EXPERTS ADVISORY

China’s capital city, Beijing, has issued its first red alert over air pollution. U-M experts are available to discuss.

Ming Xu is an assistant professor of natural resources and environment and civil and environmental engineering. In a recent article, “A dual strategy for controlling energy consumption and air pollution in China’s metropolis of Beijing,” Xu said that “avoiding rapid population growth in Beijing could simultaneously control energy consumptions and air pollutants emissions.”

“This is the first time Beijing issued a red alert on air pollution since its four-color warning system was established,” he said. “The red alert triggers a series of actions such as closing schools and limiting traffic to ease the impact of air pollution.

“While how effective these actions are remains to be evaluated, this does demonstrate the severity of air pollution in Beijing, as well as other cities in China, especially during winter days due to coal-burning for heating. It also demonstrates the government’s strong willingness to tackle the air pollution problem. Actions taken by the Chinese government addressing air pollution might provide co-benefits for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, a topic that is being hotly discussed at the same time in Paris.”

Contact: 734-763-8644, mingxu@umich.edu

Mary Gallagher, associate professor of political science and director of the Lieberthal-Rogel Center for Chinese Studies, is an expert on Chinese politics, law and society.

“China’s continuing struggle to control and reduce air pollution exemplifies the government’s fear that lifestyle issues will mutate into demands for political change,” she said. “Chinese people worry that their constant fears of dirty air, contaminated food and unsafe infrastructure are not simply the result of unscrupulous companies or inept bureaucrats, but are the result of a system that fixated only on growth rates to the detriment of public health and the environment.”

Contact: 734-764-3566, metg@umich.edu

Frank Marsik, associate research scientist in climate and space science and engineering, is an expert in air quality and weather forecasting.

Contact: 734-763-5369, marsik@umich.edu