ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with an overview of the growth of environmental risk in China, particularly in the form of atmospheric pollution, and discusses the emergence of a distinct form of Chinese environmental activism. Air pollution is the most visible form of pollution risk in China and at times has reached extreme levels. The chapter investigates how the politics of pollution risk and responsibility play out in the Chinese media through a case study of Chai Jing's air pollution documentary Under the Dome. As China's pollution crisis worsened, a 'green public sphere' has emerged in which non-governmental organisations play a primary role in generating critical environmental discourse. The emergence of this green public sphere has facilitated by a number of sociopolitical transformations in China, that have opened up greater space for actors such as journalists, scientists, policymakers and social organisations to coalesce around environmental issues.
