China Is Quick Off the Blocks in the Race to Combat Global Warming, Say Climate Experts

China may today be feeling the impacts of climate change in terms of desertification, pollution, and water shortages, but it sees this as an opportunity and not just a threat. Chinese business is becoming the first to move on low-carbon solutions, which is extremely positive to the prospects of combating global warming. 

This is the conclusion of the Copenhagen Climate Council (CCC), an international group of world leaders in business, science, and policy making. On Tuesday, November 11, the CCC hosted a roundtable meeting with some of the most prominent business leaders in China and the Danish Minister for Climate and Energy Connie Hedegaard, and the message is clear: Climate change is becoming an important issue for Chinese CEOs, and opportunities in energy-efficient products and renewable energy are a driver for change.

"Chinese business leaders recognize that sustainable development is a corporate responsibility, and that the need for creating economic growth in China should meet the needs of sound environment protection. I encourage all industries to respond and to collaborate – hand in hand – on tackling the challenge. I want to make sure that our children can live on a beautiful planet with blue sky and clean air. We are dedicated to this," said one of China's most well-known business leaders, Li Xiaolin, chairwoman and CEO of China Power International, one of Chinas five-biggest energy suppliers.

Li Xiaolin is one of four members of the Copenhagen Climate Council based in China; the others being Rob Morrison, chairman of CSLA Asia Pacific Markets; Moses Tsang, CEO of Ajia Partners; and Zhengrong Shi, CEO and founder of Suntech Power.

China's economy and energy supply is based on coal, and the country is the world's biggest emitter of CO_2. But, at the same time, China is global leader in solar photovoltaic technology, and experts predict that China soon will be the world leader in manufacturing of wind turbines. At the moment, Chinas has installed more renewable capacity than any other country in the world.

The government in its 11th Five-Year Plan has introduced new measures to boost energy efficiency, and set a renewable target at 16% of energy production in 2020. China plans to achieve a 20% reduction of energy consumption per unit of GDP by 2010. A large range of small, inefficient coal-fired power plants will in two years be substituted with new technology. China has more strict emissions standards for cars than Europe and the United States. The political aim is to maintain high, but sustainable economic growth.  

"It is extremely uplifting to witness the dedication of Chinese business leaders and their engagement in a global collaboration of business leaders. Focusing on the opportunities could become a main driver for continued Chinese commitment in the international negotiations on a new climate change treaty. In Bali last year, China surprised many skeptics with their engagement, and the more corporate leaders in China focus on 'The Green Gold' the better the chances of a continuation of this positive process in a few weeks time when negotiators meet in Poland for the COP14," said Erik Rasmussen, founder of the CCC.

"Without a strong commitment from China and indeed the US, we will not succeed in preventing dangerous climate change. The election of Barack Obama in the US and the business-driven momentum in China might very well be the two significant developments that will make it possible for Copenhagen 2009 to become the success we so desperately need," he added. (Click here to listen to Rasmussen be interviewed by DR P1, Denmark Broadcasting Corporation's morning program, about the work of the Copenhagen Climate Council. The interview, in Danish, begins 15 minutes into the program.)

Danish Minister for Climate and Energy Connie Hedegaard will be leading the negotiations in 2009. After the roundtable meeting, she said, "Focusing on the solutions to answer the climate challenge is one of the most important questions. In a double sense: Both because our global environment needs it, and because green tech is becoming a unique business opportunity."

She added, "Some argue that the financial crisis is a threat to the world's efforts towards global warming. No, on the contrary: the climate change challenge holds some of the keys to unlocking the crisis, if we focus on the solutions. We have to become ever more energy-efficient. We should use ever more renewable energy – wind, solar, and hydro power. And we have to find the smart solutions that save energy. All significant economies in the world must help creating the low-carbon society of tomorrow. Only, if we do so, we can afford growth. The front-runner companies and nations will be the ones who benefit the most, creating green jobs and sustainable growth."