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China's thirst for energy worsens
air pollution
By Michael
Lelyveld
WASHINGTON - China has issued new
guidelines urging power plants to cut air
pollution, but experts say rising consumption is
hindering the government's efforts to reduce coal
emissions. On May 18, the State Development and
Reform Commission (SDRC) issued what it called a
"detailed mandate", suggesting ways for coal-fired
power plants to remove sulphur emissions from the
air.
But some experts said the guidelines
were no more than that, and lacked teeth. "To me,
it sounds as though Beijing is simply clutching at
any straw to try to get some improvement in their
air quality and their acid rain problem,"
Elizabeth Economy, director of Asia studies at the
Council on Foreign Relations in New York, told
RFA. "There’s nothing in this advisory...that
provides any real incentives for actors to change
their behavior, either power plant or local
enforcement officials, to take stronger action,"
said Economy, author of a book on China's
environmental problems, The River Runs
Black.
The toxic gas sulphur dioxide
is a major contributor to acid rain that damages
crops, pollutes waterways and makes people ill;
the gas is chemically converted in the atmosphere
to sulphuric acid, which then acidifies rain
falling in the area. Sulphur is also an ingredient
in the coal that China uses to generate more than
75% of its electric power, according US Department
of Energy data. China's State Environmental
Protection Administration (SEPA) estimates that
the damage from sulphur dioxide and acid rain
costs the country 110 billion yuan (U.S.$13.3
billion) per year, official media say.
Biggest summer power shortfall
yet
China's State Grid Corporation, the
main national electric power supplier, raised its
estimate last week of the power shortfall for the
coming summer to more than 30 million kilowatts,
far larger than in recent years. Economy said the
government may not take the risk of closing even
the dirtiest power plants while the shortage
continues.
"Unless there's substantially
more behind this than what we've seen, I really
don't think we're going to see any difference
emerge in terms of practice on the ground,"
Economy said. "As long as China's economy
continues to grow at this breakneck pace and the
government continues to confront the prospect of
rolling energy shortages especially in the coastal
areas, I think they are going to continue to allow
small coal mines to operate and small coal-fired
power plants to continue on line, even those that
they had previously shut down," Economy said.
Christopher Flavin, president of the
Worldwatch Institute, a Washington-based research
organization, said SEPA officials took
environmental regulation seriously, but collisions
of interests have made their task difficult to
carry out. "I think the national government is
actually trying pretty hard. In many cases,
they're being frustrated by local officials, lack
of local enforcement, in some cases probably
failures at the national level, as well," Flavin
said. "But I know some of the top officials in the
State Environmental Protection Administration in
Beijing themselves are quite critical of the
government's inability to fully enforce the
regulations they have in place," he added.
Pollution causing premature
deaths
In May, the Worldwatch Institute
released its annual "Vital Signs" report on global
economic, social and environmental trends. This
year, the report focuses on China because its
surge in demand and production has been driving
much of the world's growth in consumption of
natural resources.
Among the many facts
highlighting the new role of China, the report
says the country now accounts for 27% of the
world's steel output, consuming huge amounts of
coal and power. The report also cited a World Bank
study showing that more than 80% of the Chinese
cities surveyed had sulphur dioxide or nitrogen
oxide levels above maximum guideline levels set by
the World Health Organization. Nearly half the
cities with excessive sulphur emissions registered
at more than double the standard, Worldwatch said.
According to World Bank estimates cited by
the report, some 590,000 people a year will suffer
premature deaths due to urban air pollution in
China between 2001 and 2020. Christopher Flavin
was asked how China's government is balancing the
demands for more coal-fired power plants with
environmental risks. "I think it gets played out
in a very complex and sometimes messy fashion, and
clearly, China has a long way to go in terms of
living up to even the environmental standards it
sets for itself," Flavin said.
Copyright (c) 2005, Radio Free Asia.
Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free
Asia. |
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