Often referred to as the “workshop of the world”, China has been criticised as its booming economy increases its demand for electricity and industrial resources. The country has one-fifth of the world’s population but over the last few years its emissions have exceeded those of the US. Greenpeace recently reported that large companies in China’s emit as much CO2 in a year as the United Kingdom; China should introduce green taxes on coal and carbon emissions, they say.
Amidst press like this, it’s a real shame that China’s efforts to create a clean energy economy are so often sidelined. While China may overall produce the most emissions, per-capita emissions in the US are still the highest in the world today. Chinese leaders rightly believe that they should not have to mop up the damage that was created largely by the West, much before the China’s industrial drive accelerated.
China is one of the 48 countries in the world that has implemented laws for renewable energy development. It has promised to cut down energy consumption by 20 per cent by the end of 2010, and is expected to reveal a stimulus package of about $660 billion devoted to alternative energy development over the next 10 years – initiatives and investments that are a result of China’s in-depth understanding of climate change as a threat to its own prosperity. The China presence at WFES is also poised to be significantly larger than at the last edition with some of their key initiatives in renewables expected to be showcased at the event.
- The WFES Team
In response to the last comment, you’d be surprised to see how conscious people in China are about being resourceful and are in fact, far from being wasteful. Using a few examples in the years that I have spent working in China, colleagues would recycle paper in the office. They’d drink either from flasks they bring from home or paper cones provided (check out the water dispensers around the new Beijing airport) and it is common practice to take home a doggy bag should there be any leftover food at a restaurant they will have eaten at.
Whatever motivations the Chinese may have to adopt eco-friendly habits, be it to appreciate that money does not grow from trees and that saving goes a long way, or to feel socially responsible towards protecting the environment, it would be fair to say that culturally speaking, the Chinese are in sync with China’s commitment to a sustainable future. Sadly, saying the same about attitudes in the UAE is a far cry from those adopted in China.
On a higher level front as discussed in the article, the question remains as to how China’s commitment to a greener future can also be made a lucrative industry which can continue to drive China’s economy at its strongest.
I always though China was a new slate in terms of energy, it didn’t have to follow the footsteps of other industrial revolution countries. It didn’t have to build gas guzzling cars or smog producing factories. It could have bypassed all the old smoggy learning curves and instead, be the testing ground for new exciting energy resources. Yet the haste to develop a developing nation, to show that it too was a mighty power amongst super powers, meant it fell easily into the big carbon footprint that is, left by the US and European countries.
Now it’s difficult to clamber itself out of this hole as there is so much infrastructure and jobs (lives) surrounding this ‘dirty’ industry. Ok, it’s easy to criticize about the past, but what are the steps forward now?
Personally I think it can help the world by firstly cleaning up it’s waste and pollutants, better filtering system for cleaner air, catalytic converters for car, use newer methods of extracting energy from coal which is cleaner, better international fuel treatments, like coal sequestrations. It’ll take a very long time to change the way energy is consumed in the most densely populated country.
Education would play a key part to change, training minds to become resourceful. Being resourceful would have to become part of the culture because people are conscious aware, they care, they feel socially responsible, up to the highest decision makers who can actually make a conscious difference …