A new cooling tower looms above workers returning home from a coal power station. China’s rapid industrialisation over the past 20 years has seen the construction of huge numbers of mainly coal fired power stations. According to the World Resources Institute, throughout history the cumulative emissionsbased on CO2 data, show that the five major emitters—the United States, European Union, China, Russian Federation, and Japan— together contributed to two-thirds of the world’s historic CO2 emissions from 1850 to 2011. Tonghua, China.
Workers having an evening off at a games hall. Tai Yuan. China
China has been the biggest emitter of CO2 since 2007. In 2013, China exceeded the EU’s emissions on a per capita basis for the first time. It produced 7.2 tonnes per person to the EU’s 6.8 tonnes, whilst the US remained far ahead at 16.5 tonnes per person. However, it is worth noting that 20% of China's emissions, are driven by demand for Chinese products from consumers in Europe and the US. Benxi, China.
A bar hostess at a workers' games hall. Tai Yuan, China.
Steel plant at night. Tonghua, China.
Miners return home after a shift in the coal pits. The journey back to the surface is made by train and takes about 40 minutes. In general, safety standards in the large government owned mines have a higher level of safety standard. Shanxi, China.
Workers at a steel and iron plant. Steel and iron production is one of the most energy-intensive industries worldwide, its use of coal and coke as the primary fuel for production means that it has the highest carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in any industry globally. Tonghua, China.
Coal miner in a small colliery. Linfen, China.
Coal miner in a communal bath at a colliery. Linfen, China.
Workers working at a coking plant. The production of coke releases highly toxic substances into the atmosphere that are often carcinogenic. Workers in these industrial plants are often directly exposed to the fumes that are emitted from this industrial process. Benxi, China.
Workers at a steel and iron plant. Tonghua, China.
Worker in a small coal mine. China is the largest coal user in the world and has the unenviable record of the highest number of coal miners with lung problems. Datong, China.
Migrant workers at coal mine outside Datong in Shanxi Province. Datong is dubbed as the coal capital of China and the province Shanxi is the largest producer of coal in the country. China.
Communal baths. The grounds of this steel plant is covered by a layer of dust from the emissions of the factory. China is the largest producer of sulphur dioxide in the world, a major component of acid rain that comes from the burning of coal. Tonghua, China.
An employee from a coal mine plays pool late in the night after work. Tai Yuan, China.
Worker in a small coal mine. China has a total of 28,000 coal mines, 24,000 of them are small ones. Small coal mines are the ones that have the worst safety record. The economy has been developing rapidly and does not have enough electricity to power its economic boom. Given this huge need for power and the existence of so many small private coal mines there are huge problems in regulating the industry. Datong, China.
Coal miner in a communal bath at a colliery. Linfen, China.
A worker at a coking plant having a short break during his shift. Benxi, China.
Steel Plant working through the night. On a global context, the manufacturing of steel, generates 70,000 pounds of total waste, all of which requires treatment, recycling, or disposal. Tonghua, China.
Flames shoot out of a coking plant as coal is being burnt to create coke. Much of the machinery in these plants are old and that do not have new technologies fitted to lower the levels of pollution coming from these plants. Benxi, China.
A part of an advert on the perimeter walls of a coal power station has the words "...International Standard" in Chinese. The roads and nearby farmland in this small village are blackened with coal dust and fly ash. This particular power station is situated by a school and some local residences within the village. Linfen, China.
A smoke stack in the near distance belches flames and smoke as dusk sets in. The ground is covered with a layer of ash and dust from the coal fired plant. Linfen, China.