China Falls Short of Environmental Goals

China Falls Short of Environmental Goals

    
 
January 2007  - China has "flunked the 
first test" in meeting the energy saving and environmental 
protection goals stated in its current five-year plan, the 
"China Daily" newspaper said today. 
The target set for 2006 was to reduce energy consumption per 
unit of GDP by four percent and to cut polluting emissions by 
two percent but according to a new report, only Beijing and 
five other provinces or municipalities, which were not named, 
met these targets. 
"From a nationwide perspective, it is certain that last year's 
energy consumption reduction goal could not be achieved," said 
Han Wenke, director of the Energy Research Institute, which is 
affiliated with the National Development and Reform 
Commission. 
The goal set for the 11th Five-Year Plan covering the years 
from 2006 through 2010, was to reduce energy consumption per 
unit of GDP by 20 percent as well as discharge of key 
pollutants by 10 percent. 
But figures for the first half of 2006 show energy consumption 
per unit of GDP rose 0.8 percent. Figures for the whole year 
are not yet available. 
The Shiheng coal-fired power plant supplies the eastern 
coastal province of Shandong. (Photo courtesy CLP Group) 
With 1.32 billion people, China is the world's most populous 
country, and together with strong economic growth, China’s 
demand for energy is surging rapidly. 
China is the world’s third-largest net importer of oil behind 
the United States and Japan. U.S. government energy analysts 
projected that China’s oil consumption would increase by 
almost half a million barrels per day in 2006, or 38 percent 
of the total growth in world oil demand. 
China is promoting nuclear power as a clean and efficient 
source of electricity generation. As of mid-2006, China had 
eight new nuclear power plants under construction, the largest 
of which is a six gigawatt nuclear complex at Yangjiang in 
Guangdong province, set to begin commercial operation in 2010. 

The largest power project under construction is the Three 
Gorges Dam, which will include 26 separate 700 megawatt 
generators, for a total of 18.2 gigawatts. When completed, it 
will be the largest hydroelectric dam in the world. Several 
units are now in operation, but the project is not expected to 
be complete until 2009. 
On the issue of emissions, the State Environment Protection 
Administration, SEPA, estimates there may have been a two 
percent increase last year in emissions of sulfur dioxide, 
which contributes to acid rain, and also in chemical oxygen 
demand, a water quality indicator. 
But Zhou Dadi, former director of the Energy Research 
Institute, is optimistic. "Though the goal was not achieved, a 
good foundation has been laid with unprecedented attention 
paid to energy conservation," he told "China Daily." 
Pollution and energy supply are not China's only environmental 
problems. China's urban areas will generate the maximum amount 
of garbage its cities can handle in another 13 years, the 
"People's Daily" reported Monday. 
The China Council for International Cooperation on Environment 
and Development has warned that the garbage pile in 2020 will 
reach 400 million tons, that is, the volume generated by the 
entire world in 1997. 
Trash bags and a city cleaner in Beijing (Photo courtesy Jason 
Barbacovi) 
The council's latest report on the status and trends of solid 
waste estimates that 860 million people will be living in 
Chinese cities by 2020, putting more pressure on the already 
overburdened urban waste disposal system. 
Beijing, Shanghai and Shenyang, capital of northeast China's 
Liaoning Province, are three biggest waste generators. 
The Chinese government says it intends to put more emphasis on 
"environmental propaganda and education" to raise public 
awareness of environmental issues over the next four years. 
A "Guideline for Strengthening Environmental Education and 
Enhancing Public Awareness on Environmental Protection" was 
made public Monday. The guide was issued by SEPA, the Ministry 
of Education, and the Publicity Department of the Communist 
Party of China's Central Committee. 
According to the Guideline, the overall objectives for 
"environmental propaganda and education" by 2010 are to expand 
the influence of environmental news, provide more diversified 
environmental culture products and stronger guidance on public 
opinion, and actively conduct environmental education and 
training activities. 
Nanjing Road is the main street in Shanghai, China's largest 
city with a population of 14 million people. (Photo courtesy 
Stephen Codrington) 
"Publishing companies and film studios are urged to produce 
books and movies about environmental protection of good 
quality to help improving public awareness," the Guideline 
states. 
In addition, the Guideline says the government should ensure 
the public's right to know, supervise the issues related to 
environmental protection, and set up and improve mechanisms of 
public participation in environmental protection. 
Volunteers and nongovernmental organizations are encouraged to 
organize and take part in environmental protection activities, 
the Guideline says. 
In 2005, there were an estimated 2,000 officially registered 
environmental NGOs in China, according to Elizabeth Economy, 
director for Asia studies of the U.S. Council on Foreign 
Relations. 
SEPA has become a strong supporter of NGO activity, and works 
with environmental NGOs to achieve common goals. 
The Chinese government has generally adopted a positive 
attitude toward environmental NGOs, recognizing that they fill 
a critical gap in the state’s capacity to protect the 
environment effectively, Economy says. "Still, Beijing 
continues to exercise control over NGOs through a range of 
regulations and restrictions, remaining wary of the potential 
of environmental activism in China to transform into a force 
for much broader political change," she told a U.S. 
Congressional hearing in 2005.