Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
002189
Name of School
Global Jaya International School
Candidate Name
Candidate Number
March 3, 2014
Word count
748 words
Section 1: Microeconomics
he great thing about air pollution is that you can see it.
hydroelectric power, itself not exactly environmentally costfree. Even so, Chinas main coal body is projecting a near-40
per cent jump in use by 2020.
Second, China may merely displace pollution, not tackle it
(just as the developed world has outsourced much of its
pollution to China). The government has called for polluters to
move to the west of the country, hardly a sustainable solution.
Much of the air pollution that drifts across Beijing comes from
Hebei province, which has now started to close outmoded steel
mills. The result is far worse pollution in Shanghai as mills in
nearby Jiangsu province take up the slack. Third, smog is only
the most visible environmental catastrophe. Soil pollution may
be worse still and more intractable. Many rivers are
ecological disasters. Biodiversity has already fallen, probably
never to recover.
China has long talked about cleaning up the environment. If it
is now serious, there are some things it can do. Top of the list
comes enforcement of existing rules. If Mr Xi can clamp down
on corrupt tigers and flies, he can surely do the same with
dirty rats. As well as making it illegal to pollute, he can also
make it more expensive. A carbon tax would be a bold move,
one even western governments have struggled to implement.
Here Chinas centralised, command economy could be an
advantage. In the long run, success will depend on Chinas
ability to improve the efficiency of its economic model.
Improvements so far have been easily outpaced by an
economy that has doubled in size every seven years. China
needs rapidly to learn how to create more output from fewer
inputs. Energy saving should become a priority.
Of course, there is likely to be a cost. It is hard to see how
China can clean up its environment without significant
disruption to employment in polluting industries. The danger
is that the leadership of the Communist party will conclude
that it needs fast growth more than it needs clean air, clean
soil and clean rivers. That would be a mistake.
Commentary
Chinas overabundance of chemical factories and toxic waste
spills has caused much harmful smog that poisons the air in major
cities and endanger the health of their citizens. Fortunately,
President Xi Jingping has recognized the severity of the issue and
will start implementing several market and government based
solutions soon.
Though the article mentions that carbon tax has been difficult
to implement in Western nations, this is where Chinas centralized
command economy (i.e. all economic decisions are made by the
government4) can be an advantage; so they have greater control
over companies and can impose taxes more firmly. Nevertheless, it
4 Blink, Jocelyn, and Ian Dorton. Economics Course Companion.
7
and
environmentally
consumers
damaging
would
be
less
inclined
also
to
buy
has
China needs rapidly to learn how to create more output from fewer
input (i.e. increase efficiency), as the article says, is the gist of the
Print.
"Carbon Dioxide Tax." Investopedia. Investopedia US, n.d.
Web. 12 Mar. 2014.
<http://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/carbon-dioxide-
tax.asp>.
"Welfare loss (Meaning of)." Encyclo - Online Encyclopedia.
Encyclo
MMXII,
n.d.
Web.
12
Mar.
2014.
<http://www.encyclo.co.uk/define/Welfare%20loss>.