Environmental lessons

Barely a day passes without a story in the Western media about China’s environmental problems. From Beijing’s fume-clogged air, which was so bad last Friday that it forced the closure of a number of highways, to China’s toxic rivers and lakes, the overall picture is one of ecological meltdown. As sharp-eyed blogger Shanghai Scrap pointed out recently, even the China Daily appears to be subtly suggesting – or is employing a caption editor with a good sense of humour – that China’s environmental record is somewhat questionable.

Yet I’ve been reading up on China’s renewable energy efforts over the past few days, and a contradictory picture is emerging. Yes, 70% of China’s energy is generated by dirty, polluting coal-powered power stations, which according to the oft-repeated statistic, are now being built at a rate of one a week. But China is also an increasingly important global player in the renewable energy market. It added almost 1,350 megawatts of wind-generated electricity last year, doubling its capacity, making it the fifth largest wind power producer worldwide. In addition, China is a market leader in solar powered water heaters. Overall, China is the second-largest global investor in renewable energy, with only Germany spending more.

Of course, this growth in clean energy sources is miniscule in the grand scheme of things. But the government has set ambitious targets – it aims for 20% of its electricity to come from renewable sources by 2020. This target excludes large and often controversial hydro-electric power projects such as the Three Gorges Dam, which has been condemned by environmentalists and human rights groups for its large social and ecological impact. How exactly these targets are to be met remains to be seen. But the very fact that the targets are in place is in itself a positive step.

Another oft-repeated statistic is that China is now the world’s number one producer of CO2 emissions, producing 6.2 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2006, compared to the USA’s 5.8 billion metric tons of CO2. However, if you look at it in terms of per capita emissions, it’s a different story: US residents produced 19 metric tons per capita last year; Chinese citizens produced 4.9 metric tons. The number of cars clogging Beijing and Shanghai’s roads is another favourite topic – one that I have previously commented on in this very blog. But again, per capita car ownership in China is just a fraction of what it is in the West.

In addition, while Chinese heavy industry and factories belch out noxious fumes, much of their produce is being sold abroad to the very foreign consumers who are quick to criticize China for its poor environmental record. I’d wager a bet that many commentators who have railed against China’s poor pollution record have done so using Chinese-made computers and while wearing Chinese-made clothes – the manufacture of which would have contributed to precisely the phenomenon they are so quick to criticize.

I know there is a tendency for journalists and bloggers living in China to become overly sensitive and defensive about foreign media reports on the Middle Kingdom – an interesting case in point was a recent Danwei post criticizing a British documentary uncovering the plight of Beijing’s petitioners, which prompted a lively debate on this topic. And I am not for one minute suggesting that much of the criticism leveled at China for its environmental record is not valid – a glace out of my bedroom window at the smog-choked skyline every morning is enough to remind me of this.

But as I pack my bags and head off to Shanghai for a massive multi-national wind power conference, attracting firms from around the world keen to tap into China’s growing renewable energy market, I can’t help feeling that there is another side to the environmental story which, perhaps unsurprisingly, often goes unreported. After all, positive China news is much less interesting than another scare story. As well as dishing out lessons to China about its environmental shortcomings, perhaps the West should also be learning lessons from China’s enthusiastic embrace of renewable energy. Or am I merely being seduced by the hype? I’ll let you know what I discover in Shanghai.

Matthew Plowright