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Tackling Air Pollution in China—What do We Learn from the Great Smog of 1950s in LONDON

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  • Dongyong Zhang

    (College of Information and Management Science, Henan Agricultural University, 15 Longzi Lake Campus, Zhengzhou East New District, Zhengzhou, Henan 450046, China
    Center for International Earth Science Information Network, The Earth Institute, Columbia University, P.O. Box 1000 (61 Route 9W), Palisades, NY 10964, USA)

  • Junjuan Liu

    (College of Information and Management Science, Henan Agricultural University, 15 Longzi Lake Campus, Zhengzhou East New District, Zhengzhou, Henan 450046, China)

  • Bingjun Li

    (College of Information and Management Science, Henan Agricultural University, 15 Longzi Lake Campus, Zhengzhou East New District, Zhengzhou, Henan 450046, China)

Abstract

Since the prolonged, severe smog that blanketed many Chinese cities in first months of 2013, living in smog has become “normal” to most people living in mainland China. This has not only caused serious harm to public health, but also resulted in massive economic losses in many other ways. Tackling the current air pollution has become crucial to China’s long-term economic and social sustainable development. This paper aims to find the causes of the current severe air quality and explore the possible solutions by reviewing the current literature, and by comparing China’s air pollution regulations to that of the post London Killer Smog of 1952, in the United Kingdom (UK). It is hoped that China will learn the lesson from the UK, and decouple its economic growth from the detrimental impact of environment. Policy suggestions are made.

Suggested Citation

  • Dongyong Zhang & Junjuan Liu & Bingjun Li, 2014. "Tackling Air Pollution in China—What do We Learn from the Great Smog of 1950s in LONDON," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(8), pages 1-17, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:6:y:2014:i:8:p:5322-5338:d:39286
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Jin Guo & Junhong Bai, 2019. "The Role of Public Participation in Environmental Governance: Empirical Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(17), pages 1-19, August.
    2. Xiaoyan Yu & Marin Marinov, 2020. "A Study on Recent Developments and Issues with Obstacle Detection Systems for Automated Vehicles," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-26, April.
    3. Xue, Shuyu & Zhang, Bohui & Zhao, Xiaofeng, 2021. "Brain drain: The impact of air pollution on firm performance," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    4. Xuan Yu & Manhong Shen & Weiteng Shen & Xiao Zhang, 2020. "Effects of Land Urbanization on Smog Pollution in China: Estimation of Spatial Autoregressive Panel Data Models," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-16, September.
    5. Dongyong Zhang & Stephen Morse & Uma Kambhamptati & Bingjun Li, 2014. "Evolving Corporate Social Responsibility in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(11), pages 1-20, November.
    6. Dongyong Zhang & Stephen Morse & Qiaoyun Ma, 2019. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainable Development in China: Current Status and Future Perspectives," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(16), pages 1-23, August.

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    Keywords

    China; smog; air pollution; lesson; London;
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