Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
years, China is expected to build urban areas equal in size to 10 New York Cit-
ies.
Top Topics on China's Environment
»
When a Billion Chinese Jump
(2010) Jonathan Watts' sober and engaging study
of China's environmental issues.
»
The River Runs Black: The Environmental Challenge to China's Future
(2010; 2nd
edition) Elizabeth Economy's frightening look at the unhappy marriage between
breakneck economic production and environmental degradation.
»
The China Price: The True Cost of Chinese Competitive Advantage
(2008) Alex-
andra Harney's telling glimpse behind the figures of China's economic rise.
»
China's Water Crisis
(2004) Ma Jun rolls up his sleeves to examine the sources of
China's water woes.
»
Mao's War Against Nature
(2001) Judith Shapiro looks at the ideological clash
between communism and the environment.
A Greener China?
In 2010 China overtook the USA as the world's largest energy consumer; in
the same year the nation replaced Japan as the world's second-largest eco-
nomy and is tipped to overtake the USA by 2030 (some say by 2020). In 2012,
China's per capita carbon dioxide emissions caught up with the European
Union and China is now responsible for roughly a quarter of global emissions.
The World Bank calculates the annual cost of pollution alone in China at al-
most 6% of the national GDP; when all forms of environmental damage are in-
corporated, the figure leaps as high as 12%, meaning China's final environ-
mental costs may overshadow economic growth.
China is painfully aware of its accelerated desertification, growing water
shortages, shrinking glaciers, acidic rain, contaminated rivers, caustic urban
air and polluted soil. There is strong evidence of ambitious and bold thinking:
Beijing is committing itself to overtaking Europe in investment in renewable en-
