ABSTRACT
The People’s Republic of China’s extraordinary economic success has come at significant cost to its environment. Levels of air and water pollution, as well as land degradation, are among the highest in the world. Globally, the country now ranks as the most significant contributor to global climate change (Olivier et al. (2012), the largest importer of illegally logged timber in the world (Lawson and MacFaul 2010), and the most significant source of pollution in the Pacific Ocean (Watts 2004). Chinese leaders recognize the magnitude of the environmental challenge they face, routinely citing the environment as one of the country’s most pressing issues. Moreover, they link the problem of pollution to other critical domestic concerns such as public health, continued economic growth and social stability.
