China Is the World’s Worst Polluter. Don’t Expect It to Be a Climate Crusader

Wall Street Journal ^ | 06 June 2017 | Andrew Browne

[Lorianne]

In pulling out of the 2015 Paris climate-change agreement, Mr. Trump has repudiated a signal accomplishment of the Obama presidency: persuading Beijing to become a partner in the effort to prevent the planet from heating up to the point of no return. Without China’s support, the Paris deal might have fallen apart. Mr. Paulson issued a statement saying he was dismayed and disappointed. “We have left a void for others to fill,” he said. When it comes to the environment, China is still torn by conflicting priorities. It has installed more solar and wind capacity than any other nation—and plans to invest another $360 billion in renewable energy between now and 2020. The economy is rebalancing away from heavy industry and manufacturing toward much cleaner services and consumption.

Coal consumption has declined for three straight years. On current trends, many scientists expect that China will reach peak carbon emissions well before its target date of 2030 under the Paris accord. Yet Beijing remains committed to rapid growth. And coal is still king. Just ask the residents of Beijing. Whenever economic policy makers set out to boost growth, spending flows to new real-estate and infrastructure projects, the steel mills around the capital fire up their coal furnaces—and commuters reach for their face masks. This winter was particularly hard on the lungs. A spending splurge meant that Beijing’s average pollution levels last year were double the national standard set by the State Council.

[Lorianne]

Rats, I was really counting on China to save the planet.

[Vendome]

And....supposedly, a friend recently explained, China has embarked upon a unique national plan to convert all energy production to nuclear.

Would be a good start for cleaning their environment but, I doubt it.

I understand from a report I read a few years back, China estimates it will take a couple hundred years minimum to reverse the disaster that is currently taking place.

Well, good luck with that...

[Noob1999]

Kind of a convoluted article when I read it this AM.

Bottom line is that the US was supposed to pay into a black hole today, while China has another seventeen years before they have to measure reductions in their filth.

Spare me the tears, world! Trump was right, the Paris fiasco was a one sided piece of garbage based on very iffy “science”!

[gunsequalfreedom]

Doing its part not to use any more electricity from coal fired power plants than is necessary.

[VRWC For Truth]

Ruh ro, better tell Moonbeam ...

[seastay]

The Governor of California in the name of saving the planet from pollution , partners with the world's worst polluting planet and is like the mayor of London over a disagreement about security thinks the president of the united states should be banned from his country and not Muslims with known connections from war torn regions.... you cant make this stuff up, the world has gone mad !

[snoringbear]

“I understand from a report I read a few years back, China estimates it will take a couple hundred years minimum to reverse the disaster that is currently taking place.”

China is between the proverbial rock and a hard spot. Their air is like breathing soot, rivers and estuaries are dead. They still dispose human excretment in their agricultural fields, thus hepatitis is rampant. The rock though, is that only the some 300m living along the Pacific crescent have been touched by the China economic boom. The remaining 1b plus, still living in fourth world conditions are restless and want in on the action. But, electric power is essential for economic growth. And, coal powered electric plants is China’s only means of providing it quickly. Thus, a new coal powered electric plant is coming on-line every week. Oh, about China coal; aside from being some of the dirtiest coal on the planet, about half of their coal mines are on fire and they’re virtually impossible to put out. Many have been burning for decades with no sign of burning out. Sadly, there are so many problems with China that two centuries to clean up the country may be very optimistic.

[Gay State Conservative]

I've been to China...several times...recently.The stories you hear about the air pollution there are wrong.

The air there is *worse* than how it's described in the Western press.

[Stopthethreat]

yes but they’re communist. and not white. so the leftie enviro mental cases give them a pass