Chinese negotiators traveled to climate talks in Paris this month with a rare trailing wind: the country’s slowing growth. China is the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, and images of Chinese cities blanketed by smog remain common. On Monday, Beijing issued its first-ever “red alert” for hazardous air, ordering half the capital’s cars off the streets, halting construction and urging residents to stay indoors. Still, there are growing signs as China’s economy starts relying less on heavy industry and more on consumer spending, it will also become less polluting. Changes in China’s growth are being felt on several fronts, from global commodity firms suffering from weak demand to the sooty city of Pingdingshan, where entrepreneurs are racing to profit from China’s push for a cleaner economy. Alongside the drop in China’s growth rate—the economy expanded 6.9% in the third quarter, its slowest rate since 2009—its power […]