| Environment - current issues | air pollution (greenhouse gases, sulfur dioxide particulates) from reliance on coal produces acid rain; China is the world's largest single emitter of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels; water shortages, particularly in the north; water pollution from untreated wastes; coastal destruction due to land reclamation, industrial development, and aquaculture; deforestation and habitat destruction; poor land management leads to soil erosion, landslides, floods, droughts, dust storms, and desertification; trade in endangered species |
| Environment - international agreements | party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban |
| Air pollutants | particulate matter emissions: 49.16 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.) carbon dioxide emissions: 9,893.04 megatons (2016 est.) methane emissions: 1,490.24 megatons (2020 est.) |
| Total water withdrawal | municipal: 79.4 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) industrial: 133.5 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) agricultural: 385.2 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) |
| Revenue from forest resources | forest revenues: 0.08% of GDP (2018 est.) |
| Revenue from coal | coal revenues: 0.57% of GDP (2018 est.) |
| Waste and recycling | municipal solid waste generated annually: 210 million tons (2015 est.) |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
