Environmental concerns in China: problems, policies, and global implications

International Social Science Review, Spring-Summer, 2006 by Xiaofan Li

At present, few non-governmental organizations exist in China which can exert public pressure to secure enforcement of environmental regulations. This reflects an absence of citizens' participation in the work of environmental institutions. (75) Due to the government's failure to promote environmental concerns, public awareness has lagged. To overcome this problem, environmental agencies and institutions need to establish various channels to educate the populace and industries on environmental protection.

China's Environmental Issues in an International Context

In order to enhance its prestige in the international community, it is crucial that China pursue an active and positive role in promoting environmental protection. By launching a long-term program to formulate and implement increasingly rigorous environmental policies, China could serve as a model for agriculture-based developing countries with growing populations trying to balance economic growth and environmental concerns. (76)

Over the last three decades, China has been actively involved in the international environmental protection campaign. During that time, China's leaders have demonstrated a growing awareness of the impact of environmental diplomacy on the country's standing in the international community. China has participated in nearly thirty international conventions and fulfilled many of its obligations regarding global environmental management under various international agreements. (77) International organizations, such as World Wild Fund for Nature, have expanded their programs into China as a reward for its increased attention to environmental issues. (78)

To overcome difficulties in addressing environmental concerns which stem from its limited capital, it is important that China cooperate with international organizations, foreign countries, and research institutions to obtain the funding and technology necessary to promote environmental protection. International organizations and governments could provide incentives and disincentives to elicit cooperation from China on environmental issues. China's effort to phase out the use of CFCs received assistance from the Montreal Protocol Multilateral Fund. By May 1997, China was the largest recipient of aid from the fund, receiving US$148.5 million. (79) Additionaly, approximately five percent of all World Bank loans to China between 1992 and 1997 were earmarked for environmental management. (80) .so Such monetary incentives are designed to encourage China's government to give greater attention to environmental concerns.

China's ability to promote environmental protection programs, however, does not rest on its adherence to international standards and regulations, but rather on the state's implementation and enforcement of regulations. (81) In other words, China's involvement in the international environmental protection campaign depends on the impact of those policies on domestic concerns. If environmental policies are seen as incompatible with domestic economic development or compromise China's sovereignty, it will not ascribe to international environmental protection efforts. (82)