Probably the most prominent of China’s environmental issues is the country’s air pollution. Industry waste gas emissions put a strain on man and nature alike. In 2018, carbon dioxide emission from fossil fuel and industrial purposes in China exceeded eleven billion metric tons. Carbon dioxide emissions have been constantly rising in China, the growing emission led by soaring amount of new vehicle registration and others only complicate the matter. In order to reduce exhaust gas emissions, the government has introduced specific reduction targets in the 12th five year plan and the progess of which were subsequently reported and further planned in the 13th five year plan.
China’s water reserves used to suffer heavily from industrial pollution, but the result of the efforts of China to improve environmental quality seemed to finally start revealing itself. As of July 2019, over half of the surface water sampled across China was categorized as Grade III or above, which was almost drinkable quality.
Due to rising urgency, an industry has developed around environmental protection, attracting total investment of more than 0.95 trillion yuan in 2017. Together with government's effort, some effects are starting to reveal themselves. In terms of air pollution, which was the most concerning environmental issues according to Chinese citizens, air quality has been improving, with around 82 percent of days having a good or above quality in 2019.
