China threatens death penalty for serious polluters

People walking on a pedestrian overpass during hazy weather conditions in Beijing May 6, 2013. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese authorities have given courts the powers to hand down the death penalty in serious pollution cases, state media said, as the government tries to assuage growing public anger at environmental desecration.

An increasingly affluent urban population has begun to object to China's policy of growth at all costs, which has fuelled the economy for three decades, with the environment emerging as a focus of concern and protests.