How far would you agree that corruption is the underlying cause of Chinas environmental woes?

After Chinas opening up in 1978, the need to sustain high economic growth, the key to social stability and political support for the CCP, has unleashed untold damages to the environment, impeding governments efforts at reducing pollution. While corruption has worsened Chinas environmental woes and undermined the effectiveness of drastic and innovative measures undertaken by the Chinese government to achieve sustained socio-economic growth rate, Chinas environmental woe is largely a result of the incompatibility of environmental conservation with Chinas economic development. Hence, this essay seeks to argue that corruption is not fundamentally the underlying cause of Chinas environmental woes and it is but an aggravating factor. High economic growth targets set by the provinces have perpetually upset the central governments measures at improving the environment. Relentless drive of Chinas leaders to amass power, consolidate territory, develop the economy and support a burgeoning population have led to the plundering of forests and mineral resources, construct river diversion and leading to poor management projects. The maxim first development, then environment was a common rhetoric throughout in the 1980s and 1990s. By 2002, China had become home to six of the most polluted cities in the world. More than 75% of the water in rivers flowing through Chinas urban areas was unsuitable for drinking or fishing. Devolution of authority to provincial and local officials has led to a free rein to concentrate energies on economic growth, pushing aside environmental consideration. Small scale privately run cottage industries that have fuelled much of Chinas growth are difficult to regulate and pose a greater threat to the environment than SOEs.

The focus on low-cost primary and secondary industries, a major reason for Chinas high growth rate, has been detrimental to the governmental policies at improving the environment. Chinas economic success which is based largely on industrialization renders its economic growth incompatible with pollution control due to the conflicting nature of the two. Air and water pollution have been worsened by Chinas heavy reliance on coal for energy. Since 2007, China has taken over the US for the first time as the worlds top producer of greenhouse gases. This is worsened by the greater dependence on motor vehicles as the basic means of transport to navigate around China and the problem of central-regional relations where provincial officials often ignore the regulatory limits mete out by Beijing. Water and air pollution as of 2012 is estimated to have caused 750,000 premature deaths and around 8% of GDP. Worst of all, scaling back of either of the two could upset socio-political stability, as the foundation of Chinese economic development is in conflict with the environmental rights of the citizens.

Governments strategies to resolve pollution in the cities are challenged by rising affluence and rapid urbanization, consequences of rapid economic growth. China is the worlds largest consumer and producer of coal, which accounts for about 2/3 of its energy needs. China depends on coal for more than of its electricity and also to fuel centralized winter heating systems in northern cities. In 2010, the World Bank says China uses up to twice per unit of output as the US, Japan and other economies. Chinese officials say energy use is 3.4 times the world average. In November 2010, the Paris based International Energy Agency said China has surpassed the US to become the worlds biggest overall energy consumer. Today it is the fastest growing consumer of oil in the world, ahead of energy-efficient Japan and second only to the US in terms of total consumption and imports. The average annual growth in energy needs in 3.2%. While the consumption of energy is not in itself a curse, it harms the environment.

However, Chinas environmental problems are in part due to corruption because the lack of rule of law undermines the effectiveness of many governmental policies to improve the environment. Chinese producers violate environmental protection laws to reduce cost of production. More importantly, local government officials to allow pollution to take place illegally in order to promote a higher rate of economic growth and the central governmental cannot control them. Local government officials benefit from higher levels of output in their region as they receive credits for economic development and sometimes bribes from pollution producers. These factors will continue to hinder the enforcement of environmental laws for some time to come.

Moreover, corruption also perpetuates the continual jeopardy of the environment for the sake of economic growth by offsetting areas of success in improving the environment. Devolution of authority to provincial and local official has led to a free rein to concentrate energies on economic growth, pushing aside environmental considerations. In many regions, land, water and forest resources are squandered without considering necessity of conservation or replenishment of natural resources. Privately run cottage industries that have fuelled much of Chinas economic growth are difficult to regulate. They pose a greater threat to the environment than the SOEs. Proliferation of tanneries, chemical and fertilizer factories, makers of brick, tile, pottery and porcelain, small coal fired power plants and pulp and paper factories have all contributed to a dramatic increase in pollution outside Chinas major cities. By 2000, TVEs were estimated to be estimated to be responsible for 50% of all pollutants nationally.

In conclusion, limited progress has been made with drastic and innovative measures undertaken as the Chinese government realized the relevance of environmental well-being to achieving sustained economic growth rate. However, environmental conservation remains as a distant dream as enforcement of policies is compromised by the local authorities, rapid industrialization and urbanization. Therefore, Chinas strategies at environmental management have been fundamentally impeded by its need for high growth rate as Chinas developmental model is not friendly to its environmental and economic development more often than not is prized over environmental conservation.