China’s environment is entering a period of crisis. While a third of China’s urban population is breathing polluted air on a daily basis, exposure to environmental pollution is by no means limited to China’s big cities. Three out of four people in the country do not have access to clean drinking water and the main victims are China’s vast rural population.

These environmental problems have a dire and even deadly effect on China’s ordinary citizens. An incredible 70% of fatal cancer cases in China are linked to environmental pollution.

It is now obvious that China’s environmental problems are accelerating at a much higher rate than expected. The situation can become irreversible if China continues to be passive about dealing with its environmental problems. China is set to become the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitter and the world’s largest importer of tropical timber. Of every 10 tropical trees traded in the world in 2004, five were destined for China.

Responsibility for China's soaring emissions lies not just in Beijing but also in Washington, Brussels and Tokyo. Developed countries have made China the world’s factory and as a result, they have exported a great slice of their carbon footprint to China. This has helped to maintain low costs in manufacturing projects in developed countries, but led to a climate disaster in the long term.

In 2006, China overtook Japan as the second-largest producer of cars and trucks after the United States. Although China can produce goods at rock bottom prices, there is a hidden and very extravagant cost to the environment. China makes 72% of all shoes sold in the US and 85% of US artificial Christmas trees. Just as pollution reaches beyond national borders, the responsibility of protecting China’s environment equally falls on every individual in the world.

The question now is not whether China should continue to develop, but what kind of development should China follow? It is apparent that China’s environment would not be able to support a path of development similar to those of developed countries.

We are encouraged to see that the relationship between economic development and China’s environmental issues are gaining more attention from the government. There is a growing sense of urgency, especially amongst top leadership, because of the significant social and economic costs. China’s environmental problems are of such magnitude and scope that they can no longer be ignored. The catalytic role of NGOs in tackling China’s environmental problems is also gradually gaining recognition.  However, we have yet to see whether the government’s positive change in attitude will produce concrete measures that can acutely reverse the current trend of environmental deterioration.

In the first week of 2008, Greenpeace and sohu.com asked Chinese netizens to vote for the top ten environmental stories in 2007. More than 10,000 people cast their votes, and topping the list was “Rising Consciousness Among the Chinese Public to Have a Say in Environmental Affairs”.

It is inspiring to see the public’s proactive response to China’s environmental problems. Greenpeace is racing to gather enough support to tackle environmental deterioration before it becomes irreversible, and the public remains our greatest ally. Only when individuals are willing to face up to their responsibility to the environment can there be any real change – in China and beyond.