Posted on 26 January
2011 - Beijing – Economic development plans
in China need to further promote a low carbon
economy, says a new WWF report assessing
the climate and energy impacts of China’s
stimulus package.
In November 2008, the
State Council (China’s highest decision-making
body) decided to invest four trillion RMB
– approximately 586 billion US dollars –
to bolster the country’s economy from the
global financial crisis. As in March China’s
National Congress will adopt the 12th Five-Year
Plan, the main policy tool driving economic
and social development in China, this study
offers an important reference on how to
direct future investments.
The study found that
China’s stimulus package has been successful
in boosting economic growth mainly through
investments in infrastructures. This has
increased demand for energy-intensive industries
and pushed up China’s energy consumption
in the short-term (2009-2010). It is estimated,
however, that the stimulus will have long
terms benefits for energy conservation and
that its net effects on carbon emissions
will be positive from 2014 onwards.
“There are signals that
macroeconomic planning is starting to take
carbon emissions seriously into account.
We will need more of this in the future.
All investment policies will have to factor
in energy and resource conservation, as
well as climate change,” said Dr. Li Lin,
Leader of WWF’s China for a Global Shift
Initiative.
The main benefits in
the long term will be driven by investment
in the railway and urban transport systems,
contributing to reduce energy consumption
in the transport sector by 20% by 2020.
Overall, it is anticipated that the originally
forecast 9.63 billion tons of CO2 emissions
by 2020 will decline to 9.36 billion tons.
However, more efforts are needed to reach
the goal that China pledged at the Copenhagen
Climate Conference in December 2009 (reducing
emissions per unit of GDP by 40-45% by 2020
compared to 2005).
The report recommends
that China increase investments in energy
conservation, including stricter approval
standards for energy-intensive projects
and disincentives for those using inefficient
technologies. China also needs to take full
advantage of the country’s renewable energy
potential and upgrade the energy grids.
Carbon footprint accounts
for 54% of China’s total ecological footprint,
according to a WWF report published in November
2010, so promoting a low-carbon economy
will be crucial for China’s environmental
sustainability.
“If
properly directed, economic interventions
can support the transition to low carbon
development. The next Five-Year Plan offers
an enormous opportunity to set China firmly
on track towards the achievement of a low
carbon economy,” added Dr. Li.
