简报
美国国务院
发言人办公室
华盛顿哥伦比亚特区（Washington, D.C.）
2020年9 月 25日
北京是全世界最大的温室气体排放国；最大的海洋垃圾来源；非法、未报告和无管制捕捞最恶劣的肇事者；也是全世界野生生物和林木走私产品的消费国。这些行为使中国人民受到最恶劣的环境影响，与此同时北京还通过一带一路倡议以不可持续的方式侵占自然资源，输出肆意罔顾环境的行为，对全球经济和全球健康造成威胁。中国共产党以骇人听闻的方式压制公民社会和新闻自由，拖延有益于本国公民和全世界人民的变革。国务卿迈克·蓬佩奥（Mike Peompeo）指出，“中国共产党的经济有太多的部分依靠肆意罔顾空气、土地和水质量的行为。中国人民和全世界人民理应得到更好的结果。”
温室气体排放
中国标榜自己是国际环境的领导者，但中国与能源相关的二氧化碳排放正日益增加。自2006年以来，中国每年都是全世界最大的温室气体排放国。中国的总排放是美国的两倍，几乎占全球总排放的三分之一。2005年至2019年间，北京与能源相关的排放增加了80%以上。同期美国与能源相关的排放则降低了超过15%。仅2019年一年，中国与能源相关的二氧化碳排放增加了3%以上，同时美国的排放则降低了2%。北京声称具有“发展中国家”地位，借此避免为降低温室气体排放承担更多的责任，尽管其人均二氧化碳排放已经达到很多高收入国家的水平。中国排放的增加抵消了世界其他很多国家为降低全球排放取得的进展。
臭氧层
世界各国通过蒙特利尔议定书（Montreal Protocol）同意对破坏臭氧层的各类物质分阶段削减生产。但是科学家发现，2014年至2017年，应分阶段削减对臭氧层造成破坏的三氯氟甲烷（CFC-11）在中国东部的排放增加。美国主导国际性的应对行动，继续敦促中国履行其义务，加强监督和执行工作。
空气质量
2008年，美国外交人员在美国驻北京大使馆屋顶安装了空气质量检测器。我们公开发布有关数据，揭示了当地居民已经了解的情况：北京恶劣的空气质量已达到危险的地步，高于中国政府愿意承认的程度。这个很小的透明性行动促进了空气质量管理的革命，此后使空气质量成为北京的一项重要事务，包括建立了新的环境空气质量标准。尽管各大城市取得重大改善，但中国总体的空气污染程度仍然不利于健康，同时源于中国的空气污染对下风国家造成了影响。国务院通过外交、政策引导和有针对性的对外援助，努力缓解空气污染造成的全球威胁，促进美国的各项目标，将各类创新技术纳入外交和发展项目，同时发展支持美国出口的市场。我们将继续通过《远距离越境空气污染公约》（Convention on Long Range Transboundary Air Pollution）等涉及空气质量的现有国际协议，规划联合国环境署（UN Environment Programme）的空气质量工作，努力促进美国的全球利益。我们将扩大我们建设能力的行动，改善空气质量管理，通过“空气质量项目”（Air Quality Program）为美国技术发展市场。目前该项目管理12个大型空气质量赠款，总预算为660万美元。
汞
中国不安全的工业程序还使其成为全世界最大的汞排放国。汞作为一种神经毒素，如听任其污染空气、水和土壤就会对公共健康构成重大威胁。中国通过本国各燃煤发电厂和中国国营公司在其他国家出资建造和运营的工厂向大气排放的汞在全世界居首位。美国是第一个加入2013年《关于汞的水俣公约》（Minamata Convention on Mercury）的国家。该公约作为一项国际协议，要求为保护人类健康和环境全面处理汞的来源、交易、在产品中的使用、排放、储存和废弃。此外，美国国务院的汞项目（Mercury Program）为有关项目提供资金，促使手工和小型金矿的矿工采取更有利于环境的作业，减少汞的使用，同时维持或增加矿工的金矿产量。这个项目还为减少燃煤汞排放的项目提供资金。中华人民共和国也是《关于汞的水俣公约》的签约方，但仍继续通过本国公民在很多发展中国家鼓励手工和小型金矿的矿工使用汞。
野生生物走私
中国毫无疑问是全世界最大的非法和违规消费野生生物的国家，根据《杜绝、瓦解、阻止野生动植物走私法案》（Eliminate, Neutralize, and Disrupt (END) Wildlife Trafficking Act）被列为重点国家（Focus Country）。野生生物走私作为一项严重的跨国犯罪行为，危害安全，助长腐败，剥夺各地社区合法的经济生计，促使物种走向灭绝的边缘并传播疾病。长期以来美国一贯呼吁中国共产党在打击野生生物走私的问题上改善自己的行为，并已在外交领域取得成功，例如在2017年几乎全面禁止中国政府支持的象牙贸易。美国要求中国共产党永久停止高危野生生物在鲜活市场的出售，可减少走私野生生物及其产品的使用。
非法伐木和相关贸易
中国是全世界非法林木产品的消费国，推动了生产国的非法采伐，为与非法采伐相关的产品贸易推波助澜，价值每年达520亿至1,570亿美元，同时助长腐败和跨国有组织犯罪。此外，中国在外国基础设施和自然资源部门进行的投资采取不公平的经济行为，无视环境和社会保障，以监督不力和执法机制薄弱的国家为重点目标，使这些国家很容易成为中国掠夺性采伐的牺牲品。这些不负责任的开发行为导致林地毁灭和土地退化，使全球合法林业遭到破坏。中国应该以美国和其他各方为表率，对非法木材进口实施全面的禁令。
废物管理
中国是塑料产品最大的生产国和出口国，几乎占全世界总量的30%。据天津大学2019年公布的一份综合性报告估计，中国是全世界废塑料的主要来源。中国国内废塑料的至少13%不受任何管理，作为污染物直接进入环境或被丢弃，数量达每年数百万吨。中国共产党以往曾支持全球塑料回收工作，但实施的“国门利剑”政策（2018年生效）严格禁止可回收的废塑料进口，破坏了全球废塑料贸易。现在，原来在2018年前中国进口的废塑料大多数都由一些发展中国家进行填埋、焚化或加工，而这些国家不适合管理这些突然增加的数量，结果进一步对生态系统造成压力。美国支持对所有的垃圾和废料进行有利于环境的健全管理，倡导可持续的材料管理，采取系统化方式，在各种材料的整个生命周期更有成效地进行利用和再利用。
中国的一带一路倡议
中国标志性的一带一路倡议[英文名称为One Belt One Road Initiative (OBOR)，通常称为Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)]，其目标是建立一个强化的陆路及海路贸易路线网络，以使中国更好地与世界联通。然而，一带一路的实施缺乏明确的环境准则、安全标准以及劳工保护。一带一路资助的很多工程达不到国际标准，导致有关国家在工程完成后还要长期应对种种恶果。环境保障措施有赖于所在国的有关法律，而北京正在引导各国背离以可持续的方式发展他们的经济。近年来，中国在几大洲所支持的工程已导致当地人口流离失所，对水质造成了不良影响，污染了周边土地，并破坏了脆弱的生态系统。全世界很多计划中的中国基建工程也将造成类似的损害。世界自然基金会（World Wildlife Fund）发现，一带一路走廊与1,700多个至关重要的生物多样性地域以及265个受威胁物种的分布范围交叠，可能受到一带一路工程的不利影响。发表在《自然可持续性》（Nature Sustainability）上的一项研究表明，由于污染、栖息地丧失以及野生生物死亡等造成的环境破坏，一带一路工程可能会导致 “永久性的环境退化”。
海洋废弃物
中国是全世界最大的海洋塑料废弃物排放国。根据其自己的专家的统计，2017年中国把最多可达100万吨塑料垃圾排入海洋。海洋中存在的塑料每年给海事、捕鱼和旅游产业造成数十亿美元损失，并威胁着食品安全和公众健康。根据2020年亚太经济合作组织（APEC）论坛的一份报告，仅在2015一年，海洋废弃物给亚太经合组织成员国经济造成的损失估计已超过110亿美元。
美国大力地在国内防止并减少海洋废弃物，而且在国际上支持这种努力,倡导对所有废弃物进行环境健全管理，提倡对废塑料的回收利用，并支持以创新的、基于市场的解决方案来管理、减少并最终防止垃圾和废弃物——其中包括塑料废弃物——造成环境污染。在2014年至2019年举办的我们的海洋（Our Ocean Conference） 会议上，美国做出了113项承诺，其金额超过43亿美元，来促进可持续性渔业、治理海洋废弃物，并支持海洋科学、观测和探索。在去年的我们的海洋会议上，美国宣布了23项新承诺，其金额达12.1亿美元，其中包括三项与海洋废弃物有关的新承诺。
中国是全世界最大的海洋塑料废弃物排放国。
全世界的非法、未报告和无管制的捕捞活动 
中国正在通过不可持续的捕鱼活动对全球鱼类种群造成更大的压力。中国共产党为世界上最大的捕鱼船队提供补贴，其中包括在公海以及其他国家水域作业的最大的远洋捕鱼船队之一。中国船只经常侵犯其他沿海国家的主权权利和管辖权，未经许可捕鱼，并超出许可协议过度捕捞。尽管北京声称在这些问题上采取 “零容忍 ”政策，但有关问题仍普遍存在。中国属全世界非法、未报告和无管制（IUU）捕捞活动最严重者之列，并无视国际渔业管理措施。对此，美国正在开发新工具并与国际伙伴合作，以确保全球捕鱼是合法的、可持续的，同时鼓励中共更有效、透明地管制其船队的活动，并追究违规者的责任。
操控湄公河水资源
中国层层叠叠的巨型水坝的运作、不透明的水资源管理做法以及单方面改变湄公河（Mekong River）上游部分的水流，给下游邻国带来了灾难性的后果。2019年12月，在湄公河研究研讨会（Mekong Research Symposium）上，研究人员发布了有关中国过去25年来操控湄公河流量的令人不安的证据。对公开发表的卫星数据以及湄公河委员会（Mekong River Commission）河道高度记录的进一步分析证实，自然流量遭到的最大破坏与重大的大坝建设和运营同时发生，加剧了干旱状况，并对渔业和农业造成了不可估量的损害。这些问题因中国未能分享关键的水流数据而变得更加严重，湄公河地区国家在没有这些数据的情况下无法有效地管理水资源，或对洪水和干旱的影响做好准备并予以缓解。美国敦促中国履行其最近做出的分享全年水资源数据的承诺，并与湄公河委员会合作，利用现有的合作伙伴关系和数据共享平台，其中包括湄公河委员会的数据和信息共享平台（Data and Information Sharing Platform）以及湄公河水资源数据倡议（MWDI）的MekongWater.org。
更多的信息和资源请见海洋及国际环境和科学事务局（Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs）网站。 媒体查询请联系OES-PA-DG@state.gov。

FACT SHEET
OFFICE OF THE SPOKESPERSON
SEPTEMBER 25, 2020
Beijing is the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases; the largest source of marine debris; the worst perpetrators of illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing; and the world’s largest consumer of trafficked wildlife and timber products.  While the Chinese people have suffered the worst environmental impacts of its actions, Beijing also threatens the global economy and global health by unsustainably exploiting natural resources and exporting its willful disregard for the environment through its One Belt One Road initiative.  Tragically, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) represses civil society and a free press, slowing changes that would benefit its citizens and people all over the world.  As Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said, “Too much of the Chinese Communist Party’s economy is built on willful disregard for air, land, and water quality. The Chinese people–and the world–deserve better.”
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Despite claims of international environmental leadership, China’s energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are rising.  It has been the world’s largest annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emitter since 2006.  China’s total emissions are twice that of the United States and nearly one third of all emissions globally.  Beijing’s energy-related emissions increased more than 80 percent between 2005-2019, while U.S. energy-related emissions have decreased by more than 15 percent.  In 2019 alone, China’s energy-related CO2 emissions increased more than 3 percent, while the United States’ decreased by 2 percent.  Beijing claims “developing-country” status to avoid shouldering more responsibility for reducing GHG emissions–though its per capita CO2 emissions have already reached the level of many high-income countries.  China’s increasing emissions counteract the progress of many other countries around the world to reduce global emissions.
The Ozone Layer
Through the Montreal Protocol, the nations of the world agreed to phase out production of substances that damage the ozone layer.  But scientists identified an increase of emissions of the phased-out, ozone-depleting substance CFC-11 from Eastern China from 2014 to 2017.  The United States leads the international response and continues to push China to live up to its obligations and increase its monitoring and enforcement efforts.
Air Quality
In 2008, U.S. diplomats installed air quality monitors on top of U.S. Embassy Beijing.  We shared the data publicly and revealed what local residents already knew: Beijing’s air quality was dangerously worse than the Chinese government was willing to admit.  That small act of transparency helped catalyze a revolution in air quality management, and Beijing has since made air quality a priority, including establishing new ambient air quality standards.  Despite significant improvements in large cities, the overall level of air pollution in China remains unhealthy, and air pollution from China continues to affect downwind countries.
The Department of State works to mitigate the global threat of air pollution through diplomacy, policy leadership, and targeted foreign assistance to advance U.S. objectives and incorporate innovative technologies into diplomatic and development programs while shaping markets to support U.S. exports. We will continue to advance U.S. interests globally through existing international agreements on air quality, including the Convention on Long Range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP) and shape efforts on air quality in the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).  We will expand our work to build capacity to improve air quality management and shape markets for U.S. technology through the Air Quality Program, which currently manages twelve large air quality grants with a combined budget of $6.6 million.
Mercury  
China’s unsafe industrial processes also make it the world’s greatest emitter of mercury, a neurotoxin and a major public health threat when allowed to pollute air, water, and soil.  China leads the world in mercury air pollution from its own coal-burning power plants, as well as the plants that Chinese state-owned companies finance, build, and operate in other countries.  The United States was the first country to join the 2013 Minamata Convention on Mercury, an international agreement that seeks to protect human health and the environment by comprehensively addressing mercury sources, trade, its use in products, emissions, storage, and waste.  In addition, the U.S. Department of State’s Mercury Program funds projects to promote better environmental practices among artisanal and small-scale gold miners (ASGM), reducing the use of mercury used while maintaining or increasing the miners’ recovery of gold.  The program also funds projects to reduce mercury emissions from coal combustion.  The People’s Republic of China (PRC) is also Party to the Minamata Convention on Mercury, yet it continues to enable its citizens to promote mercury use in ASGM in many developing countries.
Wildlife Trafficking
China is indisputably the world’s largest consumer of legal and illegal wildlife, and it was identified as a Focus Country under the Eliminate, Neutralize, and Disrupt (END) Wildlife Trafficking Act.  Wildlife trafficking is a serious transnational crime that threatens security, fuels corruption, robs communities of legitimate economic livelihoods, pushes species to the brink of extinction, and spreads disease.  The United States has long called for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to improve its behavior on combating wildlife trafficking and has secured diplomatic successes such as a near-complete ban on Chinese government-sanctioned ivory trade in 2017.  The United States calls upon the CCP to permanently end sales of high-risk wildlife in wet markets, a move that would reduce the use of trafficked wildlife and wildlife products.
Illegal Logging and Associated Trade 
China is the world’s largest consumer of illegal timber products.  It drives illegal logging in producer countries, feeds associated trade in illegally harvested products worth $52-157 billion per year, and fuels corruption and transnational organized crime.  In addition, Chinese investment in foreign infrastructure and natural resource sectors use unfair economic practices, disregard environmental and social safeguards, and target countries with weak oversight and enforcement institutions that make them susceptible to predatory Chinese extraction.  These irresponsible development practices contribute to deforestation and land degradation and undercut the legitimate forest industry around the globe.  China should follow the lead of the United States and others and implement a comprehensive ban on illegal timber imports.
Waste Management 
China is the biggest producer and exporter of plastic products, accounting for nearly 30 percent of the world’s total.  A 2019 comprehensive literature review by Tianjin University estimates China is the world’s leading generator of plastic waste.  At least 13 percent of China’s domestic plastic waste is unmanaged and released or dumped directly into the environment as pollution, translating into millions of tons per year.  While the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) previously supported global plastic recycling, the “National Sword” policy (which took effect in 2018) severely restricted the import of recyclable plastic scrap and disrupted the global plastic scrap trade.  Now, most plastic scrap, which China had imported before 2018, is landfilled, incinerated, or processed by developing countries ill-suited to manage the sudden increase, ultimately further straining ecosystems.  The United States supports environmentally sound management of all waste and scrap and promotes sustainable materials management (SMM), a systematic approach to using and reusing materials more productively over their entire life cycles.
China’s One Belt One Road Initiative
China’s signature One Belt One Road Initiative (OBOR), more commonly known as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), aspires to create a network of enhanced overland and maritime trade routes to better link China with the world.  However, implementation of BRI lacks clear environmental guidelines, safety standards, and worker protections.  Many BRI-funded projects do not meet international standards, leaving countries to deal with the harmful consequences long after a project is completed.  Environmental safeguards depend on the laws of host countries, and Beijing is leading nations away from developing their economies sustainably.  In recent years, Chinese-backed projects on several continents have displaced local populations, negatively affected water quality, polluted adjacent land, and spoiled fragile ecosystems.  Many planned Chinese infrastructure projects worldwide would do similar harm.  The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has found BRI corridors overlap with over 1,700 critical biodiversity sites and the ranges of 265 threatened species that could be adversely affected by BRI  projects.  A study published in Nature Sustainability suggested BRI projects may lead to “permanent environmental degradation” due to environmental harm through pollution, habitat loss, and wildlife mortality, among others.
Marine Debris
China is the world’s largest emitter of marine plastic debris.  According to its own experts, China released up to one million tons of plastic waste into the ocean in 2017.  The presence of plastics in the ocean costs the maritime, fishing, and tourism industries billions of dollars every year and threatens food security and public health.  According to a 2020 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum report, the damage from marine debris to APEC member economies was estimated at over $11 billion in 2015 alone.
The United States proactively prevents and reduces marine debris domestically and supports such efforts internationally.  The United States advocates for environmentally sound management of all waste, promotes recycling for plastic scrap, and supports innovative, market-based solutions to manage, reduce, and ultimately prevent waste and debris—including plastic waste—from polluting the environment.  At Our Ocean Conferences from 2014 to 2019, the United States made 113 commitments valued at over $4.3 billion to promote sustainable fisheries, combat marine debris, and support marine science, observation, and exploration.  At last year’s Our Ocean Conference, the United States announced 23 new commitments valued at $1.21 billion, including three new commitments related to marine debris.
Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing Worldwide  
China is placing increased pressure on global fish stocks through unsustainable fishing practices.  The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) subsidizes the world’s largest fishing fleet, including one of the largest distant-water fishing fleets operating on the high seas and in other countries’ waters.  Chinese vessels routinely violate the sovereign rights and jurisdiction of other coastal States, fish without permission, and overfish licensing agreements.  Despite Beijing’s claiming a “zero-tolerance” policy when it comes to these issues, the problems are widespread.  China is one of the world’s worst perpetrators of illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing (IUU), disregarding international fisheries management measures.  In response, the United States is developing new tools and working with international partners to ensure global fishing is legal and sustainable, while encouraging the CCP to more effectively and transparently police the activities of its fleets and hold violators accountable.
Mekong Water Manipulation
China’s operation of its cascade of mega dams, opaque water management practices, and unilateral alteration of water flow in the upstream portion of the Mekong River have resulted in catastrophic consequences for its downstream neighbors.  In December 2019 at the Mekong Research Symposium, researchers presented troubling evidence regarding China’s manipulation of the Mekong River’s flows for the past 25 years.  Further analyses of publicly available satellite data and Mekong River Commission river height record confirmed that the greatest disruption in natural flows coincided with major dam construction and operation, exacerbated drought conditions, and contributed to immeasurable damage to fishing and agriculture.  These problems are compounded by the PRC’s failure to share critical water flow data, without which Mekong region nations cannot effectively manage water resources or prepare for and mitigate the impacts of floods and droughts.  The United States urges China to deliver on its recent commitment to share year-round water data and work in concert with the Mekong River Commission (MRC) to capitalize on existing partnerships and platforms for data sharing, including the MRC’s Data and Information Sharing Platform and the MWDI’s MekongWater.org.
For further information and resources, visit the website of the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs (OES).  For press inquiries, contact OES-PA-DG@state.gov.