ABSTRACT
Fisheries are under significant pressure, deforestation is increasing and growth in pollution is probably faster than anywhere in the world. Vehicle emissions are responsible for the high levels of lead, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons in most Asian cities, whilst industry and power generation account for most pollution by sulphur dioxide and particulates. Apart from urban air quality, acid rain is the fastest growing air pollution threat in south-east Asia. Under most Asian anti-pollution legislation, fines are rarely big enough to deter polluters. The unprecedented increase in Chinese consumption, and of industrial output, could lead to the most massive of pollution problems. The consequences of rapidly rising Chinese carbon emissions could be catastrophic both for China and the rest of the world. The kind of economic development many Chinese bureaucrats are talking about involves mega-projects such as the damming of the largest river on earth, the Yangtze.
