GAP-JOURNAL 2012/13 - AFA

Julia Ebner
BetweenGrowthand Responsibility.
TheImpactofChina’s Ecological Challenges on Its Future
Generations
China’s RisetoanEconomic Power and EcologicScapegoat
China isone of the fastest growing economies interms ofboth gross domestic product
and population (The World Bank: “Data China”). With an average annual growth of ten
per cent during the past two decades (Economic Research Service ofthe USDA: “Real
GDP Historic Data”), the country has become amajor economic power. According toa
World Bank ranking of 2011, China has the second highest nominal GDP in the world
(The World Bank: “GDP Ranking”). Still, it plans tomaintain its rapid growth: The
General Secretary ofthe Communist Party ofChina, Jiang Zemin, determined the quadrupling
ofthe gross domestic product of2000 by 2020 as one of China’s main objectives
in his report atthe 16th National Congress in 2002 (Zemin 2002: 1).
Starting with the economic reforms of1978, China began to invest in industrial production,
liberalise foreign trade and encourage the creation ofprivate businesses (Cf. Hu &
Khan 1997). These political changes accelerated the process of industrialisation, urbanisation
and motorization which caused abooming demand for energy resources (United
Nations 2009: 11): Between 1980 and 2009 China’s total energyuse almost quadrupled,
rising from aninitial level of 598,488 to 2,257,101 kilotons of oil equivalent (The
World Bank: “Energy Use”). Within the same period, carbon dioxide emissions grew
almost fivefold (The World Bank: “CO 2 Emissions”). According tothe International
Energy Agency (“Global carbon-dioxide emissions increase by 1.0 Gt in 2011 to record
high”), China has surpassed the United States and is now the world’s largest greenhouse
gas emitter.
China’s rapid emissions rise has undeniably led to health-threatening living conditions
in China: In 1995, the concentration oftotal suspended particulates (TSP) exceeded the
World Health Organization guideline inall but two ofthe 87 cities monitored in China
(World Resource Institute, “China’s Health and Environment: Air Pollution and Health
Effects”). The sulphur dioxide (SO 2 )concentration amounted more than the WHO
guideline considers safe in over50per cent of88monitored cities. Furthermore, only83
per cent ofChina’s population have access tosafe drinking water (Hays 2008), ascompared
to a European and North American standard of 100 per cent (“Infographic: