ChinaHOW GREEN IS
CHINA?
Ma Tianjie examines the limits of
China’s ‘ecological nationalism’.I
n early December 2017, the notori-
ous Beijing smog that had, in previous
years, shrouded the city in a state of
‘airpocalypse’ was nowhere to be found.
Normally, when large parts of north
China turn on their central heating
around November, the additional coal-
burning exacerbates air pollution in
the region. Not in 2017. The capital city
enjoyed such an extensive period of crisp,
fresh air that researchers declared China
was ‘winning’ its war on pollution.
But 60 kilometres southwest of
Beijing, the situation was anything but
celebratory. In the suburb of Zhuozhou,
Hebei province, villagers were anxiouslywaiting for their new gas-powered
heating system to work as the tempera-
ture sank to seven degrees below zero.
The hastily installed devices, which
were meant to replace coal furnaces,
faced all kinds of technical glitches as
well as a more fatal problem: a short-
age of natural gas. Disappointed, some
households stealthily turned on the coal
furnaces. Others had to endure freezing
cold nights.‘Ecological civilization’
The shift from coal to gas was a key part
of the Chinese government’s effort to
rid north China of its notorious smog.NOVEMBER- DECEMBER 2019 21
I
A fisher catches crayfish near a canopy of solar
panels in Yangzhou. China has quickly become
the world’s poster-child for renewables.
MENG DELONG/GETTY