China’s policymakers have increasingly come to acknowledge the need to tackle environmental degradation - and it’s not all about the Olympics.

By Cyril Washbrook, The Real News.

In the twenty-first century, the environment has become a key factor in decision-making processes around the world. As a global dilemma, there seems to be a general acknowledgment of the need for global solutions; even if the rhetoric isn’t necessarily borne out by action, concerns over anthropogenic climate change and/or pollution (whether the two are aspects of the same problem could be disputed) have become a new and important feature of the normative dialogue of international relations. To this end, states like China and India play crucial roles: their combined population make up about 40% of the world figure, and as their energy needs grow, so do their influence on the global environment. While China has typically taken a firm stance on the issue of the environment - arguing that in global terms they are less obliged than developed states to take action with regard to greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants - its policymakers have steadily come to realize that while continued economic development is still largely non-negotiable, a variety of influences make paying attention to the environment increasingly important.

Foreign - and state-run - media have been keen to note the efforts that China has made to ensure a “green Olympics” this year. On Wednesday, Chinese state media reported that traffic in Beijing would be halved during the Olympics in an attempt to reduce drastically both the number of cars on the road and the photochemical smog which is seemingly a permanent feature of one of the world’s most polluted cities. Such moves are important for China: it has been experimenting with traffic reductions since last year, initiating schemes such as banning cars on alternate days based upon license plate numbers. While reports about the success of such schemes have been mixed - the license plate system managed to reduce the number of cars without significantly decreasing air pollution - they do illustrate the importance that environmental issues hold in the effort to make the Olympics a key element in the multifaceted “charm offensive” strategy that China has waged over a number of years to increase its foreign policy appeal. Patently, smog-filled cities and wheezing sightseers don’t make for a good international look during a key marketing event.

But foreign policy considerations aren’t the only reason that China is paying more attention to environmental issues, and casual observers would do well to consider the “close to home” factor. China, as well as having to cater for foreign observers who will have an eye on how it deals with one of the most publicized events on the international calendar, increasingly has to cater for its own citizens, a large number of whom are not pleased with the side-effects of China’s rapid economic development. It’s not just the haze that forms a seemingly impervious blanket over cities like Beijing or Shanghai. Indeed, many rural areas are suffering far worse than the big cities. Take a trip beyond these metropolises, and the picture of a progressive, thriving economy gives way to lingering questions about how China can continue to deal with a sizable rural underclass. With coal-fired power stations being built at an alarming rate in order to satisfy the insatiable energy appetite of a massive population, some areas in China suffer from worse pollution than the bigger cities, in the air and in the waterways.

And it’s not the only domestic pressure looming in front of China’s administration; internationally publicized land ownership disputes, unsafe working conditions, continued corruption among officials and growing perceptions that the policymakers just don’t care have all contributed to the dilemmas that China faces. Wider economic problems such as inflation are also starting to hit home for many consumers. The environmental degradation issue is just part of this complex picture, but it’s significant enough to have warranted serious responses in a state that still insists that responsibility for caring for the global environment rests beyond developing countries’ borders. Projecting a good international image is one thing - but in a state that has what might be seen as an unhealthy dependence on political and social control, tackling the problem of environmental degradation is now seen as a key element of China’s domestic policy. Over the last couple of decades, China’s population has become increasingly educated about environmental problems, with notable manifestations of this being demands for the preservation of the snub-nosed monkey, under threat from industrial projects. Algae blooms on China’s largest lakes have also brought national attention, and China’s cabinet last week moved to tackle the problem of polluted lakes and waterways, pledging to limit pollution and the consequent algae blooms by 2010 with a variety of measures, including the closure of several high-pollution factories.

Apart from the role that environmental degradation plays in ensuring political stability, there are more pragmatic reasons for China’s administration to pay greater attention to the environment. In the last decade, it’s become evident that a stifled and polluted environment is costing China economically. Estimates vary, but commonly cited World Bank estimates indicate that China loses somewhere in the region of twelve per cent from its annual GDP as a result of environmental factors such as disease. Other estimates point to figures closer to fifteen per cent. It’s fair to say, then, that China faces uncomfortable policy dilemmas in relation to the environment and the economy - after all, high profile measures to tackle the environment (such as the ones mentioned above) have come at the same time as the release of new growth figures which show China’s annual economic growth reaching a thirteen year high at 11.4%. A few days ago at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, an “environmental scorecard” was released showing that China was ranked a lowly 105th out of 149 states for environmental standards and protection. And just to complicate the picture further, China’s state media reported this week that the country is now facing power shortages; and that means a greater desire for coal - dirty but cheap.

If nothing else, China is proof that modern environmental issues aren’t all about believing the science or supporting different theories; while issues such as climate change are the pre-eminent environmental dilemmas in popular society, it’s hard to believe that statespeople and policymakers actively formulate policy in terms of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s environmental assessments. With its international reputation and an agitated rural interior to think about, China’s administration faces indisputable policy dilemmas and obstacles in its pursuit of ambitious national interests.

Cyril Washbrook is an Australian student and blogger with a keen interest in world affairs. He is author of The Real News, a blog that presents indepth analyses and commentaries of issues relating to world politics and international relations. His commentaries focus on tackling topics with a lateral thinking mentality, divorcing issues from common generalizations or inflexible ideological stances.