The Geopolitics of Pollution
In 2012, the OECD released a report projecting that in 2050, air pollution will become the biggest environmental killer in the world, deadlier than dirty water and lack of sanitation. There will be 3.6 million premature deaths every year due to air pollution, with majority of the deaths coming from China and India.
The threat of pollution on populations is clear. But, a country only has the right to solve their own pollution challenges. How should a nation respond to pollution from another country?
China
China has a serious pollution problem. 500,000 people in China die every year because of air pollution. There are 15 types of carcinogens in China’s PM2.5 and in 2013, Hangzhou experienced 200 days of smog.
Now, China’s pollution problems are turning into regional and global challenges.
In 2013, both Japan and South Korea “sounded the alarm”. Local media in South Korea called Chinese pollution an “air raid”. In Japan, people living in the Chiba prefecture were told to remain indoors due to toxic fine-particle pollution.
