China moves to shrink its carbon footprint

Within a year, China is expected to outpace the US in carbon dioxide emissions.

from the April 26, 2007 edition

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China's goal is nearly in line with a target set by Greenpeace, which just released a report urging more use of renewable energy. "China has to get rid of its dependency on coal," said Yang Ailun, Greenpeace China's climate expert. "With enforcement of energy-efficiency targets and also the decision to close down 50 gigawatts of [China's] least-efficient coal-fired plants, the trend of massive coal-fired plant installment will be slowed from 2008."

The government has also set itself the target of producing 16 percent of energy needs from renewable resources by 2020, much of which would come from hydro if the authorities meet another 2020 target: to harness 70 percent of hydro potential.

A push for nuclear energy

At the same time, China is finalizing a deal with Westinghouse Electric to buy four third-generation nuclear-power plants, along with the technological know-how to build its plants in the future.

By 2020, China plans to have multiplied installed nuclear-generating capacity fivefold from 2000 figures, to 40 gigawatts.

The government cannot guarantee meeting these targets, however: Last year, officials say, energy use per unit of GDP fell by only 1.2 percent, instead of 4 percent. This was partly because regional governments – that know they are judged on economic growth rather than on their green credentials – simply ignored Beijing's environmental edicts. Even if China does reduce its energy use per GDP unit by 4 percent a year until 2010, its growth rate is so high that by current trends it will still be emitting 30 percent more greenhouse gases in 2010 than it did in 2005.

• Staff writer Mark Clayton contributed to this report.

 

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