SeekerBlog

China is the “world leader on emissions reductions”? Yes, according to licensed journalists. But it was obvious that the breathless claims of a breakthrough in energy intensity were false. Roger Pileke, Jr. examines the facts:

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A few things stand out. One is that China’s energy intensity in 2008 is about the same as it was in 2001. Any claim that China’s energy intensity has improved by 20% over the past five years is incorrect. The second is that energy intensity has improved by only about 7.4% since 2005, meaning that it has a long way to go to reach a 20% target by 2010 (i.e., 0.80 on this graph). Can it happen? Sure. But to say that China is “well on its way” does not square with the data. It would be “ironic” indeed if China has figured out how to grow its economy at 9% per year while increasing energy use by only 3% and decarbonizing its economy at an even lower amount. If this were true, then China would have discovered the holy grail of emissions reductions and we can all forget about the challenges of climate policy.

With all of the talk of China now being the “world leader” on emissions reductions, is this story just another myth of climate policy? It sure looks that way.

[From Is China's Energy Intensity Story A Myth?]

There is some unreported good news regarding China’s energy policy. First, the jump in energy intensity in 2002-2004 was related to the abandonment by Bejing of their intensity improvement goals, including a dismantling of the bureaucracy that had been available to advise industry on technology to improve intensity. That policy was reversed in 2005, and now China seems to be back on track to improve intensity while growing rapidly at the same time. That is atypical of developing economies.

For an informed discussion, I highly recommend the Stanford Center for Social Innovation podcast interview with Mark Levine: “Dispelling China’s Environmental Myths“. Dr. Levine is group leader of the China Energy Group at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL)

China has long had a reputation for being an extremely energy inefficient country. However, the United States holds certain mistaken views on China’s energy and environmental policies, says Mark Levine in this talk hosted by the Center for Social Innovation at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

While China is plagued by severe pollution, it is, in fact, trying to get a grip on its energy challenges in ways that would surprise the average American. Levine discusses China’s progressive efforts to establish and enforce new energy policies and emissions standards with a group of MBA students about to leave for a service learning trip to China. He clarifies issues such as the country’s approach to pricing; subsidizing of energy industries, such as electricity; and energy-intensive industries, such as steel production. Levine’s talk is sponsored by the Stanford Center for Social Innovation.