E3G

China’s climate choices

By Nick Mabey and Diana Parusheva

Influencing China’s decisions
China is the fastest growing country ever seen and as such it is on the verge of putting in place transport and industrial infrastructure, technology and power generation facilities that will form the backbone of its economy for decades to come. China’s choices in these areas will, to a great extent, dictate our future climate choices.

We must act now, before the critical infrastructure has been developed and implemented. China’s appetite for energy technology presents a massive opportunity for businesses that can supply clean and efficient solutions.

On this issue European and Chinese interests coincide. We both want less dependence on imported oil and gas. We both need climate security. We both need zero emission coal technologies in our energy mix. To achieve these goals we need an effective alliance that builds on the strengths of the world’s largest market – the EU – and the world’s fastest growing economy – China.

Europe and China have already taken the first step in this process by agreeing in 2005 to accelerate cooperation on the development and practical demonstration of carbon capture and storage technology. The next step should be to deliver this commitment quickly by forming a consortium capable of building the first zero emissions coal power plant in China. This should be followed by cooperation to deliver other concrete outcomes in critical areas such as building efficiency, renewables, car emissions and freight efficiency. Only by developing strong cooperation based on mutual interests can we achieve our climate and energy objectives.

Further Information
The China-EU agreement on the Near Zero Emissions Coal project (nZec).