Interview: Ma Jun on Social Media And Cleaning Up China’s Dirty Air

One of China’s best-known environmentalists, Ma Jun, recently played an important role in the successful effort to force the government to more strictly monitor air pollution in Beijing. Growing public concern over the Chinese capital’s often-filthy air — amplified by highly popular “microblogging” sites — has led the government to begin releasing data on fine particulate pollution. In an interview with Yale Environment 360, Ma Jun, a 2012 Goldman Environmental Prize winner, talks about the daunting challenges of cleaning up pollution in China’s booming economy, explains the crucial role played by social media, and discusses why stricter air pollution monitoring is a significant step in the long struggle to clean up China’s air. “It demonstrates that the public voice was able to help overcome powerful local opposition to increasing environmental transparency,” he says.
Read the interview