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Environmental Sustainability

Andriy Vlashyn, Francy Shumrick, Danielle Chen, Jonathan Hicks, Mohammed Moumen

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Targets

  • Principles of sustainable development must be integrated into country policies and programs
    • Aim to reverse the loss of environmental resources
  • Reduce biodiversity loss
  • Halve the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation
  • Achieve a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers

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China

  • Lack of:
    • Clean air and water
    • Healthy food
    • Safe shelter
    • Biodiversity

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Causes

  • Increased industrial output
    • Results in severe air and water pollution
  • Deforestation and Desertification
    • Contributes to the loss of biodiversity

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Who’s impacted?

  • Everyone
    • Forests have been destroyed
      • Lost of habitat for animals
      • Less trees
      • Chemicals are released in great amounts to the air, water, and greenlands

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Who’s REALLY impacted?

  • Minorities
    • 55 Chinese minority groups
      • Achang, Baj, Daur, and many more
      • Live in areas that are rich in natural resources:
        • Xinjiang
        • Ningxia
        • Inner Mangolia
      • Tend to be very poor
      • Have no power to fight for their rights

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So far The United Nations has...

  • Made use of financial incentives
  • Protected, restored, and promoted various ecosystems
  • Made access to clean water, a human right that must be met
    • 5 years ahead of schedule
  • Invested in the improvement of slums

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Progress in China

  • Key focuses in China
    • Water recycling and reutilization
    • Clean technologies
    • Renewable energies
  • From 2000-2010 number of wastewater plants in China nearly quadrupled
    • Chinese government plans to open up advanced technology that will reduce energy input needed to filter pollutants out of water

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Progress in China cont.

  • As of 2010, around $33 (in US dollars) was used for the construction of a water infrastructure that now benefits 14.6 million people
  • The Chinese government has also committed to producing 16% of its primary energy from renewable resources by 2020
    • Providing financial incentives to those who advance in wind and solar power
  • China was the largest producer of Solar PVs in the world and produced 45% of the global solar power in 2009.
  • 2014 figures show a decline in coal consumption for the first time in 15 years, and China is now the world’s largest investor in renewable energy.

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Sources

  • Miller, James, Dan Smyer Yu, and Peter Van Der Vee. Religion and Ecological Sustainability in China. 2014. 183. Print.
  • Sutton, Philip. "Living Well with Our Environment." 12 Apr. 2014. Web. 4 Oct. 2015.
    • <http://www.green-innovations.asn.au/A-Perspective-on-Environmental-Sustainability.pdf>.
  • "Chinese Ethnic Groups." : Han People and 55 Ethnic Minorities. Web. 4 Oct. 2015.
    • <http://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/nationality/>.
  • Goal 7: Ensure Environmental Sustainability. (2008, September 8). Retrieved September 30, 2015.
    • http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/2008highlevel/pdf/newsroom/Goal 7 FINAL.pdf
  • "Environment in China." Council on Foreign Relations. Council on Foreign Relations, n.d. Web. 04 Oct. 2015.
    • http://www.cfr.org/china/chinas-environmental-crisis/p-12608
  • Economy, Elizabeth C. "China's Environmental Challenge: Political, Social and Economic Implications." Council on Foreign Relations. Council on Foreign Relations, 27 Jan. 2003. Web. 04 Oct. 2015.
    • http://www.cfr.org/china/chinas-environmental-challenge-political-social-economic-implications/p5573
  • Bachmann, J., & Burnett, J. (2012, July 1). Infrastructure and the Environment in Chinese Cities: Prospects for Improvement. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
    • http://www.chinabusinessreview.com/infrastructure-and-the-environment-in-chinese-cities-prospects-for-improvement/
  • United Nations Environment Programme. (n.d.). Retrieved October 23, 2015.
    • http://www.unep.org/greeneconomy/AdvisoryServices/China/tabid/56270/Default.aspx