Industrial SO2 pollution and agricultural losses in China: evidence from heavy air polluters

This paper aims to assess the agricultural losses caused by the 2069 state-monitored heavily air polluting enterprises located in 899 Chinese counties. We examine the correlation between per capita number of state-monitored enterprises and other socio-economic indices to show the negative impacts of sulphur dioxide (SO2) industrial air pollution on agricultural development in the regions. Despite these enterprises being the main drivers of economic development in China’s counties, surrounding agricultural land continues to be degraded because of the associated SO2 emissions. The cost of agricultural losses due to pollution is estimated at US$ 1.43 billion, representing 0.66% of the total agricultural value added of the 899 Chinese counties. The findings highlight the importance of cleaner production and have policy implications for dealing with industrial air pollution

Health damages from air pollution in China

In China, elevated levels of urban air pollution result in substantial adverse health impacts for its large and rapidly growing urban population. An expanded version of the Emissions Prediction and Policy Analysis (EPPA), EPPA Health Effects, was used to evaluate air pollution-related health impacts on the Chinese economy. The effects of particulate matter and ozone were evaluated for 1975 to 2005, based on a set of epidemiological estimates of the effects of exposure to these pollutants. The estimated marginal welfare impact to the Chinese economy of air pollution levels above background levels increased from $22 billion in 1975 to$112 billion in 2005 (1997 US$), despite improvements in overall air quality. This increase is a result of the growing urban population and rising wages that thus increased the value of lost labor and leisure. Welfare losses from air pollution-related economic damage decreased from 14% of the historical welfare level in 1975 to 5% in 2005 because the total size of the economy grew much more rapidly than the absolute air pollution damages