- China is the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, responsible for 27 percent of global emissions in 2014.
- In January 2013, Beijing experienced a prolonged bout of smog so severe that citizens dubbed it an “airpocalypse”; the concentration of hazardous particles was forty times the level deemed safe by the World Health Organization.
- In December 2015, Beijing issued red alerts for severe pollution—the first since the emergency alert system was established. The municipal government closed schools, limited road traffic, halted outdoor construction, and paused factory manufacturing.
- China is the world’s largest coal producer and accounts for about half of global consumption.
- There were a record 17 million new carson the road in 2014.
- Experts also cite water depletion and pollution as among the country’s biggest environmental challenges.
- The government has mapped out ambitious environmental initiatives in recent five-year plans, although experts say follow-through has been flawed.
http://www.cfr.org/china/chinas-environmental-crisis/p12608
Britt Neech
REGENairATE 