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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.
An aerial drone shot this month shows a farmer plowing a field in China’s Zhejiang province. China is making agriculture advancements more attainable with a new plan. Photo: Xinhua
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.

Business of climate change

Hang Lung pushes for faster decarbonisation in construction sector

China energy security

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

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Art

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.

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.

Shanghai

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’.

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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.

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

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.

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Climate change

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.

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China society

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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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.

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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
Mental health

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.

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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.

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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.

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Science

Chinese team tests lung treatment that may be first to reverse COPD damage

Paper follows statement by Zuo Wei that ‘stem cell and progenitor cell-based regenerative medicine may be the biggest, if not the only, hope to cure COPD’.

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In a Chinese study, 17 patients with varying stages of COPD who received the team’s therapy had no serious adverse side effects and the team did not observe signs of tumour formation in the patients six months after transplant. Photo: Shutterstock
Science

An extra 3 billion people to ‘lack clean water by 2050’, with China in risk zone

Southern China will be among areas at risk as high nitrogen levels continue to deplete clean water supplies, researchers in Germany and Netherlands say in paper for Nature Communications.

Climate change

The View | Is it time for ‘developing’ China to start funding UN climate aid?

As a developing country, China does not have to give directly to UN climate funds, such as the loss and damage fund. This has fuelled a debate over outdated categories.

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China economy

Opinion | China tech: Wuxi model shows local governments how to drive growth

Wuxi’s evolution from an industrial hub to an epicentre of technological innovation offers other local governments a prime example of how to employ a unique blend of public and private sector integration to promote regional economic development.

Barges traverse the Grand Canal in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, on December 9, 2023. Wuxi’s approach to drawing and promoting hi-tech industries in its evolution from an industrial hub to one of innovation can be an example for other municipal governments in China. Photo: Xinhua
Climate change

Opinion | Climate action: how China is accelerating the drive towards a net zero world

Chinese firms dominate green industries from renewable energy to electric vehicles, China’s Belt and Road Initiative promotes green projects and even its e-commerce push brings energy savings.

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BYD electric cars are lined up waiting to be shipped from China’s Suzhou Port on September 11. Chinese brands now account for about half of EVs sold globally. Photo: AFP
Science

China bans new steel plants in ‘blue skies’ plan to cut pollution

The main goal of a new plan, published by the State Council, is to reduce the most harmful small particles in the air by 10 per cent by 2025.

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India

What India can learn from China about cleaning up its ‘constant’ filthy air

In the 30 days through November 9, levels of hazardous microparticles known as PM2.5 averaged 14 times higher in New Delhi than in Beijing, according to air-quality tracker IQAir.

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China energy security

China coal reserves found lacking after past crises hit industries, livelihoods

A new national backup system for coal production will seek to stabilise prices and ensure sufficient supplies as energy security is increasingly prioritised across the country.

China says the output of coal mines must be increased to address power concerns. Photo: AFP
China’s carbon neutral goal

China bamboo-zled? Why the plant hasn’t taken root as plastic alternative

China’s bamboo forests span far and wide, presenting a more sustainable raw material for products in lieu of high-emitting plastics, but several confounding factors stand in the way of universal adoption.

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Bamboo is an attractive and organic substitute for plastics, but China has not yet fully embraced the green solution due to a number of factors. Illustration: Henry Wong
Environment

China targets miners and watchdogs in snap eco compliance audit

Authorities turned blind eye to environmental violations at Qaidam Basin in Qinghai province, inspectors say.

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Business of climate change

China’s power sector could reach peak emissions by 2025: climate report

Record clean energy installations could help China’s power sector to reach peak emissions in the next two years, but continued investment in coal-based capacity and a lack of firm emissions targets could undermine optimism about the country’s green transition, according to climate researchers.

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