Climate change has certainly made China the land of opportunity for low-carbon technologies. The country is already suffering from serious desertification and years of unprecedented drought, so the government is stepping up its clean-energy investments with a $440 billion stimulus package to promote renewable energy. The government is also looking for further investments that will develop cleaner methods to power economic growth and reduce GHG emissions.
As the world’s largest greenhouse gas producer, just ahead of the US, China depends on coal for nearly 70% of its total energy consumption. The central government has pledged to cut emissions by 20% per unit of GDP by 2020, and this funding will go some way to making it happen. A significant chunk of change will fund wind farms, as the government is planning to increase wind power capacity to 100 GW over the next 11 years. (Source: AFP, May 24, 2009).
Contact: Ministry of Environmental Protection, The People’s Republic of China, english.sepa.gov.cn.