China has a negative connotation across the globe in terms of their pollution and contributions to the environment, they are defined as a manufacturing powerhouse that only wants to continually expand their economy and does not care who or what gets hurt in the process. This is much more sinister than what actually goes on in China. The country would only realize the damage they were bringing to the planet after becoming one of the biggest contributors to the pollution of our planet, and now that they have, China intends to and has already made big steps in moving their economic reliance to green energy sources and modern means of production. The big challenge for them is moving away from their energy heavy, manufacturing industries that has given their economy prosperity for so long to an environmentally conscious economy (Coghlan, 2016). The recent Paris Climate Change Agreement has put even more pressure onto China to correct the damage that has been done to the planet. With the United States recent pull from the agreement the stage has been set for China to become a world leader towards a greener world. Despite China’s long reliance upon environment harming energy and being the world’s manufacturing super power, as a result of their industrialization, there is a bright future ahead with their booming industry of renewable energy and their recently designed 13th Five Year Plan to modernize their economy (Coghlan, 2016).
China was not always the developed and densely populated country that we know it as today. It was once an agricultural based economy that was covered in open countryside, prior to industrialization China’s per capita income was one third of sub-Saharan African countries (Wen, 2016). China had its own version of an industrial revolution that began in the late 1970’s. Through the first ten years of their industrialization, from 1978 to 1988, privately owned farms were beginning to disappear and enterprises were becoming a part of the rural production (Wen 2016). Villages were turning into cities as a result of these enterprises bringing in increasing number of low-skilled workers looking for work, China’s gross output began to have hopeful increase (Wen 2016). From 1988 to present China would develop into the overpopulated, world supplier that we know it as so well today. During this time period most moved to cities, this provided the mass production of labor intensive goods with all the workers it needed to become the world’s suppliers of things like textiles, cotton, and furniture (Wen, 2016). This did not only develop the economy, but improved the quality of life for Chinese. People who otherwise could be working on their family farm or not working at all now had consistent work and pay to provide for their families. Developing a middle class that closed the large gap in wealth that plagued the Chinese economy for so long. Public transportation became a necessity and as a result over 2.6 million miles of road were built, as well as high speed trains (Wen, 2016). In the matter of about 35 years China had built its economy up to become the world’s trusted supplier and a center for cheap labor, the Chinese were more than excited to have once again reached economic and social success after centuries of depression following the downfall of their great dynasties. In the late 2000’s the world would became increasingly aware of what our emissions were doing to the planet and China topped the list of the worst contributors. China unintentionally became the villain in the fight against climate change and suddenly were being scolded for the very things that brought this country prosperity. For the years following China has been trying to redesign their image to the world, though their economy still greatly relies upon environment harming energy sources, they have made steps to reduce their emissions and to eco-friendly means of production.
One of the more recent steps that was taken by China this year was the construction of a floating solar panel farm on top of a flooded coal mine. This solar energy farm, built in the province of Anhui, is the largest floating panel facility in the world and costed $45 million to build (Pham, 2017). This is only a glimpse of the blossoming market for renewable energy sources in China. China is currently the world’s top producer of solar panels and this has created over 2 million jobs for Chinese workers, the significance of these numbers is seen clearer when compared to the U.S.’s meager 260,000 jobs in their solar panel sector (Pham, 2017). Wind powered energy is not forgotten in China as it plays a big role in the diversification and modernization of their shifting economy, they produce half of the world’s wind turbines (Pham, 2017). China’s energy has also been focused on ending the energy heavy industries themselves. There have been many restrictions implemented to stop the construction of coal plants across China and there is a planned cut of about 1.3 million jobs in the coal industry (Pham, 2017). Though China does not plan to leave these workers in the dust. Billions of dollars are being donated to workers in older industries that are not eco-friendly so that they can develop modern skills suited to the developing greener industries that are vital for China’s future as a leader in the preservation of our planet (Coghlan, 2016).