4 March 2014, 1.54pm AEST China can’t smother growing public...

4 March 2014, 1.54pm AEST
China can’t smother growing public demands to clear the air
Beijing has once again experienced extremely poor air quality, in what is becoming a regular
event for the Chinese capital and other parts of the country. But has anything changed since
the last “airpocalypse…

Author

1. 
   Yanshuang Zhang
   
   Ph.D Candidate at University of Queensland

The Conversation is funded by CSIRO, Melbourne, Monash, RMIT, UTS, UWA, ACU, ANU, ASB, Baker IDI, Canberra, CDU, Curtin, Deakin, Flinders, Griffith, JCU, La Trobe, Massey, Murdoch, Newcastle, QUT, SAHMRI, Swinburne, Sydney, UNE, UniSA, USC, USQ, UTAS, UWS, VU and Wollongong.
  Tourists wear protective masks in smoggy Tiananmen Square on February 26, 2014, when the air quality was officially ‘hazardous’. EPA/Rolex Dela Pena
Beijing has once again experienced extremely poor air quality, in what is becoming a regular event for the Chinese capital and other parts of the country. But has anything changed since the last “airpocalypse”?
One story that has stood out in the past week has been that of Li Guixin, the first Chinese man to try to sue a government agency over the air pollution.

A resident of Shijiazhuang in Hebei Province, Li Guixin has asked to be allowed to sue the Shijiazhuang Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau to “perform its duty to control air pollution according to the law”. He has also demanded 10,000 yuan (A$1,822) compensation for losses caused by the air pollution.

.http://theconversation.com/china-cant-smother-growing-public-demands-to-clear-the-air-23811




26 June 2014, 6.25am AEST
China’s plan to combat pollution will fight climate change too


  .....But by far the most important may well be the accelerated changes in energy structure — from coal and oil to renewable, nuclear and natural gas — that China is seeking to bring about, in response to really serious levels of air pollution in most of China’s cities.



By 2012, China had far surpassed other nations on greenhouse gas emissions.

Deadly air


China has long had severe air pollution, but during 2013 it escalated to a major economic and social issue across the country . In January 2013 thick smog blanketed Beijing and northern China, covering 2.7 million square kilometres and affecting more than 600 million people.
While varying with weather and other factors, air pollution remained high in many parts of China through 2013. Many cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, experienced a return of heavy air pollution in January and February 2014. You can keep track of pollution levels in China's cities in real time here.

PM2.5 emissions from fuels over their lifetime (grams per kilowatt hour).

The central concern is with fine particles less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter (PM2.5). These pose the greatest health risks, lodging deeply into the lungs and leading to increased risk of pulmonary and cardiovascular disease and cancer.
...............
Pollution revolution?


While this pollution is very serious in itself, the reason that it matters for the climate is the strong overlap between the sources of PM2.5 emissions and greenhouse gas emissions.
The main sources of PM2.5 emissions are coal and oil,

http://theconversation.com/chinas-plan-to-combat-pollution-will-fight-climate-change-too-28269