The article in the first url below was written by Gordon Conway, co-Chair of the China Council for International Co-operation on Environment and Development (the other co-Chair is China’s vice-premier, Li Keqiang), and outlines China’s economic response to the ecological changes it is experiencing. The economic plan is to be included in the country’s twelfth five-year plan (2011-2015):
“The Chinese leaders are moved by a sense of urgency. Following the traditional economic model is not an option: resource, social and environmental constraints make it impossible. They are also aware of the danger that rapid growth will lock China into industrial and urban structures that will become a liability in a low-carbon world.”The plan maps out possible responses to three different scenarios of high, low, and “enhanced low-carbon” emission levels. The reported goals are ambitious and extend beyond anything China is willing to commit to publicly:
“In each scenario China would continue its economic growth. … The Chinese plan is to reduce energy consumption per unit of GDP by 75-85 per cent by 2050. It will be achieved through industrial restructuring and efficiency gains in every economic sector, including new low-carbon cities that avoid suburban sprawl and prioritise public transport. This will be complemented by much higher efficiency in fossil fuel use, a shift to renewable energy and the use of carbon capture and storage (CCS). … During the 12th five-year plan, energy-saving measures and new energy sources could reduce carbon emissions per unit of gross domestic product by 20-23 per cent or possibly more.”Interestingly:
“Lord Stern, the climate economist, attended the September 2009 meeting of the task force in Beijing. He believed the report was the most careful, thorough analysis by any country.”The article in the second url below provides examples of how China is fast becoming a world leader in renewable energy technology, such as carbon sequestration, clean-burning coal, and wind and solar energies. This position is supported by Tom Friedman’s long-standing campaign in the NYT to promote action in the U.S. on this issue so that it does not fall further behind China’s developing capabilities (e.g., http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/19/opinion/19friedman.html):
“There is really no debate about climate change in China,” said Peggy Liu, chairwoman of the Joint U.S.-China Collaboration on Clean Energy, a nonprofit group working to accelerate the greening of China. “China’s leaders are mostly engineers and scientists, so they don’t waste time questioning scientific data.”Take care
David
Bill Werther & David Chandler
Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility: Stakeholders in a Global Environment (2e)
© Sage Publications, 2011
http://www.sagepub.com/strategiccsr2e/
Instructor Teaching Site: http://www.sagepub.com/strategiccsr/
The library of CSR Newsletters are archived at: http://strategiccsr-sage.blogspot.com/
Beijing seeks a head start in the race to go green
Gordon Conway
753 words
12 November 2009
Financial Times
Asia Ed1
11
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/adb09036-cef9-11de-8a4b-00144feabdc0.html
or
http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/xw/t649414.htm
Copenhagen Summit: China takes lead in green technology --- World's top polluter combines cheap labor, capital in ambitious renewable-energy plan that could reshape business
By Shai Oster
1946 words
18 December 2009
The Wall Street Journal
6
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126082776435591089.html
