china smog law suit
A statue of China's late Chairman Mao Zedong is seen in front of buildings on a hazy day in Shenyang, Liaoning province. Reuters

The fast growing economy in China has allowed the country to become the largest market for cars in a very short amount of time. In fact, car sales in China reached 21.98 million units last year. However, the boom comes at a price – out-of-control and overwhelming levels of smog. Chinese man Li Guixin of Shijiazhuang, China, has become the first person in the country to sue the Chinese government for failing to address the northern city’s dangerous levels of air pollution.

According to Yanzhao Metropolis Daily on Tuesday, Li filled an official his complaint to a district court to ask the Shijiazhuang Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau to "perform its duty to control air pollution according to the law." In addition, Li is also demanding the agency to offer compensation to the residents of Shijiazhuang for the toll the smog has caused to the general health of the people in the city.

"The reason that I'm proposing administrative compensation is to let every citizen see that amid this haze, we're the real victims," Li was quoted as saying by the newspaper. At this moment, it is unclear whether the court will accept Li's lawsuit.

"Besides the threat to our health, we've also suffered economic losses, and these losses should be borne by the government and the environmental departments because the government is the recipient of corporate taxes, it is a beneficiary," Li continued. Li Guixin noted the money he has spent on face masks, an air purifier, and a treadmill to exercise indoors.

Even though Chinese officials have vowed to clean up the environment, smog in China’s cities has risen to extremely dangerous levels and continues to grow worse. The Chinese government had developed an action plan that included the banning of new projects until smog has reached safer levels. What’s more, the government plans to close outdated steel and coal facilities for further improvements.

However, the road to a fresher China will not be easy. Even though the government has empowered its courts to impose stiffer penalties against pollution, local government can still be bribed as towns often depend on the dirty factories to sustain its economy. According to Haaretz, Shijiazhuang routinely experienced "beyond index" measurements of particulate matter in 2013.