Is the West Killing the World through Pollution?

A new study has found that Western consumption of electronics, clothes and toys manufactured abroad could have devastating effects on the populace of those countries due to air pollution.

The report, published in the science journal Nature, found that around 22% of the 3.5 million premature deaths attributed to air pollution each year are related to commodities and services produced in one part of the world and consumed in another.

 A high price for cheaper commodities

Importing cheap goods from overseas – predominantly from Asia – has been a commonly-held practice in the Western world for decades. The reduced costs of labour and materials means that companies are able to create products at a fraction of the price they would in their native nation and then sell them at a huge profit.

However, this latest study reveals the staggering impact that such practices might have on human life in the developing countries. On average, Western users replace or upgrade their existing phones every six months, which leads to a huge amount of waste – much of which ends up in Asian landfills, posing a huge environmental headache.

What’s more, the lax emissions regulations in the East mean that companies do not have to pay such a high price to comply with legislation, resulting in greater emissions and poorer air quality for the common man.

Asia the scapegoat

Several years ago, it was found that Chinese power plants emit as much NOx as all of the passenger cars in the world. This latest report confirms that astronomical amounts of pollutants are still being emitted by the Asian superpower, with particular interest being paid to particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5).

This nasty contaminant is thought to be responsible for over 90% of all premature deaths associated with air pollution. It is small enough to be inhaled by humans and can even infiltrate the bloodstream, causing irregular clotting, exacerbating asthma and even bringing about long-term cardiovascular and respiratory complications.

Chinese emissions of PM2.5 are linked to almost 65,000 premature deaths outwith its own national borders, including more than 3,000 fatalities in Europe and the US.

The West the real culprit?

However, those statistics can be misleading as they gloss over the fact that much of this industry is geared towards serving demand in the Western world. Indeed, that figure is dwarfed when compared to the 108,600 premature deaths in China caused indirectly by Western consumption of Eastern-made commodities.

The findings have been heralded as a clear warning that we must change our lifestyle habits away from parsimony and profligacy, or else the citizens of these developing nations will continue to endure terrible air quality as a direct result.

“No-one should be denied the right to breathe clean air, whether they live in Beijing or Barking,” said Oliver Hayes, an air quality campaigner for Friends of the Earth. “But air pollution doesn’t recognise borders, and it’s clear that the devastating impacts of polluters can be felt many miles from their activities.”