This blog post was published under the 2015 to 2024 Conservative government

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Richard Baker

Newton Fund Strategic Manager

Part of Global Science and Innovation Network

13th January 2017 Beijing, China

Beijing baby blue

Checking the air quality index is pretty much the first thing I do every morning. It’s funny how life is governed by a (hopefully) double digit number; when it goes into triple digits you’re in trouble.

Christmas and New Year were a blur of pollution in our latest ‘airpocalypse’, not helped by the recent arrival of my baby boy. Being trapped in the house with five air purifiers on full blast was how I spent most of the holiday period. So it felt kind of like a snow day used to when I woke to blue skies today.

Beijing CBD under blue sky
Beijing CBD under blue sky

The air is apparently improving. China is shifting towards renewables at an unprecedented rate. The Ministry of Environmental Protection have new power to prosecute polluters. The public know more about the problem than ever before.

That’s all positive, but isn’t the whole picture.

A Greenpeace study highlighted in the economist shows the upturn in industrial production towards the end of 2016 as being the culprit for the most recent bout of air pollution. The Chinese government face a delicate balancing act, get it wrong and social unrest will spiral.

I lead on the Newton Fund in China; I see firsthand the cutting edge science and innovation we are supporting from UK and China. These partnerships will have an impact on challenges like air pollution and climate change.

One of our key partners is the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). Their Institute of Atmospheric Physics (IAP) are involved in several of our largest projects. CAS are the World’s leading science institution; they know their stuff.

Two decades. That’s how long IAP models say it will take to bring China’s air quality in line with new national standards. That’s a long time, a lot can change.

My eight week old son
My eight week old son

Today I’m optimistic. The sky is blue, my son was smiling and babbling away to me this morning; life is good.

China is turning to innovation to wean itself off polluting industry. Mobike is the latest in disruptive innovation. A bike share scheme without base stations, unlocked and paid for via an app.

Mobike bike share

As I cycled in to work under the blue sky this morning I thought to myself it will be alright, I can see a way out. Maybe we will put our health first, change our behaviors, and demand our governments give us clean air. Maybe they will listen and the actions will stick.

Ask me when the air is bad and I’ll probably give you a different answer.

About Richard Baker

I am based in Beijing and head up the Newton Fund in China, supporting science and innovation partnerships to promote economic development and social welfare. In my time at the…

I am based in Beijing and head up the Newton Fund in China, supporting science and innovation partnerships to promote economic development and social welfare. In my time at the Embassy I have also worked in the visa section and UKTI. I am a vegetarian runner, have a degree in geophysics, and in my younger days I used to be a children’s fitness instructor in Tokyo.

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