increased from 12% to 18% in two
decades (1990-2010)
๏ข Launched in 1978, Chinaโs โmassive tree-planting schemeโ is
expected to cover 400 million hectares (or 42% of Chinaโs
landmass) by 2050
๏ข Over the past three decades, Chinese volunteers have
planted about 58.9 billion trees across the country
๏ข China uses and throws away 45 billion disposable chopsticks
every year, representing about 25 million trees
๏ข In 2010, the Chinese government launched a program to
subsidize buyers of battery-powered cars and plug-in hybrids
๏ข In 2008, the Chinese government started a nationwide ban
prohibiting all shops, supermarkets, and department stores
from giving out free plastic bags
10. ๏ข China increased their forest coverage between 2000 and
2010, at an average annual rate of 1.6% (despite overall
worldwide deforestation)