Angel Hsu: How China is (and isn't) fighting pollution and climate change
Angel Hsu: De que forma é que a China está (ou não) a combater a poluição e a alteração climática
Angel Hsu is a professor and data geek who applies data-driven methods to solve challenging environmental issues. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
sent me this photo from Ürümqi,
mandou-me esta foto de Ürümqi
province in northwest China.
no noroeste da China.
she couldn't believe her eyes.
acreditar no que via.
using this app on her iPad,
através desta aplicação no seu iPad,
the air quality was good,
que a qualidade do ar era boa.
she saw something much different.
viu algo muito diferente.
in the background.
not telling the truth
a dizer a verdade
viam e respiravam,
failing to measure PM2.5,
went off the charts in 2012,
dispararam, em 2012,
once described it in a tweet,
a Embaixada dos EUA num "tweet",
as redes sociais
that they were seeing this disconnect
o motivo para verem tanta discrepância
da qualidade do ar
and breathing for themselves.
of sorts in China,
to tackle its pollution problems.
os seus problemas de poluição.
to become a global environmental leader.
de se tornar num líder ambiental mundial.
that I'll paint for you today
that are very promising,
that are more troubling
que são mais problemáticas
to the story at hand.
of China's green evolution
a evolução ambiental da China,
conducting fieldwork in China in 2011.
e fazia lá o trabalho de campo, em 2011.
seeking answers to the question
de respostas à pergunta
from the skeptical outsider:
por pessoas céticas de fora:
something on the environment?
a fazer algo pelo ambiente?
was considered too politically sensitive
eram considerados politicamente sensíveis
was keeping it secret,
mantinha-os em segredo,
of its harmful human health effects,
dos seus efeitos negativos na saúde,
greater transparency
growing evolution and awareness myself
desta evolução e consciencialização
a divulgar estes purificadores de ar,
started to market these air purifiers
o PM2,5 prejudicial.
as the title of musical festivals.
como título de festivais de música.
in Shenzhen, which is in southern China,
em Shenzhen, no sul da China.
they're advertising a retreat from PM2.5.
a fazer publicidade à retirada de PM2,5.
breathe sub-par air.
mas não respirem ar medíocre".
Environmental Protection Bureau
de proteção ambiental de Xangai
named after the air quality index
em função do índice de qualidade do ar,
os dados sobre a qualidade do ar.
the air quality data to its people.
depending on the quality of air outside.
conforme a qualidade do ar lá fora.
the mostly smiling face
com esta cara tão sorridente
called "Under the Dome."
intitulado "Sob a Cúpula".
to Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring."
"Silent Spring", de Rachel Carson.
chamou a atenção
that pesticides were harming human health,
prejudicarem a saúde,
into the popular consciousness
na consciência popular
um milhão de mortes prematuras,
to one million premature deaths
views in a single weekend
num só fim de semana,
some type of social unrest,
algum tipo de agitação social,
sobre como poderia enfrentar
about how it could tackle
environmental problems:
problemas ambientais:
electricity comes from coal.
vêm do carvão.
than any other country in the world,
alimentadas a carvão
that China's government
que o governo chinês decidiu
to wage a war on coal,
uma batalha contra o carvão,
of coal-fired power plants.
alimentadas a carvão.
enormous investments
and renewable energy,
limpas e renováveis,
of this transformation
to show you what I mean.
para mostrar o que quero dizer.
when it comes to hydropower,
no que toca a energia hídrica,
os cidadãos chineses terem energia,
from hydropower alone.
apenas através da energia hídrica.
da Barragem das Três Gargantas,
of the Three Gorges Dam,
power station in the world,
centrais elétricas do mundo,
da capacidade mundial.
leader by far.
o líder número um.
China's also leading.
a China também é líder.
a sua meta de 2020,
of solar power.
de energia solar.
already revised upwards
ter aumentado, várias vezes,
a whopping 35 gigawatts of solar power.
35 gigawatts de energia solar.
of what the US has combined in total
os EUA conseguiram no total
in just seven months alone.
in solar power from space,
significativo em energia solar, do espaço,
has done in this slide.
SpaceKnow fez neste "slide".
Germany's entire electricity consumption
a China consiga gerar
da Alemanha,
em relação a energias limpas
largest carbon footprint.
a maior pegada de carbono.
we can see that China's coal consumption
vemos que o consumo de carvão na China
as early as 2013.
why China's government announced
o governo chinês ter anunciado
their 2020 carbon reduction pledge
de redução de carbono até 2020,
improvements in air quality
na qualidade do ar,
cidades chinesas,
by as much as 30 percent.
is actually leading people
do ar leva a que as pessoas
than they would have in 2013.
a mais do que esperariam viver em 2013.
the cities that have experienced
que tiveram o maior progresso
at the beginning of this talk,
no início desta palestra,
the data are still being determined.
ainda estarem a ser determinados.
of pretty steady global carbon emissions,
emissões de carbono,
may be on the rise again
estar a aumentar novamente.
in China's fossil fuel consumptions,
consumo de combustíveis fósseis, na China.
that peak that I showed earlier.
o pico que vos mostrei anteriormente.
and the data are still murky
e os dados ainda são nebulosos.
its coal statistics after the fact.
depois do ocorrido.
having a debate on Twitter
tenho debatido no "Twitter"
whether China's carbon emissions
se as emissões de carbono da China
they're staying relatively stable.
ou se se mantêm estáveis.
a rapidly developing country.
que se desenvolve rapidamente.
with a range of policies,
diferentes políticas,
sustainable transport solution.
uma solução de transporte sustentável.
of this bicycle graveyard
deste cemitério de bicicletas
avançar demasiado depressa
coal is still king in China,
o que a China está a fazer ao ambiente?
what China is doing on the environment?
on the environment
ao ambiente, em casa,
for the rest of us.
para o resto das pessoas.
além das suas fronteiras
as far away as those in North America.
como as da América do Norte.
a poluição do ar,
infrastructure, technology abroad.
infraestruturas e tecnologia.
the One Belt, One Road Initiative,
a iniciativa "A Nova Rota da Seda",
infrastructure investment project
em infraestruturas,
these infrastructure investments abroad,
em infraestruturas no estrangeiro,
a Chinese civil society group,
um grupo chinês da sociedade civil,
than 240 coal-fired power plants
centrais elétricas alimentadas a carvão,
One Road Initiative.
"A Nova Rota da Seda".
own domestic coal-fired capacity
capacidade energética do carvão na China,
China is cleaning up at home,
estar a progredir em casa,
dessa poluição para outros países,
simply don't have a passport.
de estufa não têm passaporte.
avaliar esta questão,
to evaluate this question
is actually leading,
uma questão em debate.
very much an open debate.
and the outlook is not good.
e o prognóstico não é bom.
between current policies
entre as políticas atuais
to avoid dangerous climate change.
uma mudança climática perigosa.
de liderança,
from the US, for example.
announced its intent
anunciou, em junho,
do Acordo de Paris.
the Paris Climate Agreement,
substituto para o cargo da liderança.
to fill that leadership void.
environmental future.
de emissões de carbono,
is not just good for the environment,
não só é boa para o ambiente,
by reducing air pollution.
ao reduzir a poluição do ar.
for 30 percent of the global growth
do crescimento mundial
que acabei de vos mostrar,
foggy air quality statistics
e turvas da qualidade do ar,
of China's clean energy.
das energias limpas na China.
is headed in the right direction,
a very long road ahead.
um longo caminho a percorrer.
Is seeing believing?
e nas estatísticas
air quality is coming down
na China está a diminuir,
is actually having an effect?
o carvão está a ter efeito?
at some of the latest satellite images
a umas imagens de satélite recentes
very closely at this image.
para esta imagem.
estar nos pandas.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Angel Hsu - Environmental data scientistAngel Hsu is a professor and data geek who applies data-driven methods to solve challenging environmental issues.
Why you should listen
Angel Hsu is a professor, researcher, writer and speaker who spends much of her time analyzing large datasets to develop policy solutions to the world's most pressing environmental problems, such as climate change and air pollution. As she writes: "I work between the push and pull of data science and public policy, and this passion drives me to explore how new technologies, analytical techniques and communication strategies can improve governance and lead to better environmental outcomes in rapidly developing countries like China."
Hsu is jointly appointed at Yale-NUS in Singapore at Yale's School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. She founded and directed Data-Driven Yale, an international team of interdisciplinary researchers, scientists, programmers and visual designers. Under her direction, Data-Driven Yale works collaboratively with scholars and practitioners around the world to collect, transform and communicate information, creating new knowledge and policy tools designed to make the world greener and healthier. Her work has been published in scientific journals like Nature and Nature Climate Change and featured in media like The Economist and the New York Times.
Angel Hsu | Speaker | TED.com