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China pollution

China pollution

Latest news and analysis about the degradation of the air quality, water, marine environment and soil in China.

Factories in southwestern China seen emitting significant amounts of waste gases. Photo: Shutterstock

Artificial intelligence

Hong Kong AI start-up develops emission monitoring system, targets mainland

The AURA framework from ANTEI AI can help replace labour-intensive monitoring done in some countries, the CEO says.

9 Sep 2025 - 7:00AM

New study revisits link between air pollution in East Asia and global warming

3 Aug 2025 - 6:09PMvideocam

Opinion | Is Asia’s cleaner air driving global warming?

19 Jul 2025 - 10:30AMvideocam

Opinion | Lead poisoning scandal in China shows tendency to cover up is still strong

Suppression of information in such cases is part of a familiar pattern of local government response.

16 Jul 2025 - 8:31PMvideocam

A screenshot of footage of kitchen staff at a Gansu kindergarten where children have fallen ill with lead poisoning. Photo: handout

China’s Communist Party

Chinese lead poisoning scandal sparks backlash, echoing earlier controversies

Observers say alleged attempt to cover up high lead levels in kindergarteners follows pattern seen in other safety incidents in China.

12 Jul 2025 - 5:53PMvideocam

China energy security

Solar energy milestone: China taps the ocean in breakthrough for industry

The Qingdao-based project is projected to boost offshore power and help cut emissions by 14,000 tonnes annually.

5 Jul 2025 - 4:00PM

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Opinion | How Asia’s failure to cooperate is killing its rivers and oceans

The recent UN Ocean Conference was a missed opportunity for a region that has the means to save its marine environment, but not the political will.

19 Jun 2025 - 9:30AMvideocam

Child labourers collect plastic waste from the Buriganga River in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on June 5. Photo: EPA-EFE

From Avatar to mountain of rubbish: China pulls decade of trash from caves

Officials say villagers dumped rubbish when the local government banned incineration but did not yet have a collection service.

10 Jun 2025 - 6:48PMvideocam

Opinion | How China’s modernisation offers a new path to prosperity

Focused on equity and shared development outcomes, China’s path to modernity has both distinct characteristics and global relevance.

7 May 2025 - 4:35PMvideocam

Opinion | China must resist greenwashing its dirty coal habit with green bonds

Can China credibly claim climate leadership while doubling down on its dirtiest fuel?

24 Apr 2025 - 9:30AMvideocam

Vehicles transfer coal at a port in Chongqing, southwestern China on April 20. Photo: AFP

Hong Kong environmental issues

Editorial | Raise awareness of air pollution hazards in Hong Kong

We can’t control the weather, but proper warnings must be issued in a timely manner so that Hongkongers can take appropriate precautions.

16 Apr 2025 - 7:45AM

Smoggy weather has struck Hong Kong in recent days, in the worst such case in years. Photo: Jelly Tse

China food security

Beijing bids adieu to ‘basic’ farmland with plan to supercharge soil

When it’s basic farmland vs ‘well-facilitated’ farmland, the latter considerably outperforms in cost and yield.

31 Mar 2025 - 7:30PM

Business of climate change

Hang Lung pushes for faster decarbonisation in construction sector

Developer urges quicker regulatory progress and pilot programmes to expedite low-carbon material adoption, vital for decarbonising the sector.

22 Dec 2024 - 10:00AM

China energy security

China’s nuclear power ambitions at core of energy security amid safety concerns

Now the world’s biggest market for nuclear power, China has more than 100 reactors in use or being built along the nation’s coastline.

16 Dec 2024 - 11:30PM

With a combined installed capacity of 113 million kilowatts, China currently has 102 reactors in use or being built. Image: Shutterstock

Art made from plastic waste on Chinese beaches makes a statement

Fu Junsheng collects plastic that washes up on China’s Miaodao islands and turns it into art that highlights the problem of marine pollution.

1 Dec 2024 - 8:33AM

A box of toothbrushes collected from the shores of the Miaodao Islands off eastern China. Photo: AFP

SCMP Highlights

Recap | Smog shuts New Delhi schools, Shanghai tops pollution list: 6 environment stories

From India’s toxic smog crisis to McDonald’s tackling cow methane, explore the global fight against pollution in our latest stories on the environment.

19 Nov 2024 - 4:13PM

Shanghai is world’s most polluting city, says new data revealed at Cop29

While the Chinese city was found to be worse than all of Colombia or Norway, a site in Texas ‘is the worst polluting site in the entire world’.

15 Nov 2024 - 10:17PMvideocam

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China energy security

China takes aim at energy replacement with industry-spanning plan for renewables

More energy must come from renewable sources, but transition from fossil fuels will be orderly, top economic planner says.

31 Oct 2024 - 6:31PMvideocam

China has unveiled a renewable-energy-substitution plan that spans multiple industries. Photo: AFP

All-bamboo plastic a step closer to reality with new processing recipe: study

Chinese researchers say technique to ‘remodel’ the tall grass into a plastic substitute could soon produce eco-friendly utensils, hats, phone cases and more.

29 Aug 2024 - 1:00PMvideocam

Opinion | China’s refusal to say no to coal could nix renewable energy gains

China must resist justifying more coal power as the state grid struggles to deal with the surge in renewable energy.

19 Aug 2024 - 9:36AMvideocam

Opinion | What China watchers should know about where the country is headed

The reforms outlined in the third plenum sets the groundwork for deepening efforts such as poverty alleviation to sustainable development.

8 Aug 2024 - 4:45PM

A giant screen shows President Xi Jinping attending the Communist Party’s third plenary session in Beijing on July 18. Photo: Reuters

China energy security

Beijing urged to quell ‘fluctuations and volatility’ stifling renewable energy

Power capacity and infrastructure are vital to China’s green transition and hi-tech ambitions, but ‘power abandonment’ is a critical setback.

28 Jun 2024 - 7:00PM

Nationwide solar-generation-capacity installation surged in China by 52.2 per cent in the first five months of 2024, year on year. Photo: Reuters

Singapore study links air pollution to 135 million premature deaths

The study is one of the most expansive to date, using 40 years of data to give a big-picture view of the effects of air quality on health.

11 Jun 2024 - 1:43PM

China energy security

China targets wasted production, taking aim at pollution and overcapacity

Four industrial sectors have been singled out – steel, petrochemicals, non-ferrous metals, and building materials – with new capacity strictly prohibited or restricted in certain subsectors.

30 May 2024 - 7:00PMvideocam

China energy security

China’s new oil rig in South China Sea helps it drill deep for energy security

New deep-sea mobile operation can reportedly drill to a depth of 9,085 metres, a record for China as Beijing looks to rely less on imported oil and gas amid rising geopolitical uncertainties.

15 Apr 2024 - 9:01PMvideocam

China’s new oil rig, the Enping 21-4 A1H wellhead platform, can produce 700 tonnes of oil per day, according to state media. Photo: CCTV

Editorial | Link between clear air and fewer suicides is another reason to act

A study lends support to the argument that there is more to environmental protection than just physical health and economic benefits.

17 Mar 2024 - 1:14AMvideocam

Emissions rise from the smokestacks at a coal power plant in Kansas, USA. File photo: AP

Business of climate change

PET peeve: should Hong Kong’s recycling industry head for the bins?

Hong Kong’s recycling pace lags that in Europe and the US, but government intervention could help transform the landscape as growing landfills contaminate the soil.

4 Mar 2024 - 11:34AM

Business of climate change

China will miss its climate goals unless it reins in coal power: report

China is at risk of missing its climate targets and suffering major economic losses unless it takes decisive actions to put a halt to runaway coal power plant expansion and reform outdated power grid management, says Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.

22 Feb 2024 - 8:02AMvideocam

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