Deng Xiaoping: A High Cost Of Industrialization In China

Economic growth and industrialization usually comes at a large cost, namely in the form of pollution. China has recently been feeling that cost after decades of growth with little restrictions. Because of this, China has become the world's largest polluter and surpassed the United States in CO2 emissions in 2007. Thus far China has only started to implement regulations due to the outrage of the people and many are not followed. China’s environment shall definitely turn farther from green and decline as government regulations are ignored.

Under Deng Xiaoping, China’s industry began to flourish. They became the world's manufacturer of just about everything imaginable and thirty years later they have become the largest manufacturer in the world. This allowed them to make up for the time they lost in industrialization that came to the west decades before. Their economy grew at an astounding rate of around ten percent each year which was unheard of. Unfortunately, during this time, they substituted their environment for fast economic growth and power. They are now dealing with the worst pollution problem in human history and its not getting any better. Within China resides seven of the top ten worst polluted cities in the world and none of them are getting any cleaner. Recently, parts of Beijing

experienced levels of air pollution forty times worse than the level projected to be safe. Forcing many school, business, and others establishments to close down until it was safe again.

Pollution in Beijing
There is much dispute over whether cars or fossil fuel burning is the largest producer of PM2.5 which is a small particle that causes serious health risks. China’s president of the Beijing Municipal Research Institute of Environmental Protection, Pan Tao, was quoted as saying cars were “undoubtedly” the worst cause of PM2.5 particles. PM2.5 particle chart
Regardless of which is worse both cause astronomical damage to the environment. Air pollution has been proven to kill around 4,000 people every day and hundreds of thousands die prematurely each year. Coal is the primary source of energy in China making up 66% of all energy and it is not a clean burning fuel either.
Coal Usage
As of 2020 the prediction is that China will rely on renewable energy for only 16% of their energy consumption. Additionally, as their population continues to grow so will the demand for energy so fuel usage might increase and car emissions are expected to increase by 40%. Some laws do exist to help with the growing problem, but many companies blatantly ignore such laws and after a few bribes everyone just turns their head away. Causing things like 80% of China’s 367 cities to fail to meet national pollution standards. Things like these even take away 3.5% of their annual GDP just caring for pollution related illnesses.
Even with all that some do believe that China is turning green again.

China is trying to become more reliant on nuclear power and other renewable sources and recently invested 90 billion in renewable energy. They hope to be 59% reliant on coal by the decade's end which would be down 7% from now. Their government has ordered fifteen thousand factories to now report on pollution and water discharge figures. They also pledged 608 billion dollars over the next five years to help clean up the air and water within China and they will soon overtake the US in wind energy. However, they are not expected to hit their CO2 emissions until 2030 and it will take decades to clean

everything.

China CO2 emissions
In the US there are still repercussions from our industrial age which was over half a century ago and since China’s problem has not peaked yet they still have a long way to go. The director of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs in Beijing Ma Jun even said that there is a gap in the enforcement of the laws. So even if new laws are put in place China does not have any strong way to enforce them.
China is definitely headed to a darker future in the coming decades, they have no control over that, but they can keep it from getting too much worse. They now have to deal with their past choices and try not to make too many more. New stricter regulations will need to be put in place and a better way to enforce them. But western nations were able to get back to fairly good conditions. Maybe China can pull through and in a few decades they will be back to normal or they may never get back, it is all up to them.