2013 EASTERN CHINA SMOG: “WAR ON POLLUTION” -- A SUCCESS STORY:
During the past four decades, China has adopted many laws, regulations, and standards addressing environmental protection. But these were giving a lukewarm response to significantly cut Air Pollution that began to assume monstrous proportions as China rose to its global industrial power. Implementation of the environmental protection laws used to be weak.
On March 4, 2014, the Chinese premier, Li Keqiang, told almost 3,000 delegates at the National People's Congress and many more watching live on state television, “We will resolutely declare war against pollution as we declared war against poverty.”
(As per the story in New York times dated March 12, 2018). The story further says, the statement broke from the country's longstanding policy of putting economic growth over environment, and many wondered whether China would really follow through.
Four years after that declaration, the data is in: China is winning, at record pace. In particular, cities have cut concentrations of fine particulates in the air by 32 percent on average, in just those four years.
How did China get here? In the months before the premier's speech, the country released a national air quality action plan that required all urban areas to reduce concentrations of fine particulate matter pollution by at least 10 percent, more in some cities. The Beijing area was required to reduce pollution by 25 percent, and the city set aside an astounding $120 billion for that purpose.
To reach these targets, China prohibited new coal-fired power plants in the country's most polluted regions, including the Beijing area. Existing plants were told to reduce their emissions. If they didn't, the coal was replaced with natural gas. Large cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, restricted the number of cars on the road. The country also reduced its iron- and steel-making capacity and shut down coal mines. Some of the actions went from aggressive to extraordinary, says the story.
The good news is that Beijing, which used to be one of the world's most polluted cities in top 20, in 2013, is now out of the list of top 200 worst polluted cities of the word. Great goal of making the capital city of the world's developed and most populous country now is able to provide its inhabitants air quality that has PM2.5 at 42.6 µg/m3.
The good news is that Beijing, which used to be one of the world's most polluted cities in top 20, in 2013, is now out of the list of top 200 worst polluted cities of the word. Great goal of making the capital city of the world's developed and most populous country now is able to provide its inhabitants air quality that has PM2.5 at 42.6 µg/m3.
It is imperative that nothing less than waging a war against Air Pollution shall work for India too.
SINGAPORE CASE STUDY: CLEANING AIR POLLUTION IN A GENERATION
Singapore has a total land area of some 682.3 sq km, and a population which grew from about 1.64 million in 1960 to over 4.13 million today with the resident population growth of 1.7% (2000 -2001). After separation from Malaysia in 1965, Singapore had to embark un-relentlessly on an industrialization and urbanization process, both for economic and political survival, and at the same time work towards giving its citizens a “quality of life”. Apart from local sources of pollutants, Singapore has had in more recent times to deal with the trans-boundary haze pollution from Indonesia; Singapore has also to cooperate with international efforts in addressing global concerns relating to the depletion of the ozone layer through greenhouse gases and global warming due to climate change. Singapore is today a sophisticated urban, industrialized city state.
Singapore's success story begins with the political will to curb air pollution at the beginning of Singapore's development cycle. The industrialization and urbanization in the 1960s, conceived Singapore as a clean and green city. Perhaps no other Prime Minister in the world had initiated a tree planting campaign as the then Prime Minister did in 1963 - he foresaw that trees played an important role in the development process, including cleaning the air.
But for the early vision, Singapore would have been turned into a bleak, blighted, smoky and polluted city as some of the industrialized, urban cities are in the world today. It may be observed that while much of its natural fauna were bulldozed to make way for development, it was subsequently substituted with cultivated greenery to make it a Garden City. Today, the Garden City serves as a carbon sink to reduce carbon dioxide. Indeed, one of the recommendations in the Draft Singapore Green Plan 2012 on "Clean Air " is "to require industries to plant trees to mitigate their CO2 emissions.
Singapore focus on the Clean Air: From "Visions" to Missions and Implementations Strategic, Land use Planning - Sitting of Industries, Clean Air Plans, Programs, Guidelines, Initiatives and Code of Practice on Pollution Control, Clean Air Laws Relating to Local, Regional and Global Atmosphere,
1952 LONDON SMOG DISASTER: “DESPERATE TIMES CALL FOR DESPERATE MEASURES”
With the Industrial Revolution Britain became the workshop of the world. UK coal consumption increased from around 10 million tons a year in 1800 to almost 200 million tons in 1950. A smoke haze enveloped cities like Glasgow, Leeds, London and Manchester. It blocked out the sun, blackening buildings, increasing the severity of fog, and damaging people's health.
Coal smoke was linked to very high death rates from respiratory diseases such as bronchitis, killing between 800,000 and 1.4 million people in the period 1840-1900.
While laws were there, however, there were serious flaws in early smoke control laws like the local acts of the 1840s, the Public Health Act of 1875, and the Public Health (Smoke Abatement) Act of 1926. Flaws included:
Smoke pollution was not viewed in a wholly negative light. There were no votes to be had in clearing the skies. One reason laws were so lax was that smoke pollution was not viewed in a wholly negative light. The public's affection for the traditional blazing hearth was a major obstacle to smoke control. Governments were unwilling to upset the electorate by passing legislation that interfered with freedom to enjoy this popular British institution. There were no votes to be had in clearing the skies.
The 1952 London smog disaster is thought to have claimed as many as 12,000 lives. However, it was the catalyst for comprehensive air pollution controls in Britain. Following this tragedy the government passed the Clean Air Act of 1956. This for the first time regulated both domestic and industrial smoke emissions. The legislation included powers to establish smokeless zones, and provided subsidies to householders to convert to cleaner fuels (smokeless solid fuel, gas and electricity). It took around 3 decades, and another Clean Air Act in 1968 to deal with slow-moving local authorities, before smoke control programs were finally completed, and by the 1980s the skies had cleared - improving health and quality of life in the cities of the world's first industrial nation. Along side with strict compliance to Air Quality regulations, no areas on the roadside were left without pavements or green. Further the city roads were planned for free flow of traffic, making one way traffic at many and implementing Intelligent Traffic system for efficient traffic flow. London today breaths with AQI of 30 and below most of the year.
