Lessons From The World’s Biggest Polluter

What can we learn from China?

As new figures condemning China as the world’s biggest producer of CO2 were reported in the Western world last week, many observers shook their heads and pointed their fingers towards the East as an excuse to avoid personal responsibility for climate change, before moving on to the next news item on their Chinese manufactured computers and plasma tv screens.

China may be the dirty nation of the world today, but what went widely unreported is the fact that of all nations, and despite a reluctance to commit to too much during climate negotiations, China is taking the kind of direct action that Western democracies in all their self righteousness have so far failed to do.

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China is well aware of the danger that global warming presents. In 2006, a 415 page report produced by the Chinese government warned of significant shortages in agricultural production, and an increase in floods, typhoons and the prevalence of some diseases. The Himalayan glaciers which feed China’s major rivers, supporting 1.3 billion people, are retreating. Some estimates forecast their total loss, with disastrous consequences, within 50 years.

Reducing its contribution to climate change makes sense for China not only for ecological reasons. The communist state also has major concerns over energy security. Whilst 70% of China’s electricity is provided by domestic coal, it is almost completely reliant on imports for oil used in transportation - “Save energy, cut emissions” has become one of the communist parties favourite slogans along with an investment program of $10 billion aimed at doubling it’s renewable energy output by 2020.

Furthermore, China is particularly sensitive to its international reputation, being keen not be cast as a global warming villain. The Olympic games, to be hosted in China this Summer, will be fully carbon neutral, with aggressive measures being taken to improve Beijing’s toxic air quality.

Finally, China offers numerous potential benefits to Western firms in it’s bid to become greener. Still having many relatively inefficient manufacturing processes, the introduction of global carbon trading schemes will ensure an abundant supply of cheap carbon credits for Western firms through the low hanging fruit offered by clean manufacturing upgrade programs. In fact, this process has already started with $5.4 billion being invested by rich world polluters in 2007 to outsource the clean-up of their emissions to China.

The important point in this discussion is that change is the operative word in climate change. The solution we must seek involves changing our practices to avoid changing our climate. China may be the global warming bogeyman today, but it is demonstrating a willingness to change that few other nations can match. Whilst we procrastinate over the smallest changes and debate scientific minutiae, China is taking the positive actions that the Western world are not.

With thanks to The Economist. Chart data from the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency.

Image credit: “Helga’s Lobster Stew” at Flickr under a Creative Commons license

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