China’s War on Pollution Adds Two Years of Life But There’s Much More to Do
(Bloomberg) -- The average Chinese citizen can expect to live two years longer thanks to the country’s push for cleaner skies, according to the University of Chicago.
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China has reduced air pollution by 41% in the decade through 2022 due to the success of stricter public policies, the university’s Energy Policy Institute said in a report on Wednesday. The government’s National Air Quality Action Plan was launched after harmful smog peaked in 2013, targeting fewer cars on the road, cuts to steel capacity and bans on coal-fired power plants in major urban areas.
Other measures included encouraging the adoption of renewables and the switch from coal to cleaner-burning natural gas.
China accounts for 20% of global health problems associated with air quality, and pollution levels in the country are still 5.6 times higher than the World Health Organization’s guideline, according to the report. Only tobacco use is a bigger threat to life expectancy, and meeting the WHO’s pollution target would add another 2.3 years to the nation’s average life span.
The government’s latest goal, introduced in November 2023, is to cut smog by 10% in major cities from 2020 levels by the end of next year.
Air pollution around the world is highly unequal, according to the report, which found that people in the worst affected areas breathe air that is six times more polluted than those in the least affected. As a result, their life expectancy falls by an average of 2.7 years compared to those living in the cleanest places.
On the Wire
China’s steel-industry slowdown looks set to deepen, with BHP Group Ltd., the world’s biggest miner, and China Baowu Group Ltd., the top iron ore buyer, flagging concerns as demand fades after decades of growth.
Fortescue Ltd. reported a small increase in full-year profit, but the fourth-largest iron ore miner missed analyst forecasts as it battled inflationary pressures while weathering a slowdown in demand for the steelmaking material from biggest customer China.
BHP Group Ltd. offered a cautious near-term outlook for copper, while sticking to the widely-held view that the energy transition metal is eventually headed for severe shortages and much higher prices.
This Week’s Diary
(All times Beijing unless noted.)
Wednesday, Aug. 28:
CCTD’s weekly online briefing on Chinese coal, 15:00
PetroChina earnings briefing in HK, 16:00
Qingdao Multinationals Summit, day 2
EARNINGS: Cnooc, BYD, Gotion, Ganfeng Lithium, CNGR, Chalco, Jiangxi Copper
Thursday, Aug. 29:
Baosteel online earnings briefing in HK, 14:00
Cnooc earnings briefing in HK, 16:15
Qingdao Multinationals Summit, day 3
EARNINGS: Longi, Tongwei, Windey, GCL-Poly, Hesteel, Shandong Steel, Maanshan Steel, GEM, Ningbo Shanshan, China MCC, Cosco
Friday, Aug. 30
China weekly iron ore port stockpiles
CMOC online earnings briefing, 10:00
Shanghai exchange weekly commodities inventory, ~15:00
EARNINGS: Tianqi, Jinko, JA Solar, Ming Yang, Yangtze Power, Three Gorges, Shenhua, Angang Steel, Citic Ltd.
Saturday, Aug. 31
China’s official PMIs for August, 09:30
Sunday, Sept. 1
China International Steel Congress in Shanghai, (through Sept. 2)
Listen on Zero: The Chinese Activist Who Mapped the Country's Pollution Problem
--With assistance from Rob Verdonck.
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