The World Has Dumped Its Pollution on China

Interesting paragraph from Morgan Stanley's Global Economic forum today:

The world has dumped its pollution in China in the past five years. According to China’s EPA, China’s pollution is 12 times the world average per unit of GDP. The emission of sulfur dioxide is 22.5 mn tons compared to the maximum carrying capacity of 12 for the country. Two-fifths of the seven major river basins are severely polluted. 90% of the rivers running through cities suffer from severe pollution problems. 300 million rural residents have no access to purified water. One-third of China’s territory suffers from the effects of acid rain. Two-thirds of the population suffers from poor air quality.

In his analysis, Andy Xie says this is about to change, with inflationary consequences :

"China is waking up to the need to normalize pollution costs. Guangdong Province may close thousands of businesses that do not meet environmental regulations. The NDRC just issued tightening instructions on the carbide-based PVC industry that creates serious pollution."

Tags: global warming, climate change, china, economics