China could be 1 trillion dollar green tech market , COP 15

Release Date: 2009-09-10

China potentially could be a 500 billion to 1 trillion US dollar a year market for "green technologies," a group of businesses and experts says and urges governments to ease the way for such initiatives.

The report by the China Greentech Initiative, a group of more than 80 leading technology companies, non-governmental organizations and policy advisers, pinpointed opportunities from 300 potential green technology options for China, spanning energy, water, buildings, transportation and industry.

But government support is key, says Richard Gledhill, global leader of Climate Change & Carbon Market Services in London for PricewaterhouseCoopers, a consultancy that helped head the research.

According to the US International Energy Agency, holding climate change to just a 2 degrees Celsius increase over the next two decades will require 9 trillion US dollars in extra spending, he says.

"The private sector has a key role to play in delivering the required investment at the scale required to avoid dangerous climate change. But it will only do this if there is a clear, long-term policy framework to underpin prospects of a reasonable return," Gledhill says.

While such changes are needed worldwide, China's rapid growth and dizzyingly fast urbanization are contributing to a building boom that has created more than twice the floor space as in the US.

About 18 million people migrate from rural areas to the cities each year, so that by about 2050 China will have more than 200 cities with populations of more than 1 million people, the report says.

Such growth will require huge increases in use of energy, water and materials that will force China to adopt new, environmentally friendly technologies, it said.

China and the United States are urged to make real progress in pushing ahead with collaboration on clean energy projects as President Barack Obama prepares to visit Beijing in November.

Type:	NORMAL
Company:	COP 15
Country:	Denmark
Url:	http://en.cop15.dk/news/view+news?newsid=2073