How China Reduced Air Pollution: Key Lessons India Can Learn

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• Each winter, North India faces severe smog, worsened by low temperatures, stagnant winds, stubble burning, and firecrackers. 
• Pollution remains high year-round due to industry and vehicle emissions, even in coastal cities like Mumbai.
• China, which once grappled with similar pollution crises, is often cited as a model. Its recent success in dramatically improving air quality has drawn attention, with Chinese officials expressing willingness to share their strategies.
• This raises key questions: What challenges did China face, how effectively did it tackle them, and which of its solutions could realistically work in India?

China’s ‘Airpocalypse’: How Rapid Growth Triggered a Pollution Crisis

• India’s current pollution levels mirror China’s late-2000s phase, when rapid industrialisation and urbanisation sharply increased particulate pollution and its health impacts. 
• After China opened its economy in 1978, carbon emissions soared, leading to smog-filled skies, contaminated rivers, and rising public discontent.
• The situation gained global attention during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, pushing the government to act. 
• China’s main pollutant was PM2.5, emitted from heavy industries, coal-based heating, power plants, vehicles, and crop burning. These particles penetrate deep into the lungs and bloodstream, causing severe health risks.
• Recognising the urgency, China launched aggressive measures from 2013 onward, resulting in air quality improvements across nearly 80% of the country.

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China’s Policy Push: Strong Top-Down Governance

• By the late 2000s, air pollution became a major government priority. China’s 11th Five-Year Plan integrated environmental goals into the cadre evaluation system, where bureaucrats’ promotions depended on meeting pollution-control targets. 
• This created strong top-down pressure for compliance across provinces and cities.

Industrial Shutdowns and Cleaner Technologies

• China invested heavily in pollution-control technologies and shut down thousands of outdated, highly polluting industrial units—including smelters, chemical factories, power plants, and paper mills. 
• Simultaneously, the government pushed aggressively for Electric Vehicles (EVs), recognising their lower lifecycle emissions compared to traditional combustion engines.

Mass Electrification of Transport

• Cities like Shenzhen led the world by fully electrifying their massive bus fleets. 
• By 2017, all 16,000+ buses in the city were electric, a move replicated by other cities such as Shanghai. 
• These transitions greatly cut urban tailpipe emissions.

Key Measures That Improved Air Quality (2013–2017)

• Studies from Tsinghua University show that China’s biggest gains came from:
  • Restrictions on coal boilers,
  • Cleaner residential heating,
  • Shutting local polluting industries, and
  • Vehicle emission controls.

Caveats and Ongoing Challenges

• China’s model has pitfalls. Strict targets sometimes lead to fudged data or illegal reopening of factories. 
• Recent commitments to increase coal capacity have raised concerns about reversing progress. 
• Additionally, China’s air-quality standards remain less stringent than Western norms, leaving room for improvement.

India and China: Similar Laws, Different Outcomes

• Both countries introduced environmental laws in the 1980s and air-quality programmes in the 2010s, yet China’s results have been far more effective. 
• China followed continuous, long-term action, while India relies on reactive mechanisms like GRAP, triggered only after pollution crosses dangerous thresholds and limited mainly to the NCR.

Key Determinants of Success: Political Will and Accountability

• A 2023 comparative study highlighted two crucial factors:
  • Strong political will and financial capacity to prioritise clean air.
  • Clear accountability systems linking national standards to facility-level pollution control.
• China had both; India struggles with fragmented governance and inconsistent enforcement.

Structural Differences: Energy Access and Household Emissions

• India faces unique challenges such as biomass burning in rural households, unlike China. 
• While LPG subsidies have helped, affordable clean fuel access remains limited. 
• China also tackled pollution after achieving near-universal electricity access, allowing it to close polluting plants without jeopardising basic needs.

Governance Constraints in India

• China’s unitary political structure enables swift, top-down implementation. 
• India’s overlapping jurisdictions dilute responsibility and slow enforcement, though judicial interventions through PILs have helped fill gaps.

What India Can Learn

• Experts note India can adapt key Chinese strategies:
  • Stricter industrial and vehicular emission norms
  • Wider adoption of clean fuels
  • Stronger public transport systems
  • Robust environmental monitoring and scientific research
• While India cannot copy China’s model exactly, China’s experience demonstrates that comprehensive, science-based, and accountable action can significantly improve air quality.

Source: IE | TH