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China's New Year: Smog and Drought Underscore the Contradiction of Pollution and Mitigation

January 31, 2014 Add Comment Edit

As China celebrates its new year festival, many of the country's major cities appear deserted as millions of workers returned to their childhood homes in rural parts of the nation. On the upside the mass exodus has improved air quality in some of China's biggest cities. However, as the New Year was being celebrated another round of heavy smog hit a large region of the country.

In China, the Lunar New Year ushers in the year of the Horse which is one of 12 animals that make up the Chinese zodiac. According to Chinese astrology the year will be marked by conflict. One of the ongoing issues that is contributing to social tensions in the country is the problem of smog.

On Jan. 30, Chinese New Year’s Eve, China’s National Meteorological Center published yellow alerts for heavy smog in 11 provinces in central, eastern, and southern China. Visibility was less than 50 meters in some places. Smog is not only destructive to human health it also closes highways and cancels flights.

Firecrackers are a central part of New Year's tradition in China, but this year as with last people are being asked to avoid them to alleviate the air pollution they cause. Nonetheless, at midnight on January 30th, firecrackers were heard all across China.

Air pollution is not the only problem faced by China, they are also undergoing a serious drought. A dramatic illustration of just how bad the drought is can be found in a dessicated lake bed that was once China's largest freshwater lake. Once 3,500 sq km, Poyang lake in rural Jiangxi province has completely dried up due to drought.

The world largest dam, the Three Gorges reservoir water storage facility is located upstream from the lake and has contributed to the problem. This has resulted in a cascade of ecological impacts including water shortages and the decimation of the local fishing industry. It has also deprived a half a million migrating birds of food.

China is a fascination contradiction they are at one and the same time, pumping massive quantities of greenhouse gases (GHGs) into the atmosphere while leading the globe in renewable energy infrastructure like wind and solar.

China is the undisputed leader in GHG emissions and a leading consumer of coal, the dirtiest of all energy sources. They have started seven carbon trading markets in a number of cities, and they have repeatedly pledged to invest massively in efforts to clean the air. They have even enacted federal laws that put big polluters to dealth.

China’s air pollution is undeniably a big problem, both for residents struggling with airborne toxins and for the international community struggling to curb climate change. However China's air woes also represent an economic opportunity for cleantech companies.

As reported by Environmental Leader The US Department of Commerce forecasts China’s clean-tech market will triple to $555 billion by 2020.

According to report titled Stranded Down Under, by the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment (SSEE) at Oxford, concerns about air pollution and climate change are decreasing coal demand from China. The country is replacing coal with renewables.

According to the latest International Energy Agency’s (IEA) latest annual World Energy Outlook 2013 report Renewables will account for nearly half of the increase in global power generation to 2035—with China generating more than the US, Japan and the EU combines.

Overall China has one of the most ambitious carbon cutting programs in the world. The nation plans to cut carbon emissions by up to 45 percent per unit of GDP by 2020.

© 2014, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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Working Paper - China’s Overseas Investments in the Wind and Solar Industries: Trends and Drivers

August 12, 2013 Add Comment Edit

Shifting to a low-carbon economy will require current emitting countries and projected future emitters to rapidly scale up their investments in renewable energy. China is already the leading global investor in renewable energy infrastructure, and is increasing its overseas investments in renewable energy, particularly solar and wind. This working paper aims to help policymakers, investors, and researchers better understand the trends in China’s overseas investments in the wind and solar industries, as well as the factors behind those trends.

Executive Summary

Shifting to a low-carbon economy will require current emitting countries and projected future emitters to rapidly scale up their investments in renewable energy. In recent years, major emerging economies like China, India, and Brazil have been catching up with leading developed country investors in Europe and the United States. By some estimates, China is already the leading global investor in renewable energy infrastructure, and is increasing its overseas investments in renewable energy, particularly solar and wind. If China achieves its goal of sourcing 15 percent of its energy mix from renewables by 2020 and 30–45 percent by 2050, renewable energy will become closer to a mainstream energy resource within the country. Cost reduction incurred in this process would benefit not only China, but also the rest of the world.

This working paper aims to help policymakers, investors, and researchers better understand the trends in China’s overseas investments in the wind and solar industries, and the factors behind those trends. It examines the scale, nature, and types of China’s overseas investments in the wind and solar industries, and identifies the policy and market factors that drive these investments. China has made at least 124 investments in solar and wind industries in 33 countries over the past decade. Of the investments for which data were available, the cumulative value amounted to nearly US$40 billion in 54 investments, and the cumulative installed capacity added was nearly 6,000 MW in 53 investments. Of the 124 investments, 41 were in the wind industry, 81 in the solar industry, and 2 in both the wind and solar industries.

The majority of investments were in electricity generation. Twenty-seven of the wind investments were in wind farms predominantly carried out through joint ventures, as were most of the 41 solar investments. Several investments were made in manufacturing facilities and to establish sales and marketing offices. Most of the investments were concentrated in a few developed countries: the United States, Germany, Italy, and Australia. A handful of developing countries, including South Africa, Pakistan, and Ethiopia, also attracted investments.

China’s investments in the wind and solar industries are driven by a multitude of factors including macroeconomic conditions; industry conditions; policies (both general and specific to the wind and solar industries) that “push” Chinese companies to invest overseas; policy incentives in host countries that “pull” Chinese investors; and financial support from Chinese banks that “enables” these investments.

China is driven to seek solar and wind markets overseas largely because its manufacturing capacity exceeds domestic demand. The Chinese government’s policy support and financial support—mainly from state-owned banks that respond to government policy—encourage this overseas investment trend. Host countries’ policies have also attracted investments from China’s solar and wind industries, either advertently through tax breaks, feed-in tariffs, or bilateral cooperation agreements, or inadvertently as a “side-effect” of policies discouraging imports.

Although the analysis in this working paper points to interesting trends and provides useful insights that enhance our understanding of China’s role as an overseas investor in the wind and solar industries, it is limited by a paucity of information. Beyond the data collected for the 124 investments, the authors also reviewed literature and carried out interviews to deepen the analysis. The analysis is confined to a subset of the renewable energy sector rather than the full range of possible low-carbon investments. The inadequacy of the data does not allow an analysis of the emissions impact of these investments. These limitations suggest areas for further research that could help improve an understanding of China’s potential to reduce emissions beyond its borders, and would allow policy analysis on how China could increase this positive impact, particularly in developing countries.

To download the WRI working paper click here.

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Four Leading Chinese Environmental Activists

June 04, 2013 1 Comment Edit

In a recent interview Ralph Litzinger, a Duke Univeristy anthropologist who writes about important Chinese issues, offered his list of notable environmental activists in China. His list includes Ma Jun, Li Bo, Liu Jianqiang and Feng Yongfeng.

Ma Jun and his Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs in Beijing have been doing extraordinary pollution mapping work in China, and have created a network of environmental activists around what they call the “Green Choice Alliance.” They were instrumental in the first reports to expose the links between Apple and its suppliers’ environmental and health record in factories across China.

Li Bo recently stepped down as director of Friends of Nature. He remains deeply involved in a range of environmental justice struggles in China, from toxic waste to energy politics and dam building in west China.

Liu Jianqiang is a journalist turned activists. He recently gave talks in the United States to different audiences in New York and Washington D.C., so his voice and perspective is now getting the attention it deserves, and he has a very important essay, “Defending Tiger Leaping Gorge.”

Feng Yongfeng, a journalist and founder of the organization Green Beagle, is one of the most tireless environmental activists working in China today. His work too rarely gets read or acknowledged in the western press.

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Corporate Sustainability Strategies in Asia Part1 (Video)

May 19, 2012 Add Comment Edit

Corporate Sustainability Strategies in Asia Part2 (Video)

May 19, 2012 Add Comment Edit

Duties on Chinese Solar Higher than Expected

May 18, 2012 Add Comment Edit

On May 17, 2012, The US Department of Commerce announced stiff anti-dumping tariffs that were much higher than expected. These duties amount to around 31 percent on crystalline silicon solar panels imported from China. The duties come in response to the Chinese government's dumping of solar panels below the cost of production.

As reported in Renewable Energy World, the DOC has set duties at 31.14 percent for Trina, 31.22 percent for Suntech and 31.18 percent for other Chinese solar manufacturers that chose to participate in the investigation. The companies that chose not to participate were hit with a 250 percent tariff. The tariffs will be retroactive and be applied to panels that were shipped from as far back as about the middle of February 2012.

Some insiders are concerned that these duties will adversely impact the growing American solar industry.They are likely to make Chinese solar panels much more expensive. It is expected they will add about $0.30 a watt to the price of a panel.

Chinese companies are expected to set up workarounds like tolling in which they send panels through another country, or even set up remote manufacturing facilities outside their country. Tolling is expected to add about $0.06 to $0.08 per watt

The Coalition for Affordable Solar Energy (CASE)believes the overriding goal should be to make solar energy as competitive as possible. Steep penalties on Chinese panels would inhibit the rate at which solar has been growing in the American market. Lower costs have made solar more appealing option to investors.

However, in the absence of duties, non-Chinese solar manufacturers would be pushed out and leave the world at the mercy of a virtual Chinese monopoly. China could then dictate the price and the type of solar technology that dominates the market.

Low Carbon Green Growth Roadmap for Asia and the Pacific

May 17, 2012 Add Comment Edit

The Low Carbon Green Growth Roadmap for Asia and the Pacific is offered to member States to help policymakers. The report from the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) balances ecology and economic growth.

The report looks to build synergy between ecology and growth by framing resource constraints and the climate crisis as opportunities for growth capable of reducing poverty in the region.

This Roadmap provides five tracks for an economic system that pursues green growth as a new economic development path. The Roadmap draws upon innovative approaches to promote low carbon green growth in the region, and in particular from the Republic of Korea.

To download the report click here.

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China's Twitter Users Focused on Sustainability

May 01, 2012 Add Comment Edit

As published in Collective Responsibility, here is a partial list of some of the Chinese people and organizations who use Twitter and are focused on sustainability and the environment.

Sustainability & Environmentally Focused People

@Alex Wang – China’s environment/energy
@Alice Wong – China, Sustainability, and Innovative Technology
@Alison L – A 15 year old teen from HK supporting The Ian Somerhalder Foundation
@Angel Hsu- PhD in environmental policy at Yale
@Barbara Finamore – NRDC China Program Director
@Bill Fisher – American living in Shanghai & Hong Kong
@CC Huang – China, environment, technology, and anything strange, innovative or beautiful
@Charlie McElwee – Climate Change Policy & China
@Chris Brown – General Manager, North America for Asia Cleantech Gateway
@Christina Larson - Beijing-based contributing editor at Foreign Policy magazine
@Cleaner Greener China- The Greener side of Collective Responsibility
@David Pinto – CleanTech & Semiconductor Communications/Journalism/Marketing
@Elizabeth Balkan _ Monitoring energy and environmental news in China
@Ed Sappin – Renewables & Alternative Investments leader. China strategist.
@Fran Fremont-Smith – Working with youth raise their understanding of China,its language, culture and the environment
@GreenLeapFwd- Cleantech attorney
@Ina Pozon – climate/energy and water in Asia
@Isabel Hilton - Founding Editor of China Dialogue
@James Parker – China Sustainability Mgr for a major US MNC
@James Tweetcroft ‏ - Business strategy consultant and joint venture facilitator
@Jonathan Watts – Asia environment correspondent for The Guardian. Author of When a Billion Chinese Jump
@Keith Bradsher – Hong Kong bureau chief of The New York Times. Currently covering Asia energy, rare earths, autos, trade and economics, especially China.
@Linden Ellis – US director of China Dialogue
@Lisa Genasci – CEO of The ADM Capital Foundation
@Lucia Green-Weiskel – climate change policy in China
@Manuela Zoninsein – journalist covering the push for cleantech, eco-living & sustainable meat free food, especially in emerging nations.
@Mark Englehart Evans ‏ - China-based, sustainability-minded technologist, strategist & consultant.
@Mark Tong – digital media, green tech, eco-friendly public policies, sustainable development, renewable energy.
@Perrine Bouhana – Sustainability consultant working at international PR firm
@Sam Geall – Deputy Editor of China Dialogue
@Rob Earley – Director for Clean Transportation Program
@Sustainable John – US-China relations, energy efficiency and power storage as enablers for renewable energy, communication on climate change, eco-rap
@Tan Copsey – BBC Media Action. Climate change and Asia
@Terry Cooke – US-China Cleantech, Clean Energy & Innovation

Sustainability and Environmentally Focused Organizations

@Asia Water Project – Water
@Beijing Air – Hourly air quality readings from American Embassy in Beijing
@China Dialogue -Where China and the world discuss the environment
@China Organic – All things green, sustainable & eco
@China Wind Power – China Wind Power International Corp.
@Clean Air Network – HK’s leading NGO on air pollution
@EcoAsia – Asia’s first bilingual online Green lifestyle magazine
@Environment China – Retweeting Air Quality releases of US Embassy in Beijing
@Go Green Hong Kong – Dedicated to provide latest green-related news, technology tips and best practices.
@Greenpeace HK ‏
@Greenpeace China
@Greennovate team – Sustainability concepts for businesses and communities
@Green Drinks China
@Green Energy China – Clean Technology, Renewables, Alternative Energy, Resource Efficiency, Green Building, Environment, Climate Change & Green Jobs in China
@GreenITers – eco-innovation community in Asia. We globally encourage everyone to Green it!.
@GREEN LONG MARCH – Longest and largest youth conservation movement by university students in China
@H&K HK Green Team – Hill & Knowlton Hong Kong’s Green Team.
@HKUST Sustainability – Tweeting HKUST’s Green and Sustainable Initiatives
@ISF HONG KONG – We are not the only organisms on this planet.
@JUCCCE – Joint US China Collaboration on Clean Energy
@Nature China-highlighting the best research being produced in Hong Kong and Mainland China
@Sustainability China – The Shanghai Center for Sustainability
@Wild China – Beijing-based adventure travel company focusing on sustainable travel in China.
@WWF-Hong Kong
@YaleE360 – Opinion, Analysis and the Latest Environmental News

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