2.3 Features of environmental policy in developed countries (using the example of the USA and the EU)

Features of US environmental policy. Environmental safety is considered an integral component in the USA national security. To substantiate this position, American experts cite a number of arguments. First, the global environmental crisis poses the same danger as traditional military threats. Secondly, the aggravation of the environmental situation in various regions of the world is becoming the cause of social and political instability, interstate contradictions and violent conflicts. Underdeveloped states, which believe that developed countries led by the United States are responsible for the unfair distribution of world wealth and the depletion of global environmental capital, may resort to intensifying confrontation with the United States. Thirdly, the trend towards reducing external force threats to national security forces us to more clearly define the object of non-force threats, which differ from that in the traditional strategy of ensuring national security (national sovereignty, integrity and independence of the state) and include the vital environmental, political and social interests of the American state and its citizens.

Environmental policy began to be pursued in the United States earlier than in other countries, by the middle of the last century. At that time, environmental issues - air and water quality, as well as some others - were, as a rule, the responsibility of the authorities of individual states. But growing public concern about the state environment, in particular, about air quality, prompted the US Congress to pass a number of federal environmental laws. This was facilitated by the fact that in the United States the state owns at least 30% of the land, which made it possible to bypass extremely sensitive issues of private property and state property. In addition, according to the US Constitution, Congress has the power to set taxes. Congress took advantage of this right when it introduced taxes on various types of pollution. In the 1960s a number of laws were adopted that had the necessary flexibility to form the basis of US environmental policy (Water Quality Control Act of 1965, Clean Air Act of 1967, etc.)

1970s marked the beginning of the centralization of US environmental policy. On the initiative of US President Richard Nixon, the executive branch was created in accordance with Reorganization Plan No. 3 in December 1970 Federal agency Environmental Protection Agency, which Congress has granted significant authority to develop, regulate, and implement environmental actions. The Agency was actively involved in developing strong environmental policies and environmental measures of a regulatory nature, as well as measures to implement environmental standards.

1980s are a period of deregulation of environmental policy. Initiatives taken by Ronald Reagan's presidential administration culminated in the return of significant environmental powers to state governments. The powers and functions of the Environmental Protection Agency have been reduced. Thus, Presidential Executive Order No. 12291 obligated the Agency and any other federal agencies to conduct a cost-effectiveness analysis of all regulatory measures and select the most cost-effective for implementation. Supervision over the implementation of this decree was assigned to the Budget Department. A requirement was also introduced before introducing environmental standards at the legislative level to assess their economic impact. The only segment of environmental policy that the Reagan administration emphasized great value, the problem of risk assessment and management has become. Particular attention in the USA to the concept of risk assessment and its methodology was caused by the accident at nuclear reactor Three Miles Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania in 1979.

A sign that for the United States of the Reagan era in foreign policy economic and military issues took priority over environmental issues can be seen in the following fact. At this time, in international negotiations on environmental issues, the United States was represented, on the one hand, traditionally by the State Department, and on the other, symbolically, by the Department of Commerce. The idea that it was necessary to create a separate Department for Environmental Protection was not taken seriously in the Republican administration. At the same time, there was no intention to include representatives of the Environmental Protection Agency in the negotiating groups. This may also indicate that environmental issues at that time were mainly viewed as domestic policy issues.

Economic dominance in international negotiations was also evident within America. So, integration economic processes in North America almost left out of sight environmental aspects. This is exactly what happened at the very beginning of economic integration in North America. The Republican Reagan administration in the United States gave clear priority to economic aspects. The Free Trade Agreement signed in 1989 between the United States and Canada did not address issues related to environmental protection. The situation changed a little with the advent of another Republican administration under the leadership of George H. W. Bush in the White House.

The 21st century has presented the United States with new and very complex environmental challenges and forced it to change its strategic development guidelines. The focus of the main efforts is moving from the specific task of environmental protection to the more general goal of balanced sustainable development. Meanwhile, this development goal is extremely poorly understood in American society. There is a decline in the mass environmental movement, and this is happening against the background of increasing anti-ecological sentiment in society and the emergence of quite powerful pressure groups opposing environmental plans and blocking the further expansion of the regulatory function of the state in environmental and economic sphere. The success of many previously implemented environmental programs is explained by the fact that their need was obvious, and their economic costs were relatively insignificant. Solving problems associated with future pollution is much more expensive. Convincing people of the need to take additional measures for environmental protection is becoming increasingly difficult due to the need for new allocations to the environmental sector. Ensuring environmental safety is associated with an increase in direct costs for the majority of the country's population (vehicle owners, farmers, etc.). For example, in 2005, US spending on solving these problems amounted to $240 billion, while on defense - $200 billion. At the same time, no more than 5% of Americans consider environmental problems to be a national priority.

In the United States, there has been growing dissatisfaction with rising environmental costs and their impact on the economy. Industry, in turn, seeks to reduce its costs of environmental regulation by loosening it. At this stage, the state, having lost its mass support, loses its influence on the decision-making process in the environmental sphere and is forced to look for new opportunities to reach a compromise with private businessmen who have strengthened their position in the “negotiation process”, whose position on the environmental issue depends largely on their vision of their priority long-term interests.

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2. Environmental policy

In the world community there are problems affecting every country, every person. These problems are called global. To solve them, the efforts of any one country or group of countries, even with great capabilities, are not enough. To do this, it is necessary to attract a variety of resources from all over the world and intelligently combine efforts to solve them. There are a lot of such problems, but the five most important of them are environmental, demographic, natural resources, disarmament and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, and the fight against terrorism.

Today, the environmental problem has come to the fore. Environmental pollution, resource extraction, population growth and other similar problems lead to significant changes in human living conditions and the state of the atmosphere. Thus, the environmental problem has become global and acquired a number of economic aspects. At the same time, it is characterized by a tendency of exacerbation.

For the first time, people started talking about the environmental problem at the global level in the 1970s. within the framework of the Club of Rome. He considered issues related to environmental and ecological violations and the impact of these factors on humans. At that time, it was supposed to focus on reducing the influence economic activity and a reduction in population growth rates. These measures were to be carried out through regulation of economic growth.

But now it has become clear that such measures are not enough and they themselves do not give the desired effect to the extent necessary. The increasing development of countries also has its downside: new and increasingly dangerous trends and problems appear (nuclear waste, climate change on the planet). They cover not only economically developed and high-tech countries, but almost the entire territory of the Earth.

These problems not only worsen an already unfavorable situation, but also accelerate the rate of environmental pollution: many modern indicators are no longer comparable with those in previous periods. In the 20th century a quarter of all cultivated land and more than two-thirds of forests were destroyed. Over the past 30 years, water pollution has increased more than 10 times, and production has increased 2.5 times. Many experts also talk about the problem of space pollution, since in recent years many objects that we no longer need have accumulated in it, many of which cannot be returned to Earth - this can cause serious and irreparable consequences.

Despite this clear and rapid deterioration of environmental indicators, environmental expenditures have increased by only 3.5 times, and there is a tendency for this gap to widen even further.

Cooperation in the environmental sphere requires the interaction of countries, since many of them (developing and countries with economies in transition) do not have sufficient funds to overcome environmental threats. Naturally, most of the harmful emissions come from developed countries, but, according to experts, the “contribution” in this area developing countries by the middle of the 21st century. will increase from 28% (today) to 40%.

In solving this problem it is necessary to rely on the international level. Back in 1983, the World Commission on Environment and Development was created within the United Nations.

In 1992, a conference was held in Rio de Janeiro on development and environment. It adopted “Agenda 21,” which contained a number of provisions. The main ones are: people’s rights to health, environmental protection, respect for the interests of future generations, changes in technologies and methods of production and consumption.

Modern environmental problems are also political in nature. This applies primarily to the sphere of creating and testing nuclear weapons. Cooperation in this area requires special attention, although often restrictions on the use of dangerous substances, nuclear weapons, etc. run counter to the national interests of a particular country.

Market methods are not applicable to solve environmental problems, which also applies to other global problems. This requires administrative and other indirect measures. The first include prohibitions, restrictions, the establishment of certain standards, obligations to conduct examinations, etc. The indirect ones include: fines, payments, special taxes and fees, the creation of environmental funds, etc.

The present period, characterized by worsening environmental problems and the occurrence of disasters, has forced many countries to join forces. There are a number of measures that need to be taken to ensure environmental safety: awareness of the severity of the environmental problem, development and implementation of consistent measures in this direction, constant monitoring of the state of the environment, prosecution for violation of environmental legislation, ensuring control over the construction of environmentally hazardous facilities, environmental education of the population, etc.

The UN conference in Kyoto in 1997, in which more than 120 countries took part, was devoted to all these issues. Measures to attract funds from countries around the world were discussed, and emission limits were set for each country (and countries can sell their quotas to each other).

In 2000, a forum took place in The Hague. At it, countries tried to eliminate the shortcomings that still exist within the framework of quotas and eliminate shortcomings in the program to reduce air emissions.

Be that as it may, countries around the world understand the significance of the environmental problem and are trying to coordinate their actions in the environmental sphere.

Government policies pursued with specific goals can significantly influence the formation of competitive advantages of different countries. In recent decades, this has increasingly been achieved through active environmental policies within the framework of economic strategy most developed countries. The state is forced to intervene in solving environmental problems because market mechanisms themselves cannot yet take environmental costs into account in the price of goods. This is an area in which firms do not always make immediate profits, but the benefits to the nation as a whole are significantly greater than those received by individual companies.

M. Porter believes that environmental policy does not negatively affect the competitiveness of states, since countries with the most stringent environmental legislation are the best economically developed. On the contrary, environmental policy helps to increase the competitiveness of states, industries and individual firms. This is proven by both scientific research and the practical activities of companies. At the state level, an environmentally oriented economy helps to increase the competitiveness of the nation as a whole, as the living environment improves, the quality of life increases and the life expectancy of the working population increases. Sometimes an individual company does not immediately benefit from environmental investments, but the benefits are more compelling for the entire country.

Developed countries use environmental legislation and economic levers of environmental policy to increase the competitive advantages of firms and, ultimately, the state as a whole. To this end, they stimulate early demand for environmentally friendly products, increase consumer awareness, pursue balanced foreign investment policies, encourage the adoption of environmentally friendly technologies and develop new environmental industries. At the same time, it is especially important to be the first to adopt strict standards and norms compared to other countries, to constantly tighten them and monitor their implementation. This gives a technological advantage in the competition.

In some sectors of the economy, the subjects of competition are firms, not states. Firms view environmentally oriented production as an area of ​​additional opportunities, a new means of increasing competitiveness. This can be achieved due to the following factors:

1) saving raw materials and energy leads to a direct reduction in production costs due to the reduction of production costs, minimizing losses and recycling waste;

2) most environmental problems represent additional opportunities for firms, the main premise of which is the constant improvement of technology; The greatest competitive advantages are obtained by firms that invest in environmentally friendly technologies earlier than others.

Recently, companies themselves have been demanding that the state tighten legislation in order to gain advantages over competitors. This trend extends not only to individual firms, but also to countries.

St. Petersburg State University
Graduate School of Journalism and Mass Communications
Faculty of Applied Communications

Environmental policies of developed and developing countries

Saint Petersburg
2012

Table of contents
Contents 2
Introduction 3
Main part 4
1.1 Germany is ahead of the rest 5
1.2 UK harnesses wind and sea power 6
1.3 USA – act locally 61.4 India – action plan developed 7
1.5 China – time to build mills and solar panels 8
1.6 Russia – timid steps towards a clean future 8
Conclusion 10
References 11

Introduction

In the world community there are problems affecting every country, every person. These problems are called global. To solve them, the efforts of any one country or group of countries, even with great capabilities, are not enough. To do this, it is necessary to attract a variety of resources from all over the world and intelligently combine efforts to solve them. There are a lot of such problems, but the five most important of them are environmental, demographic, natural resources, disarmament and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, and the fight against terrorism.
Today, the environmental problem has come to the fore. Environmental pollution, resource extraction, demographic growth and other similar problems lead to significant changes in human living conditions and the state of the atmosphere. Thus, the environmental problem has become global and acquired a number of economic aspects. At the same time, it is characterized by a tendency of exacerbation.
For the first time, people started talking about the environmental problem at the global level in the 1970s. within the framework of the Club of Rome. They considered issues related to environmental and ecological violations and the impact of these factors on humans. Then it was supposed to focus on reducing the impact of economic activity and reducing the rate of population growth. These measures had to be carried out through regulation economic growth.
But now it has become clear that such measures are not enough and they themselves do not give the desired effect to the extent necessary. The increasing development of countries also has its downside: new and increasingly dangerous trends and problems appear (nuclear waste, climate change on the planet). They cover not only economically developed and high-tech countries, but almost the entire territory of the Earth.

Main part

The main principle of a long-term environmental policy should be the principle “first of all, the manufacturer is responsible for environmental pollution.” Accordingly, the state influences the manufacturer by paying for natural resources (soil, water, air), for exceeding emission standards, and through eco-taxes. This regulation is the first condition for the rational combination of environmental and foreign trade policies of the state.
At the same time, since environmental costs affect the competitive positions of individual producers and countries (due to the increase in the cost of national products and services), many researchers rightly believe that it is possible to effectively coordinate environmental and foreign trade policies only at the macroeconomic level, taking into account international agreements. Such agreements within the WTO should prevent environmental dumping - limit exports from countries that do not implement an active environmental policy and save on environmental protection costs. On the other hand, they are designed to limit the “flight of industry” with dirty technologies from developed to developing countries.
Over the past 10–12 years, the countries of the European Union, Japan, and a little later the United States, China, and India have tried to develop government support mechanisms and develop a legislative framework for the development of “clean” and resource-saving technologies and solutions in the energy sector, automotive industry, production of building materials, water supply and waste recycling.
The so-called clean industry, aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, includes a large number of technologies and affects...

The concept of sustainable (more precisely, not damaging to nature) economic growth, which has become established in recent decades, presupposes an inextricable combination of economic and environmental policies. Essentially, we are talking about a new model economic development, corresponding to the realities of the globalized economy of the beginning of the third millennium.

Environmental policy is increasingly being implemented in the economic strategy of developed countries and large companies. It covers a system of measures aimed at rational use natural resources, their protection and restoration within the country and abroad. This policy is carried out both at the state level, which sets legislative standards in the field of environmental protection, and at the level of companies, which undertake obligations to comply with these standards in their corporate development strategy.

The world is developing and implementing a whole range of measures aimed at solving the problems of the new stage of development. It includes the adoption of environmental legislation, the introduction of appropriate changes to tax systems, and the use of various environmental policy instruments. As a result of the implementation of the concept of sustainable growth, profound changes in the structure of the national economy, advanced resource-saving technologies are being rapidly introduced, and new industries are being formed. All this leads to lower production costs.

Already at the current stage of development, exports of states pursuing environmental policies are tending to grow, not least due to an increase in the share of environmental goods and services. Recent studies indicate that a similar trend is observed in the movement of capital - industries that are subject to the most stringent environmental regulation are attractive as investment targets. There is every reason to believe that these trends will only intensify in the future, so the environmental factor is becoming one of the determining factors in the formation of the country’s international competitiveness.

At the state level, an environmentally oriented economy ensures increased competitiveness of the nation as a whole by improving the living environment, improving the quality and increasing the life expectancy of the population. An individual company may not see an immediate return on environmental investments, whereas on a national scale such benefits are more obvious, even if they are not always clearly quantified in monetary terms. For example, the introduction of wastewater treatment standards may increase the costs of individual firms, but at the same time will have a positive effect on a national scale due to a reduction in the incidence of illness in the population due to the use of contaminated water. In a number of cases, environmentally oriented production can increase the competitiveness of industries and individual companies.

At the level of individual industries, the influence of the environmental factor is not so clear and largely depends on the type of industry. Positive influence environmental measures can have an impact on industries that use modern technologies. For example, the steel industry, despite the relatively high costs of complying with environmental requirements, can receive significant benefits from the introduction of resource-saving technologies, and the automotive industry from the development of models with reduced fuel consumption.

However, for a number of dirty industries with high environmental costs (mining, chemicals, oil refining, pulp and paper), gaining a competitive advantage from compliance with environmental measures is much more problematic. For example, when creating a modern metallurgical enterprise, the cost of treatment facilities almost corresponds to the cost of production equipment. In such industries, compliance with environmental requirements increases the cost of production by 30-40%. But these industries are also increasingly under pressure from consumers to improve the environmental performance of their production processes.

A country's international competitiveness is determined by the presence of technically advanced environmental products in its export structure. Germany, which has strict environmental standards, has increased its share of exports of environmental products, despite a weakening position in the overall industrial market.

Practical evidence that companies can become more competitive by taking environmental considerations into account is the participation of many large companies in voluntary pollution reduction programs, which have simultaneously reduced production costs.

The adoption of environmental legislation is an important step towards the implementation of environmental policy. However, the most difficult thing is not the establishment of standards itself, but their proactive adoption, constant tightening and monitoring of implementation, which is what happens in developed Western countries. This process became especially noticeable in the 90s. According to experts, one of the main reasons for Germany's success in exporting environmental goods and technologies is the early adoption of strict environmental legislation. It caused a change in the structure of domestic demand earlier than in other countries, and thus gave Germany a technological advantage in the fight against competitors.

Recognizing the priority importance of environmental legislation for increasing the competitiveness of business, it should be noted that in some cases more effective means environmental policies are economic instruments. Therefore in recent years the center of gravity shifts from directive to economic regulation. The main instruments are environmental taxes and subsidies, emission quotas, determination of ownership rights to certain natural resources (land, water, forest), take-back obligations, requirements regarding the content of recycled materials in certain products, and a number of others.

In our country, environmental policy issues are not given enough attention. The country has developed a structure of production and consumption that is unsustainable for the environment and backward by modern international standards. In fact, there is no modern environmental policy that would take into account the realities of today, rely on best international experience and consider the environmental factor as one of the priorities of economic development. The adopted strategy for sustainable development is declarative in nature, without being supported by appropriate legislative and financial instruments. The legislation adopted in the field of environmental protection, despite quite strict environmental standards, is also not supported by the levers of its effective practical implementation, and is being introduced with a significant lag behind the level of the most advanced Western countries in this area. However, the most important problem is that the majority of Russian companies have not yet changed their attitude towards the environment as a costly mechanism. They are far from understanding the competitive advantages that can be obtained as a result of joining this new and promising direction of development of the world economy.

In our country, there is an opinion that taking into account the environmental factor is an extremely costly activity that can only reduce the competitiveness of the state and companies. To be fair, we note that even in developed countries where environmental policies are already being implemented, there are quite contradictory opinions on this matter. However, taking into account the environmental component in economic activity can be beneficial both on the scale of individual countries and for specific firms. This is confirmed by many studies (for example, M. Porter), as well as the practical activities of the largest companies. Life shows that environmental measures can even increase the competitiveness of states, industries and individual firms.

Russia can and should use international experience in increasing competitiveness to develop a new economic strategy that takes into account the environmental factor and the possibilities of using competitive advantages opening up in the market for environmentally friendly products.

Environmental policies of developed and developing countries: comparative analysis

In accordance with its national interests, each country pursues its own policy, including environmental policy. Environmental policies differ to the greatest extent in two groups of countries - developed and developing.

In developed countries, environmental problems are a result of the achieved abundance of goods and services. They, earlier than other states, were faced with the need to develop an environmental policy. Back in the 1920s. Western scientists discussed two ways for humanity to survive, one of which is associated with the creation of an artificial habitat, the second with the preservation of natural conditions. Since the early 1990s. The concept of sustainable development has become widespread. The prerequisite for the emergence of the concept of sustainable development was the concept of “zero growth”, which was put forward in the early 70s. D. Meadows and J. Forrester as part of the research of the Club of Rome. It consists in recognizing the objective contradiction between the interests of environmental protection and traditional forms of satisfying material needs. Highly developed countries are required to move towards minimal (zero) economic growth. Essentially this concept is a call to freeze needs and limit population growth.

The concept of sustainable development is a model for the development of civilization, which is based on the need to ensure a global balance between solving socio-economic problems and preserving

environment. The term “sustainable development” was first introduced in the report “Our Common Future”, presented in 1987 by the UN World Commission on Environment and Development under the leadership of G.H. Bruntland. At the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNED) in June 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, a Declaration was adopted, which proclaimed the obligations of states on the main ways for our civilization to achieve sustainable development.

Individual human rights to live in a favorable environment, including the right to freedom of access to information about its condition, are of great importance in the environmental policies of developed countries. The legislation of developed countries provides for the participation of the population in the decision-making process on environmental issues. In almost all Western countries Green parties enjoy significant influence and support from the population. Their position is especially strong in Germany, where the Green Party is currently the third most popular party.

The most important area of ​​environmental policy in developed countries is resource conservation. Due to high population densities, most of these countries give priority to land use in protecting natural resources. An inventory and creation of a database of land resources is being carried out. The state pays compensation to farmers for refusing to sell land for development. One of the alternative ways to use land resources is their conservation. The problem of water conservation is solved by creating a system for reusing and reusing water. Energy conservation has a broader meaning than just saving energy. Attempts are being made to transition to renewable energy resources and alternative

sources of energy - solar energy, energy from biomass, energy, wind, geothermal energy, energy of the World Ocean (using the energy potential of vertical temperature differences), energy of sea tides. In accordance with the concept of sustainable development, each subsequent phase of economic growth should be less energy intensive than the previous one.

Waste recovery and reuse are seen as a viable and progressive way to simultaneously solve economic and environmental problems, as well as a strategy to prevent environmental pollution. The highest degree of waste recycling (60%) has been achieved in Japan. To designate areas of activity related to environmental protection, the concept of “eco-business” has appeared in developed countries. The leading producer of environmental technologies is Germany.

Let us consider the features of the environmental policies of developed countries - the USA, Canada, Great Britain, France, Germany, Sweden and Japan. In the United States, environmental policy has become a top priority since the second half of the 1970s, when water and air pollution reached dangerous levels. In the 1980s added to them is the problem of toxic substances that negatively affect the human body. 1990s characterized by a shift in the center of gravity to prevent environmental pollution. Currently, much of the power in the field of environmental policy in the United States is concentrated in a powerful centralized body, the Environmental Protection Agency. In Canada, the struggle for the environment began even earlier than in the United States. If in the 1960s. Canadian environmentalists opposed any development of society in general, then currently in

Canada adheres to the principles of sustainable development. The common environmental policy of the EU countries is based on the similarity of many environmental problems, the obligation to jointly decisions made, common measures to combat pollution and a coordinated position in international negotiations. EU environmental policy has moved from eliminating the consequences of pollution to preventing them. Pollution taxes are widespread. Great Britain, which has always stood apart in matters of European integration, has its own characteristics of environmental policy. The UK has never suffered from transboundary pollution: the dominant wind direction is south-westerly, and no international rivers flow through the country. Its island position makes it less sensitive to environmental pollution problems and less dependent on other countries. The main principles of French environmental policy are: attitude towards environmental quality as an element of global policy; reducing costs through innovation and damage prevention; decentralization of responsibility, broad cooperation of all structures; compliance with the “polluter pays” principle. Densely populated and highly industrialized Germany has few resources, which forces it to use them rationally, save energy, protect soil, water, atmospheric air. Sweden's environmental policy is focused on the development of environmentally friendly, low- and waste-free technologies and equipment.

In Japan, environmental policy developed in three stages. The first began before the Second World War and was characterized by the fight against occupational diseases. The second stage was caused by the Japanese “economic miracle” of the 1960s and 1970s. and manifested itself in the concept of ecopolis - the creation of favorable living conditions in

city ​​where a person spends most of his time. Third, modern stage associated with the globalization of environmental thinking.

In the 1980s The center of environmental tension began to move from developed countries to developing ones, whose environmental policies look different. If in developed countries the environmental crisis developed gradually over several centuries, then in developing countries it broke out unexpectedly and began to grow rapidly1. The main cause of environmental problems in developing countries is general economic backwardness. How poorer country, the less she cares about environmental issues. According to I. Gandhi, poverty is a powerful environmental pollutant. The state of the environment in developing countries is negatively affected by the international division of labor, leading to the location of polluting industries in them.

In recent years, China has become the leader in environmental pollution, facing an environmental crisis. China leads the world in total emissions of sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide; rivers, seas, and groundwater are polluted, and deforestation continues. Industrial development China's growth rate was rapidly increasing, and in this regime it was difficult to control environmental problems. Currently, only 69.3% of the total volume of consumed drinking water meets environmental standards, and 500 million Chinese citizens do not have access to clean water. The coefficient of water resource use exceeds the rational global level. For example, this coefficient for the Yellow, Huaihe and Diaohe rivers exceeds 60%, for the Haihe River - 90%, which is much higher

1 Environmental Implications of the Economic Crisis and Adjustment Reforms in East Asia. The World Bank Discussion Paper Series 1. Washington, January 1999, p. 3.

predetermined ecological line by 30-40%. The world's largest sinkhole in the groundwater level has appeared on the plain of Northern China. Only 1% of the urban population breathes air considered clean by EU standards. Already, 16 of the 20 most polluted cities in the world are in China, according to the World Bank. This is not least due to the growing number of cars. In Beijing alone, their number has more than doubled over the past two years - to 2.6 million.

Already, China's environmental conditions are causing children to be born with physical disabilities, and more severe challenges lie ahead in the future. In the process of industrialization, the pulp and paper, mining,

electric power, chemical industries. In the process of urbanization, the construction of urban environmental infrastructure lags behind, as a result of which large amounts of wastewater and garbage cannot be safely processed. The structure of energy sources with the dominance of coal will remain for a long time, which leads to land pollution. In the process of transformation of social consumption, there will be a rapid increase in the amount of various new pollutants, such as waste from electronic devices, hazardous building materials, etc., which will cause enormous damage to human health.

One of the most impressive examples of rapid economic growth at the beginning of the 21st century. is Taiwan. By 2004, its GDP growth was 8-10% per year1. At the same time

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