As the UN Climate Summit begins, one photographer has offered a quiet, intimate look at environmental devastation in China -- the world's biggest carbon emitter.
More than 300,000 protestors filled the streets of New York on Sunday to demand action from global leaders at the UN climate summit. Chinese climate activists don't have that same freedom of assembly -- although their country is the world's worst polluter.
One-fifth of China's farmland is polluted and 60% of its groundwater is not safe for humans to drink. Not to mention that the air pollution in the city of Xingtai was eight times higher than in America's smoggiest city -- Fresno, California.
Burning coal is the main cause of China's smog. According to a Greenpeace study, China is currently burning 50% of the world's coal output to provide 80% of the nation's electricity. Devastating health effects include asthma, lung cancer and stroke. The study found that air pollution caused 260,000 premature Chinese deaths in 2011.
Despite disapproval from the state, Chinese people are actively resisting the degradation of their environment. Protests over a waste incinerator rocked the eastern city of Xinhua in May, leaving both police and protestors injured. The cities of Kunming, Qidong and Shanghai have all seen protests in recent years.
There are some signs the government is listening. "We will resolutely declare war against pollution as we declared war against poverty," Chinese President Li Keqiang announced in March. A new environmental campaign aims to reduce air pollution by closing industrial plants and small coal furnaces, Reuters reported.
The government will reduce outdated steel and cement production, and increase spending on nuclear power and renewable energy.
Despite the smog, the UN's Chief Climate Officer Christiana Figueres told Bloomberg that China was "doing it right," when it comes to fighting climate change. That's because China's top-down political system avoids the division and inaction endemic to Congress, she explained. As politicians wrangle over the climate's future, it can be difficult to visualize how abstract pollution figures affect Chinese people's day to day lives. British photographer Souvid Datta travelled to China to take a closer look at daily life in the dirty cities. His work was supported by the Royal Photographic Society, The Photographic Angle, IdeasTap and Magnum Photos.
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