China is taking a leading role at COP21 in Paris. The nation is set to account for 30% of global investments in renewable energies through to 2020. As Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) at COP21, China is to pledge that 20% of her energy consumption will come from non-fossil fuels by 2030. China has built the world's largest solar farm with one-gigawatt capacity in Qinghai and announced plans to set up the world’s largest national cap-and-trade scheme by 2017.
According to an optimistic report by WWF (November 2015) China’s Future Generation 2.0 - Assessing the Maximum Potential for Renewable Power Sources in China to 2050, (a) Around 84% of China’s electricity generation can be met by renewable sources by mid-century; (b) China could meet or beat both of its commitments to peak its overall carbon emissions and have non-fossil fuels in primary energy use representing 20% by 2030; (c) Given political will, coal can be eliminated from the power mix by 2050 or even earlier; (d) Over the period 2015-2050, the total costs for an electric power system run mainly with renewables would be less emissions intensive and cheaper than a system dominated by coal; and (e) improved cost and emissions results are to be driven by smart grids.
Download China_s_future_generation_2_0_report
A Brookings Institution short brief of November 2015 captures China's Ambitious Targets and Policies. How China is cleaning up and may be Seeing Daylight is described in an article in The Economist (28 November, 2015: Special Report on Climate Change).
128 INDCs have been rolling in from 150 countries, representing 88% of the world's emissions. This is building up a momentum for a more positive outcome at Paris compared with previous efforts.
China's green drive is informed by growing concerns with energy security, pollution, and the imperatives of transforming the nation's development to more sustainable, balanced and higher-quality growth. Ahead of COP21, China released a Report compiled by some 550 scientists and experts, on the environment impact of Climate Change on the country.
The mood this time is vastly different from the last Climate Change summit at Copenhagen, according to an interview on 2 December by Amanpour on CNN with Kevin Rudd, President of the Asia Society Policy Institute and former Prime Minister of Australia.
The spoilers at COP 21 should no longer include China Click here, but a handful of fossil-fuel export-dependent countries. Yet, rankles are likely to remain, if not leading to a "bloodbath", between developing and developing countries, including both China and India, over ideas such as a global carbon tax and verifiable and legally-binding agreements.
Comments