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China going for energy efficiency, to the tune of $372 billion

Seven Chinese cities and provinces will launch CO2 emissions trading schemes over the next two years ahead of a national scheme later in the decade, as China seeks to move away from traditional command-and-control measures to combat spiraling carbon emissions.

China to spend $372 billion on cutting energy use, pollution Planet Ark : 23-Aug-12 Kathy Chen and Stian Reklev China will plough $372 billion into energy conservation projects and anti-pollution measures over the next three-and-a-half years, part of a drive to cut energy consumption by 300 million tonnes of standard coal, the country’s cabinet said Tuesday.

A report from China’s State Council, or cabinet, said the investments will take China almost halfway to meeting its target to cut the energy intensity 16 percent below 2010 levels by 2015.

The government has earmarked $155 billion of the money for projects that shrink energy use, and while the plan did not detail which types of projects or sectors would benefit from the funds, a big share of the cash is expected to go to industry.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) in February
set an overall 21 percent energy intensity reduction target for
industry from 2010 to 2015…. The central government’s drive to
reduce China’s insatiable appetite for fossil fuels is aimed at
improving the country’s future energy security, and is a central plank
of its policy to slow down growth in greenhouse gas emissions.

China, the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, plans to cut
its CO2 emissions per unit of GDP by 40-45 percent from 2005 levels by
2020.

Over the past few years China has phased out thousands of old,
inefficient factories and fossil fuel-fired power plants while
becoming the world’s biggest producer of renewable energy…. Seven Chinese cities and provinces will launch CO2 emissions trading schemes over the next two years ahead of a national scheme later in the decade, as China seeks to move away from traditional command-and-control measures to combat spiraling carbon emissions.
http://planetark.org/enviro-news/item/66313

August 24, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | China, ENERGY