China’s Environmental Health Crisis: The International and Comparative Perspective

China faces a daunting environmental health crisis due to its economic rise that has polluted its air, water, and soil. That being said, many industrialized and other developing nations have successfully overcome their environmental challenges. To what extent do China’s problems follow a similar path to those strategies undertaken by other countries, and what are the prospects of success in achieving similar outcomes?

In this podcast, I am joined by Paul Steinberg, professor of political science and environmental policy at Harvey Mudd College. He is joining us today in our second podcast discussing the environmental health implications for China’s rise to international ascendance. Dr. Steinberg focuses his research and teaching on global environmental politics, with a special interest in biodiversity conservation and environmental policy in developing countries. He is interested in how different societies around the world respond to environmental problems. This is the subject of his new book, Comparative Environmental Politics, published by MIT Press.