In China a tiny number of officials make key environmental decisions. But an increasingly savvy public could take to the streets unless the government changes its approach, argues environmental campaigner Ma Jun as part of a series of viewpoints on challenges facing China’s new leaders.
In August 2011 about 12,000 people in China went for a “group stroll” in the northern city of Dalian. But this was no ordinary Sunday morning walk – it was a protest by another name, in a country where dissent is controlled.
The strollers carried banners voicing their rage at a chemical plant in the area. In China these strollers eventually forced the government to announce the relocation of the 10bn yuan ($1.6bn; £1bn) plant.
China has witnessed remarkable economic successes over the last three decades, accompanied by industrialisation and urbanisation. But ordinary people are coming to understand that this comes at a cost.
Citizens are beginning to see that development based on ever-greater consumption of resources is unsustainable. When China’s new leaders take control, they will be confronted with a population increasingly protective of their environment.
China leads the world in energy consumption, carbon emissions and the release of major air and water pollutants, and the environmental impact is felt both regionally and globally.
We have created laws and regulations but the enforcement remains too weak and environmental lawsuits are still very difficult to file. Regulatory failings mean that the cost of breaking the law is far below that of obeying it”
Yet local officials have stuck with this model of development because it promotes GDP growth, and such measures are closely tied with their personal political careers.
They believe that the day when concerns over the environment and availability of resources actually constrain growth is far away.
