Liu Jianqiang, China Watch (Worldwatch Institute)
September 28, 2006

The Chinese government released its first “green” gross domestic product (GDP) report earlier this month, presenting an alternative to the nation’s current economic development path. The report, titled China Green National Accounting Study Report 2004, measures economic growth while also factoring in the environmental consequences of that growth, and is the world’s first national index of its kind. According to the report, environmental pollution cost China 511.8 billion yuan (US$63 billion) in economic losses in 2004, accounting for 3 percent of GDP. The environmental costs of water pollution, air pollution, and solid wastes and pollution accidents accounted for 55.9 percent, 42.9 percent, and 1.2 percent of the total costs, respectively. These figures demonstrate that the rapid economic growth that the Chinese government has been so proud of has been achieved in part at the expense of the environment and people’s health. Pan Yue, Deputy Director of the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA), notes that as much as one-fifth of China’s GDP growth is attained though “overdraft” of resources and the environment. … Pan Yue, who is well respected for his willingness to speaking openly, believes that China’s environmental concerns have their root in the country’s politics, specifically in its narrow view on development. The government has long equated economic growth with development, believing that economic growth would bring the material resources needed to address various political, social, and environmental problems. … Read the full story.