home > by publication type > daily analysis > Clearing the Air in China
Email
| Author: |
|---|
China's National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, is seen on a hazy day in August 2008. (AP/Alexander F. Yuan)
Beijing has long hoped the 2008 Olympic Games will shine a spotlight on China's progress as a burgeoning world power. In addition to building splashy new sports venues, authorities have taken various steps to beautify Beijing—from erecting walls to hide urban blight (NYT) to limiting the size of the family dog. But efforts to bring the city's notorious air pollution under control have proven a scramble. After promising a "green Olympics," officials temporarily moved or shut down factories (AP), revamped mass transit, and implemented measures to take half of its 3.3 million cars off the road (McClatchy). Yet in the days leading up to the August 8 opening ceremonies, prospects for a smog-free start to the game remained hazy (BBC). Health concerns persist among some athletes (NPR), and one author contends that "a sniff test" indicates that many factories are still in operation (Huffington Post), contributing to the air problem. A 2006 study notes that pollutant sources outside Beijing add significantly to the city's air problems (PDF), further complicating clean-up efforts.
The World Bank ranks Beijing thirteenth in the world (BBC) for pollution from the kinds of matter that can cause respiratory difficulty, so-called "coarse particulates." (Though Cairo and New Delhi top the list, more than half of the cities in the top fourteen are in China.) The city's levels for coarse particulates are double World Health Organization safety standards and are substantially higher than levels at any recent summer games. Still, some international monitors give China credit for its cleanup efforts. A report by the UN's environment program says China achieved many of the commitments (PDF) it made when it won its bid for the 2008 games. The environmental group Greenpeace has also praised many of China's efforts (PDF)—though it adds that "limited transparency and a lack of independently verified data" make it difficult to fully evaluate greening efforts.
While course particulates are well-documented health concern, little data exists for other air pollutants. Beijing monitors fine particulates and ozone (WashPost) but it does not make the data public, making measurements of progress and comparisons with other cities difficult (PDF). (China's official news agency said this will change next year when ozone levels are included in air quality reports.) Ozone can cause acute respiratory distress and reduced lung function within a few hours. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says people at greatest risk from ozone exposure are those that exercise outdoors.
As a precaution, many Olympic teams are spending their final training days outside China. U.S. officials are going so far as to arm their athletes with masks (WSJ). Some teams will also bring their own food (Globe and Mail) or carefully track the food their athletes eat during the games because of fears of food contamination or steroid-laden meat. Chinese officials assure the food will be safe (Xinhua), and one Olympics committee official said the U.S. plan to supply masks was "useless." Nonetheless, CFR senior fellows Elizabeth C. Economy and Adam Segal write in a new Foreign Affairs article that the burden remains on China: "Having promised a safe and green Olympics, Beijing must now deliver."
Weigh in on this issue by emailing CFR.org.
To order Task Force reports, Council Special Reports, and Critical Policy Choices, please call, fax, or order online from our distributor, the Brookings Institution Press: phone +1.800.537.5487, fax +1.410.516.6998.
For information on other reports that are not for sale, or for general publications information, please call +1.212.434.9516 or email publications@cfr.org.
Start-Up Nation addresses the trillion-dollar question: How is it that Israel—a country of 7.1 million, only sixty years old, surrounded by enemies— produces more start-up companies than large, peaceful, and stable nations like Japan, China, India, Korea, Canada, and the UK? With the insights of geopolitical experts and investors, the authors examine this nation’s adversity-driven culture to answer this question and offer prescriptions for a global economy on the rebound.
In Forces of Fortune, Vali Nasr presents a paradigm-changing revelation that will transform the understanding of the Muslim world at large. He reveals that there is a vital but unseen rising force in the Islamic world—a new business-minded middle class—that is building a vibrant new Muslim world economy and that holds the key to winning the cold war against Iran and extremists.
In Cuba: What Everyone Needs to Know, Julia E. Sweig presents a remarkably accessible portrait of Cuba's unique place on the world stage over the past fifty years, including its internal politics, its often fraught relationship with the United States, and its shifting relationship with the global community.
Complete list of CFR Books
The report of this bipartisan Task Force of distinguished leaders and experts represents a strong consensus on the importance of repairing America's immigration policy. It makes the case that maintaining America's political and economic leadership depends on attracting talented and hard-working immigrants, and on securing the country's borders in a smart, effective, and humane way.
This report finds that nuclear weapons will remain a fundamental element of U.S. national security in the near term, and makes recommendations on how to ensure the safety, security, and reliability of the U.S. deterrent nuclear force, prevent nuclear terrorism, and strengthen the nuclear nonproliferation regime.
About Independent Task Forces at CFR
Complete list of Task Force reports
Identifying international threats and acting on them may be the most difficult job for U.S. policymakers. This report
provides an actionable road map for managing international threats before they erupt into crises and makes a strong case that preventive action is not a luxury but a necessity.
For more than a decade, the United States has mostly watched from the sidelines as Asian countries organize themselves into an alphabet soup of new multilateral groups. In this report, the authors review the relationship between pan-Asian and trans-Pacific institutions and suggest policy guidelines for a new U.S. approach to this new Asian landscape.
Complete list of Council Special Reports
To request permission to reprint or reuse CFR material, please fill out this permissions request form (PDF), referring to the instructions on page 1.
Copyright 2009 by the Council on Foreign Relations. All Rights Reserved.