China's economy has been able to perform impressively in the most recent decades, although it has produced inevitable strains on the overall state of its environment. Pollutants have caked much of the air circulating in the country's urban corridors, leaving many of its residents in a state of breathing despair.
A spate of short-term solutions, such as banning cars on the road during certain days and shutting down factories, have done little to result to a sustainable solution for China's air pollution woes. But now, the Chinese government is heralding the shift to electric heating to cut the smog.
Thus, China's ongoing battle with pollution in its largest cities have led it to advocate for cleaner heating solutions, with the capital Beijing identified as a strategic starting point. But much of the city's rural poor have complained about how electric heating has dented much of their meager incomes.
The switch to electric heating is part of the Chinese government's move to rid the capital city of choking air pollution, which has long frustrated several of its residents. China's emphasis on rapid industrialization has come at the cost of cleaner air and consequently, better quality of life.
The Wall Street Journal reported that cutting the use of coal energy, specifically for heating, serves as an effective way to reduce Beijing's smog problems, aside from greening up industrial practices. After all, coal-induced heating in homes produce pollutants out of the lack of a filtering mechanism.
But much of Beijing's rural poor are set to be financially blighted by the Chinese government's decision to eliminate coal-powered heating in favor of electric heating. There's no denying that such will help clear the city of dirty air, but it will come with a steep price.
It is in that light where greener heating in China becomes a class issue. While both country's wealthy and impoverished would agree that doing away with coal would benefit air quality, it will certainly benefit only those who can afford it, putting those who struggle to pay for electric heating at great risk.