2023-12-22 13:31:12
In Beijing during an episode of pollution, April 12, 2023. JADE GAO / AFP
China’s air quality deteriorated this year for the first time since the country launched its “war on pollution”in 2013, according to a study de l’institut indépendant Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, published Friday December 22. According to this: “2023 marks the first year [depuis le début de cette campagne] where the national average level of [particules fines] PM2.5 in China is increasing. »
This increase is explained by a “general increase in human-caused emissions”coupled with “unfavorable weather conditions”, underlines this organization located in Finland, which relied in particular on official statements. The year 2023 was marked by the lifting of the drastic restrictions put in place by China after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, which caused a sharp slowdown in activity.
During the “war on pollution”the country has closed dozens of coal-fired power plants and relocated heavy industry units, in order to fight against the smog suffocating most of its large cities, particularly in winter.
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This campaign has until now resulted in a continuous drop in PM2.5 recorded in the air, although without always meeting the standards of the World Health Organization (WHO).
Carbon neutrality targeted by 2060
In October and November, an episode of acute pollution in northern China led authorities to ask residents to restrict their outdoor activities. WHO standards were then exceeded by more than twenty times in Beijing, according to the independent organization IQAir.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), prolonged exposure to excessive levels of PM2.5 can trigger strokes, heart disease, lung cancer and respiratory diseases. China remains very dependent on coal, a source of PM2.5 emissions, but also of CO₂, the country being the largest gross emitter of greenhouse gases in the world.
Beijing aims to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 at the latest and aims for carbon neutrality in 2060, but the recent authorization granted to new coal-fired power plants raises doubts about its ability to achieve these objectives. At the beginning of December, a consortium of climate researchers estimated the increase in Chinese emissions linked to fossil fuels at 4% in 2023.
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