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Environment of China

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Satellite image of China.

The environment of China (Chinese: 中国的环境) comprises diverse biotas, climates, and geologies. Rapid industrialization, population growth, and lax environmental oversight have caused many environmental issues and large-scale pollution.[1]

Geology

Main article: Geology of China

China is the 4th largest country by area, so it is geologically a diverse country. The geology of China can be divided into several parts, the loess plateau, the alluvial East China plains, mountainous regions south of the Yangzi River, and others.

Biota

Wildlife

Main article: Wildlife of China
Panda in Sichuan.

China is home to a diverse landscape of wildlife. It is considered to be one of the megadiverse countries in the world. Many animal species are endemic to China.

Flora

Main article: Flora of China

China has a diverse flora, with more than 30,000 plant species native to the country.

Climate

Climate change

This section is an excerpt from Climate change in China.[edit]
Warming stripes of China between 1901 and 2019

Climate change is having major effects on the Chinese economy, society and the environment.[2][3] China is the largest emitter of carbon dioxide, through an energy infrastructure heavily focused on coal. Other industries, such as a burgeoning construction industry and industrial manufacturing, contribute heavily to carbon emissions. However, China's per capita emissions are greater than the world and European Union averages but less than Australia, Canada, and the U.S.[4] It has also been noted that higher-income countries have outsourced emissions-intensive industries to China.[5][6] China is now the world's largest polluter and in 2023 recorded its hottest year on record with an average temperature of 10.7 °C.[7] On the basis of cumulative CO2 emissions measured from 1751 through to 2017, China is responsible for 13% globally and about half of the United States' cumulative emissions.[8][9]

China is suffering from the negative effects of global warming in agriculture, forestry and water resources, and is expected to continue to see increased impacts. China's government is taking some measures to increase renewable energy, and other decarbonization efforts, vowing to hit peak emissions before 2030 and be carbon neutral by 2060 by adopting "more vigorous policies and measures."[10] China's GHG emissions will likely peak in 2025 and return to 2022 levels by 2030. However, such pathway will still lead to a 3 degrees Celsius temperature rise.[11]

Protected areas of China

Main article: Protected areas of China

There are several forms of protected areas in China. Each type of protected area is protected on either a national, provincial, or county level.

Environmental issues

Main article: Environmental issues in China
A Factory in China at Yangtze River
A large proportion of motor vehicles now sold in the cities of the Yangtze Delta are electric bicycles

Rapid industrialization, population growth, and lax environmental oversight have caused many environmental issues, such as large-scale pollution in China.[12] As of 2013, Beijing, which lies in a topographic bowl, has significant industry, and heats with coal, is subject to air inversions resulting in extremely high levels of pollution in winter months.[13]

In January 2013, fine airborne particulates that pose the largest health risks, rose as high as 993 micrograms per cubic meter in Beijing, compared with World Health Organization guidelines of no more than 25. The World Bank estimates that 16 of the world's most-polluted cities are located in China.[14]

According to Jared Diamond, the six main categories of environmental problems of China are: air pollution, water problems, soil problems, habitat destruction, biodiversity loss and mega projects.[15] Diamond also states that, "China is noted for the frequency, number, extent, and damage of its natural disasters".[15]

Many of the Chinese citizens started to wonder if air pollution is the cause of the increase of lung cancer. This question began to rise because the citizens in China must constantly wear face masks to avoid breathing in the hazardous particles from their polluted skies. Some experts agree that it is the reason, but others say there isn't enough evidence. Wang Ning, deputy director of the Beijing Office for Prevention and Control, says he has seen a rise in a certain cancer called adenicarcinoma, which is a mucus that is seen as a side effect from pollution. China's lung cancer rate is 32% of the entire world's lung cancer patients. Meanwhile, as lung cancer increases, gastric, esophageal, and cervical cancer have all decreased in China.[16]

See also

References

  1. ^ Edward Wong (21 March 2013). "As Pollution Worsens in China, Solutions Succumb to Infighting". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
  2. ^ World Bank. "China Country Climate and Development Report" (PDF).
  3. ^ "China National communication 3: Part III Impacts of Climate Change and Adaptation". unfccc.int. Archived from the original on 14 November 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  4. ^ Ritchie, Hannah; Roser, Max; Rosado, Pablo (11 May 2020). "CO₂ and Greenhouse Gas Emissions". Our World in Data. Archived from the original on 16 August 2024. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
  5. ^ Malik, Arunima; Lan, Jun (2 April 2016). "The role of outsourcing in driving global carbon emissions". Economic Systems Research. 28 (2): 168–182. doi:10.1080/09535314.2016.1172475. ISSN 0953-5314. S2CID 156212231. Archived from the original on 24 July 2021. Retrieved 24 July 2021. high-income resource-poor nations such as the United Kingdom, Germany and France (...) outsource carbon-intensive production to China
  6. ^ Plumer, Brad (4 September 2018). "You've Heard of Outsourced Jobs, but Outsourced Pollution? It's Real, and Tough to Tally Up". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 25 July 2021. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  7. ^ Regan, Helen (5 January 2024). "2023 was China's hottest year on record, marked by multiple deadly extreme weather events". CNN. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
  8. ^ "Who has contributed most to global CO2 emissions?". Our World in Data. Archived from the original on 25 October 2021. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  9. ^ "The hard truths of climate change — by the numbers". www.nature.com. 18 September 2019. Archived from the original on 26 August 2022. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  10. ^ "Climate change: China aims for 'carbon neutrality by 2060'". BBC News. 22 September 2020. Archived from the original on 26 January 2021. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  11. ^ Lui, Swithin (19 May 2022). "Guest post: Why China is set to significantly overachieve its 2030 climate goals". Carbon Brief. Archived from the original on 23 May 2022. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  12. ^ Edward Wong (29 March 2013). "Cost of Environmental Damage in China Growing Rapidly Amid Industrialization". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 March 2013.
  13. ^ "2 Major Air Pollutants Increase in Beijing". The New York Times. 3 April 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
  14. ^ Bloomberg News (14 January 2013). "Beijing Orders Official Cars Off Roads to Curb Pollution". Bloomberg. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
  15. ^ a b Jared Diamond, Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed, Penguin Books, 2005 and 2011 (ISBN 9780241958681). See chapter 12 entitled "China, Lurching Giant" (pages 258-377).
  16. ^ Burkitt, Laurie (10 March 2014). "Pollution: Causing Lung Cancer in China?". WSJ. Retrieved 5 May 2017.

Further reading

  • Elvin, Mark. The retreat of the elephants: an environmental history of China (Yale University Press, 2004). excerpt
  • Heijdra, Martin. "Texts, Space and Time: New Insights into Chinese Environmental History." Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient 42.4 (1999): 549-565.
  • Maohong, Bao. "Environmental history in China." Environment and History (2004): 475-499. online
  • Marks, Robert B. China: An environmental history (Rowman & Littlefield, 2017). excerpt


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