China’s ’war against pollution’ shows promising results, study finds | UChicago News
A new analysis using government data finds air pollution has decreased in China's most populated areas since China declared 'war against pollution.' As China marks its four-year anniversary of declaring "war against pollution," a new analysis using data from more than 200 government monitors throughout the country finds air pollution has decreased across the board in China's most populated areas. Cities on average have cut concentrations of fine particulates-widely considered the deadliest form of air pollution-by 32 percent in just four years. "The data is in-China is winning its war against pollution," said Michael Greenstone, the Milton Friedman Professor in Economics and director of the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago, who conducted the analysis. "By winning this war, China is due to see dramatic improvements in the overall health of its people, including longer lifespans, if these improvements are sustained." The most populated cities saw some of the greatest declines: Beijing cut air pollution by 35 percent; Shijiazhuang, the Hebei Province's capital city, cut pollution by 39 percent; and Baoding, China's most polluted city as of 2015, cut pollution by 38 percent. If China sustains these reductions, Greenstone finds that residents would see their lifespans extended by 2.4 years on average. The roughly 20 million residents in Beijing would live 3.3 years longer, while those in Shijiazhuang and Baoding would add 5.3 years and 4.5 years onto their lives, respectively.
