Air Pollution In China

Background: After food and water, clean air is essential for continuity of life on the planet. Complex trans-boundary air pollution problem is often linked to sustenance and eutrophication. Air pollution problem has no universal conventions like Montreal and Kyoto protocols in case of refrigerants, except regional cooperative solutions. Polluter-pays principle is typically restricted to the source country. Under article 16, International Environment Law mentions the polluter-pay principle without any legitimate power to mitigate the transboundary air pollution risks. Mongolia, Botswana, and Pakistan are ranked as the most polluted countries, although their accumulative emissions are lesser than any of the coal power producing countries. Results: China, South Africa, and India produce 68-79% of their electricity using coal-fired power plants, emitting harmful pollutants into the common air. Regional winds drive upwind smog into their adjacent downwind countries like Pakistan. This paper compares the published transboundary air pollutant flows data of the most polluted countries (Mongolia, Botswana, Pakistan) with the cleanest ones (Estonia, Mauritius, Australia). Air pollution externality problem can only be solved either by regional cooperation or global environment law which yet does not exist. Drawing an analogy from water contamination laws, this work proposes an extension of the polluter-pays principle to transboundary air pollutants to compensate the public losses. We should collectively go for the international environmental law as we cannot divide air like land. Industrialization near the border may be banned to avoid air pollutant migrations to neighbors.

China was a poor country in 1978, with a per capita GDP of only $156.8. However, with a reform and opening-up process, the country moved from a planned to a market-oriented economy. With double-digit growth for nearly 30 years, China's per capita GDP soared to $12,614.10 by 2023. Up to 2010, China focused primarily on economic growth. Around 2000, it was becoming evident that unfettered economic growth was contributing to serious air and water pollution problems which were posing a threat to human and ecosystem health. Aware of these problems, China enacted and strengthened over 30 environmental laws, more than 100 administrative regulations and over 1000 local regulations. All these efforts reduced average annual PM2.5 levels in Beijing from 101.56 µg/m3 in 2013 to 39 µg/m3 by 2023. In 2005, the majority of the world’s top 10 polluted cities were in China. By 2020, not even one of the top 15 polluted cities was in China. In terms of water pollution, China has continued to make progress. In 1985, the country was monitoring 35 water quality parameters. By 2006, this number increased to 106. Between 2016 and 2020, China constructed treatment facilities for 50.52 Mm3/day of sewage, and 125,000 km of new sewage pipelines. With strong and consistent political support, China's air and water qualities will undoubtedly continue to improve significantly by 2030.

Water pollution is one of the most serious problems plaguing China today, with millions of people drinking water unfit for consumption. The abysmal conditions of water pollution, water scarcity, and inadequate wastewater treatment are fuelling increasing social discontent, as people become more concerned by the scale and severity of the problem. This book describes how and why China has ended up in such a dire situation, what the government is doing to address the problem, and the difficulties it encounters. The analysis is based on both grey literature (newspaper articles, NGO reports, Chinese government information) and on academic studies. The grey literature gives a voice to those who suffer from the pollution, their advocates, and government officers; it allows the reader to better grasp the conditions on the ground, and the impact of water pollution among people in different areas in China. The academic literature adds a theoretical perspective and brings these different case studies into a broader context. This book will be of great interest to students of environmental pollution and contemporary Chinese studies looking for an introduction to the topic, as well as researchers looking for an analysis of China's environmental problems.

Background: After food and water, clean air is essential for continuity of life on the planet. Complex trans-boundary air pollution problem is often linked to sustenance and eutrophication. Air pollution problem has no universal conventions like Montreal and Kyoto protocols in case of refrigerants, except regional cooperative solutions. Polluter-pays principle is typically restricted to the source country. Under article 16, International Environment Law mentions the polluter-pay principle without any legitimate power to mitigate the transboundary air pollution risks. Mongolia, Botswana, and Pakistan are ranked as the most polluted countries, although their accumulative emissions are lesser than any of the coal power producing countries. Results: China, South Africa, and India produce 68-79% of their electricity using coal-fired power plants, emitting harmful pollutants into the common air. Regional winds drive upwind smog into their adjacent downwind countries like Pakistan. This paper compares the published transboundary air pollutant flows data of the most polluted countries (Mongolia, Botswana, Pakistan) with the cleanest ones (Estonia, Mauritius, Australia). Conclusions: Air pollution externality problem can only be solved either by regional cooperation or global environment law which yet does not exist. Drawing an analogy from water contamination laws, this work proposes an extension of the polluter-pays principle to transboundary air pollutants to compensate the public losses. We should collectively go for the international environmental law as we cannot divide air like land. Industrialization near the border may be banned to avoid air pollutant migrations to neighbors.

Achieving synergistic governance of air pollution treatment and greenhouse gas emission reduction is the way for the Chinese government to achieve green transformational development. Against this background, this paper takes the implementation of the carbon emissions trading system (ETS) as the breakthrough point, using the time-varying difference-in-differences (DID) model to explore the synergistic emission reduction effect of ETS on air pollution and carbon emissions and its mechanism. The results indicate that the implementation of ETS not only significantly reduces CO2 emissions but also synergistically achieves the reduction of air pollutants, and the synergistic emission reduction effect is mainly achieved through the synergistic reduction of SO2. Moreover, the emission reduction effect of ETS has economic and regional heterogeneity. On the one hand, the ETS has a more prominent carbon reduction effect in less developed provinces and cities and has a significant synergistic e...

Extreme environmental events, such as forest fires, are a major emission source of aerosols into the atmosphere. Thus, to investigate the contribution of local forest fires to urban particulate matter, we selected several forest fire indicators, such as number of heat sources, fire events, and burnt area, and collected particles smaller than 2.5 µm (PM 2.5) during a 2.5-year period in Cordoba City (Argentina). Temporal variation of PM 2.5 concentration and composition was described considering fire and nonfire periods, and the influence of meteorological variables was estimated as well. On average, PM 2.5 levels registered in Córdoba city during the study period were lower than values reported for other similar cities in Latin America, despite the fact that during wintertime an increase in PM 2.5 levels was observed due to the occurrence of thermal inversions. Several fire events taking place in the nearby hills around the city during winter and spring 2013 suggest that biomass burning was a strong contribution to urban particles levels, which is consistent with the significant correlation between PM 2.5 concentration and heat sources number. During fire periods, levels of Fe, Ca, and K, were significantly higher than in the nonfire periods, suggesting that these elements can be reliable forest fire markers.

Work under the 1998 "Malé Declaration on Control and Prevention of Air Pollution and its Likely Transboundary Effects for South Asia" (Malé Declaration) provides an operational platform for gathering and disseminating reliable information on regional air pollution as a basis for envisaged policy development. Results from the Malé Declaration highlight the following recommendations:  It should be recognized that there is a significant transboundary dimension of air pollution in the region, calling for international cooperation .

Satellite-retrieved aerosol optical depth essentially provides an economical option for regular monitoring of particulate matter (PM) concentration; however, the constrains and challenges come in terms of estimation accuracy. In the present study, we estimated PM 2.5 and PM 10 (PM of aerodynamic diameter lesser than 2.5, 10 µm, respectively) for 11 sites in Bangladesh using different methods. Univariate model showed destitute performance (R 2 < 0.1), whereas integrating MODIS-AOD with surface meteorology, multivariate models enhanced accuracy (R 2 > 0.6); meanwhile, radial kernel-based 'eps'-type support vector regression model outperformed rest (R 2 > 0.8). Furthermore, we investigated variations in ground concentration of PM 2.5 , PM 10 during 2013-2018 and found annual mean concentration of 76.34 ± 34.12 µg m −3 and 136.25 ± 68.94 µg m −3 , respectively. Predominant anthropogenic contribution to elevated pollution is well remarked by PM 2.5 /PM 10 ratio, highest during January (0.65 ± 0.06) and lowest during July (0.48 ± 0.11).

in recent years, China has experienced rapid economic growth and equally rapid increases in energy use. As a result, energy induced environmental degradation has also increased in China, especially in its urban areas. When this fact is coupled with China's requirement for further economic expansion to meet the growing needs of its population, it is clear that the country faces great challenges in balancing its goal of economic growth with environmental sustainability. This paper suggests that an alternative energy path emphasizing energy efficiency and renewable energy development can be in China's long.term economic and environmental interest.

In this master’s thesis, we have investigated via space-borne observations over Asia, three
atmospheric compounds that play a crucial role in the air quality of many parts of the world. Indeed,
ethylene, methanol, and acetylene, compounds of the large family of VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds)
lead to the formation of tropospheric ozone and organic aerosols, well known to be detrimental to human
health. Some have important biogenic sources like methanol, but we have focused our attention on
anthropogenic sources. Indeed, these compounds are released in large quantities from industrial facilities
as well as from day-to-day activities. However, these industrial emitters are still poorly replicated in
inventories of emissions, which are the basis of knowledge of many climatic and air quality models.
This work places itself in the ongoing effort to monitor air pollutants and especially organic species
by providing the localization of these anthropogenic sources. For this work, we have focused on the region
where most anthropogenic VOCs are released, namely Asia. Here, we present for the first time and for the
entire Asian continent, a point sources assessment of acetylene and methanol. Exploiting an extended
dataset from the IASI instrument, some 148 hotspots of methanol and 39 hotspots of acetylene were
identified. These different points sources were classified into sectors of activity and for the first time the
pharmaceutical industry was identified from space to emit air pollutants.
A newly sent instrument, GIIRS, was used for the same purpose but the results were limited by the
noise on the measurements of the instrument. Nevertheless, this more exploratory part of the master
thesis constitutes the first step toward the use of geostationary observing instruments in the monitoring
of VOCs in the infrared spectrum.

Background: After food and water, clean air is essential for continuity of life on the planet. Complex trans-boundary air pollution problem is often linked to sustenance and eutrophication. Air pollution problem has no universal conventions like Montreal and Kyoto protocols in case of refrigerants, except regional cooperative solutions. Polluter-pays principle is typically restricted to the source country. Under article 16, International Environment Law mentions the polluter-pay principle without any legitimate power to mitigate the transboundary air pollution risks. Mongolia, Botswana, and Pakistan are ranked as the most polluted countries, although their accumulative emissions are lesser than any of the coal power producing countries. Results: China, South Africa, and India produce 68-79% of their electricity using coal-fired power plants, emitting harmful pollutants into the common air. Regional winds drive upwind smog into their adjacent downwind countries like Pakistan. This paper compares the published transboundary air pollutant flows data of the most polluted countries (Mongolia, Botswana, Pakistan) with the cleanest ones (Estonia, Mauritius, Australia). Conclusions: Air pollution externality problem can only be solved either by regional cooperation or global environment law which yet does not exist. Drawing an analogy from water contamination laws, this work proposes an extension of the polluter-pays principle to transboundary air pollutants to compensate the public losses. We should collectively go for the international environmental law as we cannot divide air like land. Industrialization near the border may be banned to avoid air pollutant migrations to neighbors.

To tackle transboundary air pollution in East Asia, international schemes for environmental cooperation have been introduced, including the Acid Deposition Monitoring Network in East Asia (EANET), Long-Range Transboundary Pollution of China, Japan and Korea (LTP), and the NorthEast Asian Subregional Programme for Environmental Cooperation (NEASPEC). These programs, however, have not been successful in establishing robust regimes for effectively reducing transboundary air pollution in the region. This paper aims to examine the process of forming epistemic communities through these programs in East Asia. A bibliometric data on the scientific articles and reports produced were analyzed to examine the network structure of the scientific activities through EANET. The fragmentation of expert groups within EANET and among the major international schemes on air pollution in East Asia contributed to discouraging solid formation of an epistemic community covering air pollution comprehensively in the region. That makes it difficult to reach a consensus based on the current state of scientific knowledge on air pollution for providing effective advice and recommendations for the development of policies and regulations.

Interdisciplinary energy research has become inevitable in the context of perceived energy break-point after 2050. Power and energy crisis is a matter of life or death for industry and human race on earth. Oil and natural gas peaking alarms started ringing by the start of the 21st century. Available energy reserves are emptying at of thousands of barrels per second and time to discover new energy sources is being wasted to convince and advocate disciplinarians going for interdisciplinary research approach. We will have to invent new ways of supplying 30% of the global energy demand by 2030 and 60% by 2050. It is not possible without putting the emerging bio, nano, and info technologies together in power and energy research laboratories under interdisciplinary and trans-disciplinary approaches. Electrical engineers badly need the supportive hand of energy scientists and technologists to overcome global power, energy, food, and water crises. Engineers and scientists often find it diff...

To study the physical and chemical properties of atmospheric particulate matter over Dehradun city located along the foothills of the Himalayas, both in situ and satellite-based observations were utilized in the present research. Ambient respirable suspended particles denoted by PM 10 (atmospheric particulate matter having an aerodynamic diameter of ≤ 10 µm) was measured during 2016-2017. The morphology and elemental characteristics of PM 10 was studied through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and SEM-energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, respectively. The 24-h mean ± standard deviation of PM 10 was observed to be 158.6 ± 33.4 µg/m 3 , which is more than 2 times the permissible limit of World Health Organization (50 µg/m 3). Microscopic analysis revealed particles with irregular, porous, rounded, flaky, chain and branched structures indicating various types such as tar balls, soot, crystalline and biogenic particles. The frequently found particle types were investigated for the atomic percentage contribution, which revealed vehicular exhaust, industrial emission, biomass burning, and crustal/dust re-suspension as the chief source of PM 10. To delineate the source and transport pathway of air masses converging over the city, 24-h air mass back trajectories were associated with MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer derived fire spots, geographical location of cement manufacturing and thermal power plants in the vicinity of monitoring site. Excess cancer risk due to inhalation of Lead particles (mean = 0.159 µg/m 3) associated with PM 10 was 0.16 × 10 −6 , which is well below the safe limit (1 × 10 −6) framed by the United States Environment Protection Agency.

We present the role of heat and electricity storage systems on the rapid rise of renewable energy resources and the steady fall of fossil fuels. The upsurge in renewable resources and slump in fossil fuel consumptions is attributed to sustainable energy systems, energy transition, climate change, and clean energy initiatives. The fast growth of renewables brings new design and operational challenges to transition towards 100% renewable energy goal. Energy storage systems can help ride-through energy transition from hydrocarbon fuels to renewable sources. Nuclear fusion and artificial photosynthesis are the ultimate Holy Grails for permanent clean energy solutions. Plants harvest light and store it in chemical energy to regulate the food supply chain that may be a guideline for an energy transition from fossil fuels to renewables. Heat and electricity storage devices can account for the periodic nature of solar and wind energy sources. Solar thermal systems for water and space heating are also a viable solution for subzero temperature areas. This study presents the transition of world's energy prospect from fossil fuels to renewables and new advances in energy storage systems.

Background: After food and water, clean air is essential for continuity of life on the planet. Complex trans-boundary air pollution problem is often linked to sustenance and eutrophication. Air pollution problem has no universal conventions like Montreal and Kyoto protocols in case of refrigerants, except regional cooperative solutions. Polluter-pays principle is typically restricted to the source country. Under article 16, International Environment Law mentions the polluter-pay principle without any legitimate power to mitigate the transboundary air pollution risks. Mongolia, Bot-swana, and Pakistan are ranked as the most polluted countries, although their accumulative emissions are lesser than any of the coal power producing countries. Results: China, South Africa, and India produce 68-79% of their electricity using coal-fired power plants, emitting harmful pollutants into the common air. Regional winds drive upwind smog into their adjacent downwind countries like Pakistan. This paper compares the published transboundary air pollutant flows data of the most polluted countries (Mongolia, Botswana, Pakistan) with the cleanest ones (Estonia, Mauritius, Australia). Conclusions: Air pollution externality problem can only be solved either by regional cooperation or global environment law which yet does not exist. Drawing an analogy from water contamination laws, this work proposes an extension of the polluter-pays principle to transboundary air pollutants to compensate the public losses. We should collectively go for the international environmental law as we cannot divide air like land. Industrialization near the border may be banned to avoid air pollutant migrations to neighbors.

For healthy life, the availability of clean and fresh air is a basic need of every human being, albeit rarely found in most mega cities of developing countries, thanks to the growing air pollution caused by the energy, transport and industrial sectors. The list of undesirable impurities found in the air that harm human health is large and pervasive. Common air pollutants include certain gases such as ozone (O3),

We should definitely like to see Pakistan without any environmental issue but currently there are lots of challenges. As in fact we are growing at the rate of more than 8 percent in GDP and creating lots of economic opportunities, this is also growing stress and implications on environment. The constant growth in population is another massive challenge. As we grow economically, we have to decide at this point in time that we ensure better quality of life. At the end of the day, when we have more money but our quality of life suffers and we can't breathe and drink pure water; then it is not worth it. Now the Government must show scores of commitment to guarantee that as we grow, we also ensure that the quality of life of our citizens is made better and we, as a country, might be called an environment friendly country. The government should announce the 'National Environment Policy' with considerably increase in the budget for environment. Let us have a look at some of our burning environmental issues. 1. Need for tree plantations in urban centres – There is no doubt that planting trees help in maintaining good environment. Trees in urban centres help clean environment and reduce pollution. Islamabad, for instance, is one of most protected cities of the world with lot of vegetation and clean healthy environment. So there is need to plant trees in other cities like Islamabad.

In the last two decades China’s environmental quality has deeply worsened, and the country is now facing a terrible environmental crisis. As a consequence, both Chinese citizens and the government have reacted in different ways. Even though many valid initiatives have been advanced from the government, why does it seem that pollution in China has not improved? Are there any potential and doable perspectives for a sustainable development in China? What are the challenges “blocking” China’s path towards a more sustainable development?

In order to answer these questions, this paper will proceed as follows. The first section gives a brief overview on the major forms of pollution in China (air and water pollution) and emphasizes their impacts on human health. The second section explores the reactions to this environmental crisis. The third part discusses the main challenges to sustainable development, trying to understand why the eco-friendly shift still represents distant and difficult goal to achieve. In the conclusions, some future prospects on sustainability in China will be addressed, especially with an eye on China’s new leadership and its new environmental agenda.