China's Environmental Crisis: A Billion Dollar Opportunity

China is embarking on the most ambitious environmental reform program in history -- by necessity. China's environmental woes are nothing new, but they have hit an inflection point.

By Deborah Lehr as featured on Huffpost

China is embarking on the most ambitious environmental reform program in history -- by necessity. China's environmental woes are nothing new, but they have hit an inflection point. Less than 40 percent of China's groundwater is safe for consumption. Only 16 of the 161 cities monitored met the national standards of urban air quality in 2014. Almost 20 per of China's surveyed soil exceeds the national pollution standards, which amounts to 19 percent of their arable land being contaminated. And, while the rate of growth is slowing, China still emits more CO₂ than that of the US and the EU combined.

Environmental protests are the major cause of social unrest across the country -- even edging out official graft. President Xi's government recognizes that for political, economic and, certainly, environmental reasons, the government must move quickly to halt this growing crisis. China's 13th Five-Year Plan -- its economic blueprint for 2016 to 2020 -- is expected to include bold measures to redress these problems.