China is doing more to tackle climate change than it gets credit for, COP 15

Release Date: 2009-10-30

According to a new report from the World Resources Institute, China is on track to meet its main climate change target, which is a 20 percent reduction in energy intensity by the end of next year.

In spite of all its polluting factories and coal-fired power plants, China might be better than its reputation climate-wise, New Scientist reports.

A new report from the World Resources Institute (WRI), a respected environmental think tank based in Washington DC, tells that the country is doing more to tackle climate change than it gets credit for. In fact, its environmental standards exceed those of the United States in some key areas.

"China is making substantial progress in controlling its emissions of climate gases," says Deborah Seligsohn, author of the report.

According to the WRI study, China is on track to meet its main climate change target, which is a 20 percent reduction in energy intensity – the amount of energy used per US dollar of gross domestic product – by the end of next year. This would put a brake on the growth of the country's carbon dioxide emissions.

China is also making good progress towards its goal of generating 15 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020, according to the report. By the end of the next decade the country will have 150 gigawatts of wind power installed – over five times the current US level.

One in 10 Chinese homes already have solar heaters, with the number growing by 20 percent each year.

Coal-fired power plants are also more efficient in China than in the US. The thermal efficiency of US stations – the fraction of heat turned into electrical energy – settled at just under 33 percent in the early 1960s. The efficiency of China's plants has been rising steadily and now exceeds 35 percent.

Type:	NORMAL
Company:	COP 15
Country:	Denmark
Url:	http://en.cop15.dk/news/view+news?newsid=2466