Film Screening and Roundtable Discussion

Environmental crises are among the most critical challenges China faces today. Dramatic industrialization and peaking rates of economic growth have caused large scale water, soil and air pollution. China is now the world's largest source of carbon emissions; it is responsible for a third of the planet's greenhouse gas output and is home to sixteen of the world's twenty most polluted cities.

In her ground-breaking documentary Under the Dome 穹顶之下, former CCTV journalist Chai Jing discusses China’s pollution and poor air quality. A high-profile and extensive investigation into the country ‘airpocalypse’, the documentary – today banned within China – has led more and more Chinese people to think about the environment and pollution.

Following this screening, join us for a roundtable discussion featuring five expert opinions from the fields of science, economics, political science and film studies, forming uniquely interdisciplinary analysis of the implications of China’s environmental challenges.

About the Speakers

Professor Xuemei Bai is a professor of Urban Environment and Human Ecology at the Fenner School of Environment and Society, ANU.

Dr Jane Golley is an economist focused on a range of Chinese transition and development issues; and is an Associate Director of the Australian Centre on China in the World, ANU.

Dr Katherine Morton is a Senior Fellow in the Department of International Relations at the Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs, ANU, and has long-standing expertise on the environment.

Dr Ying Qian is a post-doctoral fellow at the Australian Centre on China in the World, ANU, focusing on filmmaking in China.

Chair

Dr Luigi Tomba is a political scientist with a particular interest in China’s political and social change; and is an Associate Director of the Australian Centre on China in the World, ANU.

This film screening and roundtable discussion is free and open to the public. It is supported by the Australian Centre on China in the World, the Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs and the Fenner School of Environment Society at The Australian National University.