Assess the view that China strategies at environmental management have been

impeded by its need for high economic growth.

After Chinas opening up in 1978, the need to sustain high economic growth, the
key to social stability and political support for the CCP, has unleashed untold
damages to the environment, impeding governments efforts at reducing
pollution. While limited progress has been made with drastic and innovative
measures undertaken as the Chinese government realized the relevance of
environmental well-being to achieving sustained economic growth rate, the
picture seems to grim thus far as enforcement of policies is compromised by the
local authorities, rapid industrialization and urbanization. Hence, this essay seeks
to argue that Chinas strategies at environmental management have been
fundamentally impeded by its need for high growth rate as Chinas
developmental model is not friendly to its environmental and economic
development more often than not is prized over environmental conservation.
High economic growth targets set by the provinces have perpetually upset the
central governments measures at improving the environment. Relentless drive
of Chinas 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
projects. The maxim first development, then environment was a common
rhetoric throughout in the 1980s and 1990s. By 2002, China had become home
to six of the most polluted cities in the world. More than 75% of the water in
rivers flowing through Chinas urban areas was unsuitable for drinking or fishing.
Devolution of authority to provincial and local officials has led to a free rein to
concentrate energies on economic growth, pushing aside environmental
consideration. Small scale privately run cottage industries that have fuelled
much of Chinas growth are difficult to regulate and pose a greater threat to the
environment than SOEs.
The focus on low-cost primary and secondary industries, a major reason for
Chinas high growth rate, has been detrimental to the governmental policies at
improving the environment. Chinas economic success which is based largely on
industrialization renders its economic growth incompatible with pollution control
due to the conflicting nature of the two. Air and water pollution have been
worsened by Chinas heavy reliance on coal for energy. Since 2007, China has
taken over the US for the first time as the worlds top producer of greenhouse
gases. This is worsened by the greater dependence on motor vehicles as the
basic means of transport to navigate around China and the problem of centralregional relations where provincial officials often ignore the regulatory limits
mete out by Beijing. Water and air pollution as of 2012 is estimated to have
caused 750,000 premature deaths and around 8% of GDP. Worst of all, scaling
back of either of the two could upset socio-political stability, as the foundation of
Chinese economic development is in conflict with the environmental rights of the
citizens.
Governments strategies to resolve pollution in the cities are challenged by rising
affluence and rapid urbanization, consequences of rapid economic growth. China
is the worlds largest consumer and producer of coal, which accounts for about
2/3 of its energy needs. China depends on coal for more than of its electricity
and also to fuel centralized winter heating systems in northern cities. In 2010,
the World Bank says China uses up to twice per unit of output as the US, Japan
and other economies. Chinese officials say energy use is 3.4 times the world

average. In November 2010, the Paris based International Energy Agency said
China has surpassed the US to become the worlds biggest overall energy
consumer. Today it is the fastest growing consumer of oil in the world, ahead of
energy-efficient Japan and second only to the US in terms of total consumption
and imports. The average annual growth in energy needs in 3.2%. While the
consumption of energy is not in itself a curse, it harms the environment.
Meanwhile, maintenance of socio-political stability, an important 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
discharge of pollutants but it is far from perfect because it relies on local
government officials to implement the system. To reduce the amount of sulfur
dioxide emitted from the burning of coal in the factories, the Chinese
government has imposed heavy penalties to such emissions and encouraged the
building of equipment to capture sulfur dioxide. China is also using economic
incentives to solve the problem to externalities resulting from the use of energy.
To reduce the use of coal and encourage a switch to cleaner burning fuels, the
government has introduced a tax on high-sulfur coals. The Chinese government
will advance reforms in the pricing of natural gas water and other resources,
raise the tax levied on pollutant discharge, establish a polluter pays system
severely punish those who violate the environmental protection laws.
In addition, China has invested heavily in innovative green strategies that could
be both beneficial for the environment opportunities to attain sustained
economic growth. 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. China is the worlds largest investor on the search and utilization
of renewable energy. Construction of the Three Gorges Dam, along with several
other smaller dams, attests to governments determination to resort to
hydroelectricity to satisfy mounting energy demands. The government also plans
to build nuclear plants to supply power to the cities of Southern China. Under
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 countrys rapid economic
growth can be sustained without jeopardizing the economy.
In fact, the government has realized that having strong green industry could
carve for China a niche in the global economy that would in turn generate vast
possibilities for continued economic growth. China is the worlds largest
generator of hydropower from giant dams that trapped water from running
rivers. From 2011, China will build a multimillion dollar undersea research base
on its east coast as it steps up its efforts to search for energy sources and rare
earth on the ocean floor. In 2011, China said it had become one of only handful
of countries to successfully reprocess fuel, thanks to the work of China National
Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) engineers. This could allow the Chinese to reuse its
uranium deposits for another 3000years. The government has given R&D
subsidies totaling 4billion yuan for the development and industrialization of core
renewable energy equipment including key components for wind turbines and
advanced silicon technologies for solar PV, with another 2billion yuan allocated
for R&D in biofuels.
In conclusion, limited progress has been made with drastic and innovative
measures undertaken as the Chinese government realized the relevance of

environmental well-being to achieving sustained economic growth rate. However,

environmental conservation remains as a distant dream as enforcement of
policies is compromised by the local authorities, rapid industrialization and
urbanization. Therefore, Chinas strategies at environmental management have
been fundamentally impeded by its need for high growth rate as Chinas
developmental model is not friendly to its environmental and economic
development more often than not is prized over environmental conservation.