ABSTRACT
Air pollution has important consequences for the Chinese population and the Chinese economy. I start by describing the economic impact before turning to health impact and the environmental impact.
China’s meteoric rise has been accompanied by a general disregard for the environment and public health, coupled with an attitude of “don’t let anything detract from economic growth because any problem encountered can be fixed later”. China’s ethos of developing its economy by exploiting its natural resources has come with enormous costs. The Chinese Academy of Environmental Planning (part of the Ministry of Environmental Planning) estimated the cost arising from pollution and damage to the ecosystem at USD 230 billion in 2010, or 3.5 per cent of the gross domestic product – three times larger than in 2004 (Wong, 2013). On the other hand, the World Bank (2012, p. 149) revealed that environmental degradation and resource degradation led to about 9 per cent loss of its gross national income, which is over ten times higher than that of its East Asian counterparts (Japan and South Korea).
