A new contender China launches green power revolution to catch up on West

05:55 AM Jun 11, 2009

A man rides a motorcycle past a wind turbine at a wind farm in Rudong, Jiangsu province, China. BLOOMBERG

BEIJING - China’s ambitious plans to utilise wind and solar energy represent a direct challenge to Europe’s claims of world leadership on cutting carbon emissions. China believes it can match Europe by 2020, producing a fifth of its energy needs from renewable sources, said Mr Zhang Xiaoqiang, vice-chairman of China’s national development and reform commission on Tuesday.

“Personally, I think we could reach the target of having renewables provide 20 per cent of total energy consumption,” he said. That matches the European goal and would represent a direct challenge to Europe’s claims to world leadership in the field, despite China’s relative poverty. Some experts have cast doubt on whether Britain will be able to reach 20 per cent.

Beijing seeks to achieve these goals by directing a significant share of China’s US$590-billion ($853-billion) economic stimulus package to low-carbon investment. Of that total, more than $30 billion will be spent directly on environmental projects and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

Tourists walk near solar panels in Dongsha Island, also known as Pratas Island, Taiwan. BLOOMBERG

But the indirect green share in the stimulus, in the form of investment in carbon-efficient transport and electricity transmission systems, would be far larger. HSBC Global Research estimated the total green share could be over a third of the total package.

Mr Zhang said the government would also plough money into the expansion of solar heating systems. He said the country was already a world leader, with 130m square metres of solar heating arrays already installed, and was planning to invest more. The US goal for solar heating by 2020 is 200m square metres.

Mr Zhang said developing countries would have to pursue “a sustainable development path”, and said Beijing was open to the idea of limits on the carbon intensity of its economy (the emissions per unit of output). THE GUARDIAN

From TODAY, World – Thursday, 11-Jun-2009

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