Pollution threatens health of Chinese population, UNEP report says

"The pollution that has accompanied China's spectacular rate of economic growth will have dire health consequences for its population, the United Nations has warned in a report," the International Business Times reports. "Achim Steiner, executive director of the U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP), told media that already hundreds of thousands of Chinese people have suffered respiratory illnesses or died prematurely due to the heavy smog that envelops some cities in the country," the news service writes.

Steiner "suggested the government can enact policies to alleviate pollution, while maintaining its heady economic growth," the news service writes, adding he also "praised Beijing officials for taking some important steps, citing, among other things, that China is now the world's largest investor in renewable energy," IBT reports (Ghosh, 11/16). The report, titled "Toward a Greener Future," "outlines how countries can maintain economic growth and improve the environment at the same time," according to BBC News (Bristow, 11/16).