Assess the view that China strategies at environmental management have been impeded by its need for high economic growth. After China’s opening up in 1978, the need to sustain high economic growth, the ey to social stability and political support for the CC!, has unleashed untold dama damages ges to the the envi enviro ronm nment ent,, impe impedi ding ng gove govern rnmen ment’ t’s s e"or e"orts ts at redu reduci cing ng pollut pollution. ion. #hile #hile limite limited d progr progress ess has been been made made with with drasti drastic c and innova innovativ tive e measur measures es undert underta aen en as the Chines Chinese e govern governmen mentt reali$ reali$ed ed the releva relevance nce of enviro environme nmenta ntall well%b well%bein eing g to achiev achieving ing sus sustai tained ned econom economic ic growt growth h rate, rate, the picture seems to grim thus far as enforcement of policies is compromised by the local authorities, rapid industriali$ation and urbani$ation. &ence, this essay sees to argue argue that that China’ China’s s strate strategie gies s at enviro environme nmenta ntall manage managemen mentt have have been been fun fundamen mentally lly imp impede eded by its need eed for high growth wth rat rate as China ina’s deve develo lopm pmen enta tall mode modell is not not frie friend ndly ly to its its envi enviro ronm nmen enta tall and and econ econom omic ic development more often than not is pri$ed over environmental conservation. &igh economic growth targets set by the provinces have perpetually upset the central government’s measures at improving the environment. 'elentless drive of China’s leaders to amass power, consolidate territory, develop the economy and support a burgeoning population have led to the plundering of forests and mineral resources, construct river diversion and leading to poor management pro(ect pro(ects. s. )he ma*im ma*im +rst +rst develo developme pment, nt, then then envir environm onment ent- was a common common rhetoric throughout in the 198s and 199s. /y 00, China had become home to si* of the most polluted cities in the world. ore than 723 of the water in rivers 4owing through China’s urban areas was unsuitable for drining or shing. 5evolution of authority to provincial and local o6cials has led to a free rein to conc concent entra rate te ener energi gies es on econ economi omic c grow growth th,, push pushin ing g aside aside envi enviro ronm nmen enta tall consid considerat eration. ion. mall mall scale scale privat privately ely run cottag cottage e indust industrie ries s that that have have fuelled fuelled much of China’s growth are di6cult to regulate and pose a greater threat to the environment than s. )he focus on low%cost primary and secondary industries, a ma(or reason for China’s high growth rate, has been detrimental to the governmental policies at improving the environment. China’s economic success which is based largely on industriali$ation renders its economic growth incompatible with pollution control due to the con4icting nature of the two. Air and water pollution have been worsened by China’s heavy reliance on coal for energy. ince 07, China has taen over the : for the rst time as the world’s top producer of greenhouse gases. )his is worsened by the greater dependence on motor vehicles as the basic means of transport to navigate around China and the problem of central% regional regional relations relations where provincial provincial o6cials often often ignore ignore the regulatory regulatory limits mete out by /ei(ing. #ater and air pollution as of 010 is estimated to have caused 72, premature deaths and around 83 of ;5!. #orst of all, scaling bac of either of the two could upset socio%political stability, as the foundation of Chinese economic development is in con4ict with the environmental rights of the citi$ens. ;overnment’s strategies to resolve pollution in the cities are challenged by rising a? of its energy needs. China depends on coal for more than @ of its electricity and also to fuel centrali$ed winter heating systems in northern cities. n 01, the #orld /an says China uses up to twice per unit of output as the :, Bapan and other economies. Chinese o6cials say energy use is ?. times the world
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average. n Dovember 01, the !aris based nternational nergy Agency said Chin China a has has su surp rpas asse sed d the the : to beco become me the the worl world’ d’s s bigg bigges estt overa overall ll ener energy gy consumer. )oday it is the fastest growing consumer of oil in the world, ahead of energy%e6cient Bapan and second only to the : in terms of total consumption and imports. )he average annual growth in energy needs in ?.03. #hile the consumption of energy is not in itself a curse, it harms the environment. eanwh eanwhile, ile, mainten maintenanc ance e of socio%p socio%polit olitica icall stabil stability ity,, an import important ant factor factor to achieve sustained high economic growth could also be an impetus to generate and enforce environmental policies. China has set up a system for monitoring the disc discha harg rge e of pollu polluta tant nts s but but it is far far from from perfe perfect ct becau because se it relie relies s on loca locall government o6cials to implement the system. )o reduce the amount of sulfur dio dio*ide *ide emit emitte ted d from from the the burn burnin ing g of coal coal in the the fact factor orie ies, s, the the Chin Chines ese e government has imposed heavy penalties to such emissions and encouraged the building of e=uipment to capture sulfur dio*ide. China is also using economic incentives to solve the problem to e*ternalities resulting from the use of energy. )o )o reduce the use of coal and encourage a switch to cleaner burning fuels, the government has introduced a ta* on high%sulfur coals. )he Chinese government will advance reforms in the pricing of natural gas water and other resources, raise raise the ta* levied levied on pollut pollutant ant dis discha charge rge,, establ establish ish a pollut polluter er pays pays system system severely punish those who violate the environmental protection protection laws. n addition, China has invested heavily in innovative green strategies that could be both both bene benec cia iall for the the envi enviro ronm nmen entt oppo opport rtun unit itie ies s to atta attain in su sust stai ained ned econ econom omic ic grow growth th.. /old /old init initia iati tive ves s are are made made by the the gove govern rnme ment nt and and publ public ic businesses to harness wind and solar power for industrial and home usage. !acts signed signed with countries countries lie ingapore ingapore to build eco%cities and ecologically ecologically%friend %friendly ly industrial pars. China is the world’s largest investor on the search and utili$ation of renewable energy. Construction of the )hree ;orges 5am, along with several othe otherr smal smalle lerr dams dams,, atte attest sts s to gove govern rnme ment nt’s ’s dete determ rmin inat atio ion n to resor esortt to hydroelectricity to satisfy mounting energy demands. )he government also plans to build nuclear plants to supply power to the cities of outhern China. :nder governmental encouragement, wind and solar power generators are becoming popular even in private households, especially for those in the countryside and interior China, putting forth the possibility that the country’s rapid economic growth can be sustained without (eopardi$ing the economy. economy. n fact, the government has reali$ed that having strong green industry could carve for China a niche in the global economy that would in turn generate vast poss possib ibili iliti ties es for cont contin inue ued d econ econom omic ic grow growth th.. Chin China a is the the world world’s ’s larg larges estt generat generator or of hydro hydropow power er from from giant giant dams that trappe trapped d water water from from runnin running g rivers. Erom 011, China will build a multimillion dollar undersea research base on its east coast as it steps up its e"orts to search for energy sources and rare earth on the ocean 4oor. n 011, China said it had become one of only handful of countries to successfully reprocess fuel, thans to the wor of China Dational Duclear Corporation FCDDCG engineers. )his could allow the Chinese to reuse its uran uraniu ium m depos deposit its s for for anot anothe herr ? ? ye years ars.. )he )he gove govern rnme ment nt has has given given 'H5 'H5 subsidies totaling billion yuan for the development and industriali$ation of core renewable energy e=uipment including ey components for wind turbines and advanced silicon technologies for solar !I, with another 0billion yuan allocated
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environmental well%being to achieving sustained economic growth rate. &owever, enviro environme nmenta ntall conser conservat vation ion remain remains s as a dis distan tantt dream dream as enforc enforcemen ementt of polici policies es is compr compromi omised sed by the local local author authoritie ities, s, rapid rapid indust industria riali$a li$atio tion n and urbani$ation. )herefore, China’s strategies at environmental management have been been fund fundam amen enta tally lly imped impeded ed by its its need need for for high high growt growth h rate rate as Chin China’ a’s s deve develo lopm pmen enta tall mode modell is not not frie friend ndly ly to its its envi enviro ronm nmen enta tall and and econ econom omic ic development more often than not is pri$ed over environmental conservation.
