Urban Transport - India Environment Portal

2 Urban Transport Strategy to Combat Climate Change in the People’s Republic of ChinaFlooding in the People’s Republic of ChinaSource: China Underground.Air PollutionAir pollution is another effect linked with GHG emissions. Air pollution is particularlybad in northeastern PRC where a significant number of factories and manufacturingplants are located. A study done by the World Health Organization estimated thatthe amount of airborne suspended particulates in northern PRC is almost 20 timesmore than the World Health Organization standard for safe levels. Severe automotiveair pollution affects the health and welfare of people. According to PRC governmentsources, about a fifth of urban Chinese breathe heavily polluted air. The air pollutionand smog in Beijing and Shanghai are sometimes so bad that the airports are shut downbecause of poor visibility. Coal is the country’s number one source of air pollution. ThePRC gets 80% of its electricity and 70% of its total energy from coal. Furthermore,expanding car ownership, heavy traffic, and low-grade gasoline have made cars anotherleading contributor to the air pollution problem in PRC cities.Energy ConsumptionThe PRC is the world’s second largest economy and second largest oil consumer. Figure 1shows its crude oil consumption from 1980 to 2006. In the past 26 years, the PRC’soil consumption increased on average by nearly 6% annually and 300% overall. This