“Overcapacity”, a geeky economic term, has recently become the new buzzword for international discussion around China’s solar and electric vehicle industries. It is also becoming one of the thorniest issues in China’s relations with other major economies.

Notably, the word was mentioned five times in the G7 Leaders Communiqué released last week, with the G7 countries framing it collectively as a global challenge.

It is a debate that was initially sparked by US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen during her April visit to Beijing. According to her, China’s cleantech industry has excess capacities that cannot be absorbed domestically, leading to exports at depressed prices. And she stressed that this should be a concern not only for the US, but also for Europe and other emerging markets.

Days after climate talks, US slaps tariffs on Chinese EVs and solar panels

China strongly disagreed with this claim, while Yellen’s concern resonated in the EU, which has long focused on China’s market dominance. In short, there is an overcapacity of “overcapacities”, with neither side finding identical terms of reference. But as this debate is a harbinger of how climate solutions and political agendas will interweave, it’s worth parsing out some lessons for each side, on their own terms.

The US’ “overcapacity” claim as presented by Yellen is a non-starter in China.

China’s clean energy industry is an important point of pride internationally and a source of legitimacy domestically for Beijing. From that perspective countering the “overcapacity” claim is both emotionally and strategically important.

Strategically, this claim is being used to justify trade measures and tariffs against China’s clean energy products. Emotionally, the cleantech industry is a modern-day success story of China’s entrepreneurship and innovation. In China’s public discourse, the US “overcapacity” claims lands as a rejection of that success.

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The result is a political debate in which – by design – no side can convince the other. And the lesson? This posturing is at odds with US-China climate diplomacy as we’ve known it to function in the past. Whatever objectives this approach serves, it does not include closer climate collaboration between the US and China, even as multilateral climate action at the UN level still requires them to take action in concert.

In China, discussion on “overcapacity” emerged from an ongoing conversation about how to manage investment hype. And the answer lies on the demand side.

For investors inside China at a time of challenging economics, few industries are as attractive as the clean energy industry. And business leaders have focused on the risks of hot money and breakneck expansion of clean energy manufacturing capacity for some time now, particularly in the solar industry.

This was probably the origin of “overcapacity”. But in China, this has been a familiar, almost perennial discussion of investment and industrial cycles. While the US argument equates exports to overcapacity, Chinese companies argue that it is demand that determines overcapacity, and they make investment and expansion decisions based on projections of both domestic and global demand.

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That said, the size of China’s domestic market means it will remain the “base” for Chinese manufacturers. In the overseas market, the “overcapacity” claim underscores the complexity and uncertainties Chinese companies face.

For Chinese policymakers, one obvious response to the new market dynamics should be taking domestic demand to new levels. That means addressing lingering questions for China’s renewable energy future – namely, how to resolve the impact of coal. China’s power market was designed for a system dependent on coal, but it needs reform to allow wind and solar to take the central role. Injecting new political momentum to accelerate the reform will be key.

The EU has long been concerned about China’s market dominance, and the “overcapacity” debate is pushing it to decide its role in this trilateral trade and climate dynamic.

Even before this debate erupted, the EU had already begun, subtly, to diversify supply chains and build its own industrial strength, reducing dependence on Chinese products. Last week, the EU announced a maximum tariff of 38% on imported Chinese-made electric vehicles, concluding that Chinese EV makers are benefiting from “unfair subsidies”.

At this stage, it’s still unclear if this is the end of the EU’s low-key approach to date. Cultivating an EU-based clean industry hub without compromising the global response to climate change is a challenge, especially as the EU positions itself as a climate leader.

Entering the fray of US-China tension only makes this feat more complex, especially given uncertainties on the US end in an election year. How the EU approaches this climate and trade nexus will ultimately shape the trilateral dynamic among the world’s three largest carbon emitters in the coming years.

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For China, where relations with the EU and other countries are concerned, it’s worth taking a step back and looking at the hidden messages in the “overcapacity” debate. Other countries want more than just Chinese products.

Climate leadership is not a buyer-seller relationship, but one between partners who want solutions that create local jobs, develop opportunities, and enable native development of a sustainable future.

China should see its role in the global clean transition as more than a manufacturing hub. The transition requires tools, technology, finance and know-how, and China has much to offer. It is time for China to think more creatively about how to leverage its industrial advantages to provide the solutions with which the world is currently under-supplied.

The post Lessons from trade tensions targeting “overcapacity” in China’s cleantech industry appeared first on Climate Home News.

Last Wednesday and Thursday, China’s new top climate diplomat Liu Zhenmin travelled to Washington DC for two days of talks with his US counterpart John Podesta, also fresh in the job.

They discussed co-operation on climate issues, including plans for both sides to ramp up renewables, and vowed to “intensify technical and policy exchanges”.

But the day after, with Liu still in the country, the US State Department briefed journalists that Podesta had told Liu that China was producing too many solar panels and lithium-ion EV batteries.

India wants its own solar industry but has to break reliance on China first

Then on Tuesday, the White House increased tariffs on Chinese EVs, lithium-ion batteries and solar panels, accusing the Chinese government of “unfair, non-market practices” and “flooding global markets with artificially low-priced exports”.

“Clear protectionism”

In response, the state-owned China Daily newspaper in an editorial described the tariffs as “a clear act of protectionism”.

The head of the China Automobile Association Fu Bingfeng agreed, adding that “the new energy industry is jointly created by mankind and can bring common benefits to mankind”, saying the tariffs were “very unreasonable”.

Asia Society analyst Li Shuo told Climate Home that, rather than thinking of over-supply of solar panels as a problem, “it is the world’s inability to deploy these products that is the problem”.

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The tariffs reflect “the new reality global climate politics needs to deal with” – that low-carbon products will not be made in the most cost-efficient way and distributed around the world, he explained. India also has trade barriers against Chinese solar panels, designed to boost its domestic solar manufacturing.

Research from the Center for Strategic and International Studies has found that such trade barriers can, in general, delay the competitiveness of low-carbon technologies against their market rivals – like solar against gas, or EVs against internal combustion engines.

Limited effect on solar, batteries bigger

The US-imposed measures are designed to increase the cost of Chinese goods needed for the energy transition – and could therefore slow down America’s shift away from fossil fuels.

But BloombergNEF solar analyst Jenny Chase told Climate Home that the increase in the tariff on solar cells and modules from 25% to 50% would “have little effect”.

She noted that tariffs of 25% have been in place “for ages – and as a result the US imports almost no cells or modules directly from China, instead importing from Southeast Asia”.

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The Biden administration is currently weighing whether to impose tariffs on solar imports from four Southeast Asian countries over concerns that China is routing its panels through these nations.

US solar panel manufacturers are lobbying the government in favour of those tariffs, while US solar panel installers are lobbying against them. A decision is needed by June 6, two years on from a pause on tariffs affecting the Southeast Asian nations.

Similarly, the US already imports relatively few electric vehicles from China, as it already has Trump-era tariffs on them. The US’s adoption of electric vehicles is far slower than in Europe or China.

But US car-makers do import lots of lithium-ion EV batteries for their vehicles despite existing 7.5% tariffs. China produces about three-quarters of all the world’s EV batteries, with the US producing less than a tenth.

(Reporting by Joe Lo; editing by Megan Rowling)

The post Days after climate talks, US slaps tariffs on Chinese EVs and solar panels appeared first on Climate Home News.

If China achieves its goal by 2060, it could lower global warming projections by 0.2 to 0.3C, the single biggest reduction measured since countries signed the Paris Agreement in 2015, according to Climate Action Tracker (CAT).

“This would mean that China, responsible for a quarter of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, would phase out any conventional use of coal, oil and gas by the middle of the century, unthinkable a few years ago,” Professor Niklas Höhne of New Climate Institute said on Wednesday.

President Xi Jinping’s announcement was short on detail, however, raising a number of questions about how China will follow through on its promise.

1. Does the target apply to all greenhouse gas emissions?

China’s target appears to only cover carbon dioxide emissions, not other greenhouse gases like methane from cows, nitrous oxide from fertilisers or fluorinated gases used as coolants.

China has pledged “carbon neutrality” rather than “climate neutrality”, a less stringent target than that adopted by the EU and UK, Oliver Geden, scientist and head of research at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, told Climate Home.

“It takes much longer to get to climate neutrality than carbon neutrality, usually around 10-20 years,” he said. That is because some non-CO2 emissions are hard to eliminate and need to be offset by removing carbon dioxide from the air.

Certainly a major step forward that China now aims to achieve 'carbon neutrality' by 2060, but it can't be directly compared to EU's and UK's targets for 'climate neutrality' by 2050.
Net zero GHG harder to achieve than net zero CO2, takes 10-20 yrs morehttps://t.co/WuHKowAyMa pic.twitter.com/mHVTjsMD4R

— Oliver Geden (@Oliver_Geden) September 23, 2020

2. Does China plan to phase out coal?

To achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, China would need to stop burning coal. That is a major ask for a country that is home to half of the world’s coal power capacity. As of July 2020, it had another 100GW under construction and 150GW in planning stages.

Yuan Lin, senior carbon analyst at data consultancy Refinitiv Carbon, told Climate Home that China’s pledge “could inject fresh momentum” into the debate over coal. “I expect the coal phase-out to speed up in China with the raised climate ambition,” Yuan said. 

Bill Hare, CEO of Climate Analytics, acknowledged that there is scepticism of the neutrality goal given China’s trajectory on coal but said the new pledge indicates that the government could be moving towards a commitment on phasing out the fossil fuel. 

“China rarely makes announcements unless it is confident that it will move towards achieving them,” Hare told Climate Home. 

3. How much earlier can China peak its emissions?

President Xi told the UN general assembly China would peak emissions “before 2030”, an only marginally stronger wording than its existing commitment to reach that peak “around 2030”.

According to Climate Action Tracker, China is already on track to achieving that goal and is in a strong position to update its national climate target. China outperformed its 2020 carbon emission target, reaching the goal three years ahead of schedule.

China could and should peak emissions before 2030, Li Shuo, Beijing-based senior energy and climate officer at Greenpeace, told Climate Home. “China should do so as soon as possible but no later than 2025,” he said. 

For context, China’s current NDC has CO2 peaking “around” 2030. Making it “before” 2030 is not enough, but at this stage shows positive political willingness. Key next step is to answer by how much before.

— Li Shuo_ASPI (@LiShuo_GP) September 22, 2020

4. Does this apply to China’s “belt and road” investments?

China’s climate impact is not limited by its borders. It is financing a quarter of coal plants under development in other countries through its “belt and road” initiative, with a capacity of 102 GW.

If tougher targets at home lead to outsourcing of pollution, it will undermine the climate benefits. If China encourages other countries to join the net zero club, it will amplify them.

Yuan expressed optimism the pledge would drive investment into carbon capture and storage and clean energy in belt and road countries. “[China’s] new climate ambition will alter the world order in clean energy investments and abatement technologies,” Yuan said.

More broadly, the pledge will “shift the discourse”, said Geden, and “put other emerging economies under pressure to come up with explanations about why they don’t want to [achieve carbon neutrality].”

5. Will Chinese cities and companies set net zero targets?

A national-level policy on net zero could act as an important catalyst for companies and cities, encouraging them to declare their own net zero targets.

“We will definitely see more cities, companies set net-zero targets following China’s announcement and this effort,” Angel Hsu, assistant professor of environmental studies at Yale-NUS college in Singapore, told Climate Home. 

Earlier this year many Chinese energy and industry companies launched a “Zero Carbon China” initiative which signalled confidence to the government to adopt the carbon neutrality target, Hsu said. 

“Previously, we have seen few Chinese municipalities and companies committing to net zero, compared to their European peers. However, that was exactly due to lack of climate policy discussion in the domestic environment. With China’s 2060 goal, carbon neutrality will be higher on the agenda for local governments and companies,” said Yuan.

The post 5 burning questions about China’s carbon neutrality pledge appeared first on Climate Home News.

For the first time climate policymakers have a clear idea of how countries around the world are attempting to control their greenhouse gas emissions.

We have selected the highlights from Globe’s analysis of China’s attempts to address climate change.

Visit the Globe International website to download a full report and access data from the other countries featured.

Commentary: Terry Townshend

China matters. It is now, by some margin, the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases. In fact, latest estimates put China’s emissions as more than the US and EU combined. Emissions have doubled in the last 8 years. And, as China’s economy continues to grow strongly, energy use is forecast to increase by 47% between 2010 and 2015.

On the plus side, China plans to increase its renewable energy power capacity by 167GW by 2015, an increase of 68% from 2010 at a cost of 1.8 trillion RMB (£180 billion).

And the government has a headline target of increasing the share of non-fossil fuels in the country’s energy mix from 8% in 2010, to 11.4% in 2015 and 15% in 2020.

Even with this staggering investment, coupled with the ongoing drafting of a comprehensive climate change law, there is no credible scenario under which China’s emissions stabilise and fall in the short- to medium-term.

From a climate perspective, the priority is reducing the impact of burning coal, which satisfies more than 70% of China’s energy demand and, under any realistic scenario, will remain a massive part of China’s energy mix for decades to come.

Carbon capture and storage technology is, therefore, essential but international progress with this technology is woefully inadequate.

There are two other rays of hope. One is the recent outcry about Beijing’s choking air pollution, much of which originates from coal burning.

With an incoming leadership sensitive to the views of China’s growing middle classes, air pollution – and therefore tackling coal use, at least around cities – is rising up the agenda and, although driven by health concerns, could have significant climate benefits.

The second is energy security. China is becoming increasingly reliant (more than the US) on imported fossil fuels, whether it is coal from Australia or oil from the Middle East/GuIf. This presents China with supply risks.

A big geopolitical issue is how China manages this relationship with supplier countries and how much risk they are prepared to accept.

One thing is for certain: if countries are serious about climate change, they must work with China to develop and deploy the technologies to tackle emissions from coal. And they must do it now.

Political mechanics

China’s legal system is largely a civil law system. The national legislative power is exercised by the National People’s Congress (NPC) and the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress.

The NPC is responsible for criminal law, civil law, state organ law and other basic laws. While the NPC is not in session, the Standing Committee of the NPC is responsible for supplementing and amending parts of the laws promulgated by the NPC, provided they do not contradict with the basic principles of these laws.

There is not a division of legislative power between the central government and the provincial governments in China.

Ambition

China’s stance in combating climate change has focused mainly around energy related laws. Climate change was first officially referred to in legislation or regulations by the Chinese government in China’s National Climate Change Programme of 2007, and repeated in China’s Policies and Actions for Addressing Climate Change 2008.

In 2009, the NPC passed a comprehensive Climate Change Resolution. All of these are not strictly laws but policy documents guiding legislation.

Although there is not yet a comprehensive Climate Change Bill in China, Congressman Wang Guangtao (Chair of the Environment Protection and Resources Conservation Committee of the National People’s Congress) made the announcement, on 7 November 2010 at the GLOBE International legislators’ forum in Tianjin, that China would begin work on a comprehensive climate change law.

It is expected that a first formal draft of the law will be produced by early 2013 with passage likely by 2015.

Waste not want not

In the meantime, China’s domestic climate‐related laws are dominated by a focus on energy saving, reflecting the need for the country to improve energy efficiency to enable it to keep pace with energy demand as the economy grows strongly.

In that context, China has already passed the Energy Conservation Law of the People’s Republic of China (Energy Conservation Law), and the 2005 Renewable Energy Law of the People’s Republic of China (Renewable Energy Law) and is planning a new Energy Law of the People’s Republic of China.

The draft Energy Law contains provisions on the promotion of clean energy and energy efficiency.

The goals are relatively vague with clearer targets expected to be set by ministries, including the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), Ministry of Construction, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Transportation, the Bureau for Tax and others.

RTCC Video: Li Jungfeng, head of China’s Climate Commission says tech transfer is key to curbing China’s emissions

March 2011 saw the publication of China’s 12th Five‐Year Plan. The Plan includes a Target to reduce the carbon intensity of its GDP by 17% from 2005 levels by 2015 (in line with the 40–45% target by 2020 committed by China under the Copenhagen Accord).

It increases the number of pollutants included in the “total emissions control” system and sets new targets for the energy intensity of GDP (a reduction of 16% by 2015), the percentage of non‐fossil fuel energy (to increase to 11.4% by 2015 from 8% in 2011) and an increase in forest coverage of 21.6%.

The specific policies and mechanisms required to implement these targets are being developed by ministries and provinces.

In November 2011, the State Council approved a package of policies and measures aimed at meeting the energy and carbon targets included in the 12th Five‐Year Plan.

This package included Provincial and Municipal‐level carbon and energy intensity targets, recognising that the Provinces and Municipalities have different economic structures, efficiency options and levels of wealth.

The 12th Five‐Year Plan encourages the use of market mechanisms as a tool to encourage emissions reductions.

Seven Provinces and Municipalities (Beijing, Chongqing, Guangdong, Hubei, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Tianjin) are developing pilot emissions trading systems, due to begin in 2013, the experiences of which will inform the design of a national scheme before 2020.

Significantly, although outside the scope of this study, in October 2012 Shenzhen Special Economic Zone passed local legislation to restrict emissions of GHGs, the first such legislation in China.

In October 2012 the State Council published a White Paper on energy policy. At the same time it announced that China’s nuclear programme, suspended after the Fukushima disaster, would resume but at a slower pace than initially planned Under the 12th Five‐Year Plan.

Major climate laws

The 12th Five‐Year Plan for the Development of National Economy and Society (2011–2015) – The Five‐Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development, or the Five‐Year Plan aims to create more socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable growth and boost domestic consumption that will begin to re‐orientate the Chinese economy away from heavy industry and resource‐intensive production towards a more consumption‐based and resource‐efficient economy.

The plan has several targets, these include a cut in the carbon intensity of GDP 17% by 2015, to cut energy intensity by 16%. There is also an 11.4% non-fossil fuel target for primary energy consumption and to increase forest coverage by 21.6%.

National Climate Change Programme – The document indicated that the Chinese government acknowledged the importance of addressing climate change and the need to adopt measures. The document covered five issues: GHG mitigation; adaptation; climate change science and technology; public awareness on climate change; and institutions and mechanisms.

The government plans to cut energy waste by 20% between 2006 and 2010. It also set an Ambitious goal for using renewable energy and a 10% raise in the proportion of renewable energy in primary energy supply by 2010. It also aims to stabilise the 2005 nitrous oxide emission level, increase the 2001 forest coverage rate by 20%, and increase the carbon sink by 50 Mt over the 2005 level by 2010.

Renewable Energy Act – This Act described duties of the government, business and other users in renewable energy development and utilisation. It also included a series of measures and goals relating to mandatory grid connection, price management regulation, differentiated pricing, special funds and tax reliefs, and it set the goal to realise 15% of China’s energy from renewable sources by 2020.

Article 7 requires that energy authorities of the State Council set middle‐ and long‐term targets of the total volume for the development and utilisation of renewable energy at the national level, which shall be implemented and released to the public after being approved by the State Council.

Energy Conservation Law – The Act aims to strengthen energy conservation, particularly for key energy‐using entities, promote rational utilisation of energy and advancement of energy conservation technology.

The Act requires the government to encourage and support the application of renewable energy in various areas.

The post China’s climate change laws appeared first on Climate Home News.

China has announced it will establish a carbon tax by adding CO2 to the scope of existing environmental levies.

A statement published on the Ministry of Finance’s website detailed a series of tax reforms in the country.

These included the proposals to bolster existing efforts “to continue to improve and implement tax policy to support energy conservation, environmental protection and comprehensive utilization of resources”.

Discussions on a Chinese carbon tax have been on-going for years but the latest statement now provides a glimpse of how this might be structured.

The document, written by Jia Chen, secretary of the tax administration pledges “to actively promote environmental tax reform, existing sewage charges to the environmental protection tax, and carbon dioxide emissions into the scope of the collection, and collecting authorities be changed by the environmental protection department of the local tax authorities.”

China’s booming economic growth has sent emissions rocketing too. (Source: Flickr/Albert_K_Law)

China is already trialling cap and trade schemes to reduce the emissions from heavy industry and electricity generators.

Joanna Lewis, assistant professor at Georgetown University and an expert in Chinese energy policy told RTCC it is unclear how the two would work together.

“The government has been discussing the implementation of a carbon tax for several years so it will be interesting to see if it happens this year,” she said.

“It is also not yet clear whether the tax would apply to the same facilities covered under the pilot cap and trade programs for CO2, and if so how the two programs would interact.”

“Further regulation of CO2 could help to address current air pollution challenges if the environmental protection tax includes a range of pollutants, or if facilities curbing emissions through means that end up reducing other pollutants as well.

“For example by moving away from coal or by using capture technology across multiple pollutants.”

Progress

Globe International’s Terry Townshend, who is based in Beijing, told RTCC the news is a sign of a healthy climate debate in China – the planet’s largest source of greenhouse gases.

“At the moment, emissions trading seems to be the mechanism of choice, as evidenced by the pilot emissions trading schemes emerging in seven provinces and Municipalities,” he said.

“To some extent, the statement by the Finance Ministry could be seen as evidence of an internal debate about who should control the revenue from carbon pricing.

“The money raised from a carbon tax would be controlled by the Ministry of Finance with emissions trading being controlled by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the powerful planning ministry.  Hence, each body is promoting the mechanism that would strengthen their own influence.

“The most important thing is to put a price on carbon.  Whether that is via a tax or through ‘cap and trade’ is secondary.”

China has been more vocal on its air pollution challenges in recent years as public outrage has increased – improving air quality as a result of climate mitigation actions would prove extremely popular.

The US senate was presented with proposals for a carbon tax of $20 a tonne last week.

Former White House economist Adele Morris told RTCC that cap and trade legislation had tried and failed in Washington and that a carbon tax that used revenues to reduce the deficit would stand a better chance of finding support.

RTCC INTERVIEW: China’s head of climate change, Li Junfeng

The post China announces carbon tax appeared first on Climate Home News.

The 220 storey Sky City project in Changsha will use the same factory-built module technique as the T30 tower, the 30 floor hotel that BSB built in 15 days, but on a much bigger scale.

The 220-storey Sky City project in Changsha, China. (Source: Broad Sustainable Building)

Wall and floor panels will be built by a 16,000 strong workforce in a factory during a six month period.

The electrics, plumbing, flooring and air conditioning are installed within the panels before being shipped to the construction site and pieced together like a Lego set.

The technique is energy efficient, reduces the need for cement and is one third of the cost versus traditional building techniques according to BSB. Cement production contributes 5% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Fresh air heat recovery, quadruple glazing and 15cm of thermal insulation will add to the building’s green credentials.

“The way the building is designed could also mean that it can be deconstructed and recycled, which is a very important consideration,” said John Alker, director of policy and communications, UK Green Building Council.

“There are perhaps more efficient building shapes than very tall skyscrapers but we are cautiously positive. It’s innovative and they have thought about it’s construction and operational life span, that doesn’t automatically make it a sustainable building though,” he told RTCC.

The concept is not new with Blu Homes offering pre-fabricated eco houses in the USA and Huf Haus offering the top-end versions in Europe.

Work is expected to begin on Sky City’s foundations shortly pending final government approval.

The estimated cost of the project is $620m according to China Daily, less than the half the $1.5bn spent on the 828m tall Burj Khalifa in Dubai, which took five years. Sky City aims to top this by 10m.

It will include its own hospital, schools, offices and leisure facilities for its 17,000 residents.

Video: Watch the 30-storey T30 tower go up in 15 days

The post China’s flat pack skyscraper with soaring green credentials appeared first on Climate Home News.

China will slash the rate of its greenhouse gas growth by 2030 but its emissions will still rise, according to the latest BP Energy Outlook report.

BP predicts that as China continues to restructure its economy it will put the brakes on its growth in coal demand with the 9% rate seen in 2000-2010 0.4% in 2020-2030.

This will be driven by a combination of energy efficiency improvements and the reduction of coal-intensive heavy industry in the country.

Emissions will continue to rise according to the BP analysis.

The EU and the US will both see their greenhouse gas output fall between 2010-2030 by around 1% and 0.5% respectively. In the same time period China’s emissions will grow by more than 2%.

CLICK TO EXPAND

This compares to 6% increases in emissions during each of the previous 20-year periods (1970-1990 and 1990-2010) suggesting that its current climate policy package is expected to have an impact.

China currently has no binding international commitment to reduce its total CO2 emissions but it does have a target to reduce its carbon intensity (CO2 emissions per unit of GDP) by 40-45% by 2050, compared to 2005 levels.

Last week the country’s lead climate change negotiator Su Wei announced a drop in intensity of 3.5% for during 2012, keeping the country on schedule to meets its next milestone.

China is also working with the EU to develop regional carbon trading trials as a precursor to a national scheme.

The post China clean energy drive is working, says BP appeared first on Climate Home News.

China has outperformed its carbon intensity reduction targets with a 3.5% cut in 2012, the government has announced.

The country has a target to reduce the level of greenhouse gas emissions per unit of GDP by 17% during 2011-2015 with a 2050 goal of cutting by 40-45% compared to 2005 levels.

“The situation last year was relatively good. Based on a preliminary estimate, China could achieve a more than 3.5% fall in carbon intensity,” said Su Wei, director general of climate change department of National Development and Reform Commission.

Despite this progress however, the country’s absolute emissions more than doubled in the first eight years of this century making it the largest single emitter, ahead of the US, EU, India and Russia.

Xie Zhenua, the minister responsible for climate action, said last year that he expected this situation to continue until the country’s GDP per capita has increased by a factor of five, bring it in line with developed nations.

China’s lead negotiatior Su Wei says the 3.5% is cut represents a good prerformance. (Source: Flickr/World Resources)

The country has announced a $372bn investment in energy efficiency as it looks to curb its energy demand during its ongoing development.

“Both carbon intensity and energy intensity are very important metrics to track in China. If China had not achieved significant reductions in energy intensity in the 1980s and 1990s, it would be using far more energy and emitting far more carbon than it is today,” said Joanna Lewis, an assistant professor of Science, Technology and International Affairs (STIA) and specialist in China at Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service.

China’s latest five-year plan details move to shift the nation away from heavy industry towards a knowledge-based economy, a process that will contribute to the cuts in carbon intensity.

“The reported 3.5% reduction in carbon intensity in 2012 illustrates China’s ability to emit gradually less carbon per unit of economic output, which is crucial to its transition to a low carbon economy,” she told RTCC.

“But while it is extremely important, a carbon intensity goal alone is unlikely to achieve substantial emissions reductions. Further commitments to reducing dependence on coal, increasing the use of renewable energy, and improving energy efficiency will all be important factors in reducing emissions in China,” she added.

China’s rapid economic expansion has seen it increase its coal consumption with 79% of its electricity produced by coal.

The Communist Party’s new leader Xi Jinping spoke of the importance of creating “a beautiful environment” during his acceptance speech, a move welcomed by UN climate change chief Christiana Figueres.

The post Chinese carbon intensity drops 3.5% in 2012 appeared first on Climate Home News.

– The day’s top climate change stories as chosen by RTCC
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– Updated from 0830-1700 BST (GMT+1)

Friday 11 January

EU: The EU has reacted with caution to speculation that President Obama intends to dramatically step up efforts to combat climate change in the wake of record temperatures and the impact of Hurricane Sandy. “You will remember that there was once a hurricane called Katrina that also led to big discussions [about climate change] so only time will tell. A single swallow doesn’t make a summer,” an EU source told the EurActiv news agency. (EurActiv)

China: The Chinese economy has cleaned up a little with the government announcing that carbon intensity, the volume of greenhouse gases per dollar of GDP, fell 3.5% during 2012. The country is aiming to reduce intensity by 40-45% by 2020 compared to 2005 levels as it shifts away from a manufacturing-based economy. (China Economic Review)

Canada: Indigenous people in Canada have vowed to “bring the economy to its knees” if the government does not halt plans to build an oil pipeline across western Canada. The Idle No More campaign, which has already been blocking railways, says native Canadians are unhappy with the proposal to connect the country’s Alberta tar sands to ports on the west coast, where it would be exported to Asia. (Reuters)

UAE: The UAE is to complete its greenhouse gas emissions inventory this year having already completed the work for the two most populous of its seven emirates, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. At the UN climate change conference in Doha last month, it pledged along with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar that it would make a commitment to cut emissions through the UN in the near future. (The National)

US: Google has invested $200m in a wind farm in Texas. The figure put Google’s total investment in renewable energy at $990m. (EarthTechling)

The post EU cautious on Obama climate change u-turn appeared first on Climate Home News.

China and The Netherlands have signed a deal to examine the feasibility of constructing the world’s largest tidal power scheme.

The agreement signed today will look at the potential for a new type of tidal technology, Dynamic Tidal Power (DTP), developed by Dutch engineers.

Officials sign the partnership that aims to develop a DTP demonstration plant in China. (Source: POWER)

Part of the agreement is to assess specific, potential DTP sites in China, the UK and South Korea. The Severn Barrage, a traditional tidal scheme in the UK, has courted controversy because of the environmental consequences of its construction.

More traditional tidal schemes involve building barrages across estuaries that destroy upstream wetland ecosystems. DTP involves building dams perpendicular to the coast that do not enclose any waters.

The dams can run for more than 30km out to sea with enough turbines to generate electricity for 3 million Europeans.

The tide runs high and low on either side of the dam simultaneously, switching sides with the tidal cycle. Turbines built into the dam turn as the high tide waters flow through to the low tide side (see video below).

“Dynamic Tidal Power has fewer environmental and social impacts than traditional tidal power, and it allows for larger plant sizes. It will become an important new type of renewable energy,” said Dimitri de Boer, EU team leader for UN Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) in China, which has helped facilitate the deal.

“Global political debates on energy typically focus on existing forms of renewable energy,” de Boer told RTCC. “There are limited opportunities to gain support for promising new technologies like DTP, although the United Nations Sustainable Energy for All initiative, which was launched in Rio+20, has been helpful in putting this technology in the global spotlight.”

A demonstration plant will be constructed to evaluate the suitability of the technology for the Chinese market, however preliminary evaluations found South Korea, the UK and China to be the most suitable regions for DTP.

The Dutch government has provided more than €2m for the POWER consortium to further investigate its potential in partnership with Chinese research partners.

“I am confident that these joint efforts will lead to DTP being demonstrated in the coming years, and that full-scale Dynamic Tidal Power will become a reality in the coming decade,” said Hans Moll, Director, Strukton Engineering, and Chairman of the POWER consortium.

Video: How Dynamic Tidal Power works

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A new negotiating alliance has revealed itself at the UN climate change talks in Bangkok.

The Like Minded Group (LMG), which first attracted attention at the Bonn talks in May, has now identified itself as a formal negotiating bloc.

The UNFCCC may have to prepare a new nameplate for the Doha talks in November for the new Like Minded Group. (Source Flickr/UNFCCC)

It is made up largely of the Arab Group, India, China, emerging Asian economies such as Malaysia and the Philippines and some of the most vocal South American nations including Venezuela, Bolivia and Cuba.

It has already been meeting in an informal capacity within the long standing G77 and China group of developing nations.

“Developed countries would probably characterise it as a problem group, I think they would consider this as a group that would probably try and drag out the work of the Long-term Cooperative Action (LCA) stream of talks. They will be watching this development with concern,” said Tasneem Essop, WWF’s delegation head in Bangkok.

“It’s a fascinating group of countries and quite a powerful one,” said Essop.

A leading African Minister told RTCC at the Rio+20 summit that China’s ambition often meant that its goals were no longer aligned with the rest of the G77 group.

Motives

A ‘Like Minded Group’ has appeared in a number of other forums including the EU, UN Human Rights Council and the WTO, frequently uniting diverse groups of countries around a handful of central issues.

The motives of this new negotiating bloc at the climate talks will be heavily scrutinised.

“Saudi Arabia and a number of other key oil producing countries are in the LMG as well, so its going to be an important one to watch. It will be interesting to see whether the interests of oil producing countries will dominate or not. It’s too early to assign a detailed agenda to this new group at the moment,” said Essop.

While grouping does contain some OPEC members, the UAE, Russia and COP18 hest Qatar are absent.

While the tiny gas-rich country has forged its own path in diplomacy in recent years, several sources have expressed concern to RTCC that its climate change policy is heavily influenced by its neighbours in Saudi Arabia.

“There are a lot of different rumours running around about whom is running the like minded group; I don’t think that is necessarily helpful,” said Liz Gallagher, senior policy advisor with the environmental consultancy E3G.

“They are not perhaps the most progressive forces in international affairs, however, they have common interests and they are being active and putting forward submissions, so in some sense at least that’s useful because they are showing a different opinion within the G77,” she added.

There is a lot of speculation about them at the moment because they are new and fresh and fluid and I think things will calm down but it does seem like they are starting to really make an impact on the negotiations themselves. I wait with bated breath to see how helpful they are going to be given the member countries involved, but you never know.”

While it is clearly a diverse group, they are ardent proponents of equity and the concept of Common But Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR and RC).

CBDR and RC means countries are not all equally responsible for the current state of the atmosphere or obligated to make the same efforts to cut emissions. It is written into the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and is supposed to underpin all of its proceedings.

As well as this, the LMG is expected to press hard for climate finance and ambitious emission reductions from developed nations.

Related articles:

Bangkok 2012 – USA accused of backtracking on legally binding UN climate treaty

Bangkok 2012 – NGOs warn of climate finance complacency

Bangkok 2012 – EU signals it will not adopt 30% emissions target

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China’s rapid growth has left it short of resources, triggering a huge efficiency drive. (Source: Albert K Law)

The Chinese government has announced that it will invest $372bn in energy reduction projects as it looks to reduce its impact on the environment and cut its dependency on foreign fuels.

The money will be used during the next three-and-a-half years but no specifics were given about what types of projects would receive funding.

Given the specific targets doled-out to several high-emitting sectors, industry is likely to be a big recipient.

The State Council said that steel producers must cut emissions by 25%, coal power plants by 8% and cement factories by 3% by 2015 based on a 2010 baseline.

The country is looking to cut its annual coal use by 300 million tonnes.

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

Related stories:

Analysis: Despite soaring emissions is China the world’s new green superpower?

China’s 20 top technologies to combat climate change

Energy efficiency key to China’s economic growth

Allan Zhang, Sustainability and Climate Change Director at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), told RTCC in February that the country needed to re-examine its economic strategy in light of pressures on resources.

“Even coal is in short supply… nowadays the resources are in such a state that China can no longer rely on the same growth model. It has to find a way that consumes less resources, less energy and is more environmentally friendly,” said Zhang.

The country is developing seven regional emissions trading programmes and is widely expected to establish a national scheme in the future.

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On the day when Wikileaks founder Julian Assange was at the centre of an international legal tug of war between the UK, Ecuador, Sweden and the US, it is important to remember why the site has created so much discomfort in diplomatic circles.

In particular, on climate change, they provide a fascinating insight to the behind the scenes action of the international climate change negotiations. The majority of the cables were written just a few months after the near collapse of the Copenhagen climate change negotiations when the US and China took the blame for the last minute implosion of a meaningful emissions deal.

A global voluntary agreement was signed-off eventually but the failure of the talks tainted the process.

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. (Source: Flickr/New Media Days)

French environment minister calls to drop legally binding commitment
17 February 2010, From the US Embassy in Paris

“French Environment Minister Jean-Louis Borloo told the Ambassador that the key to advancing climate negotiations is to drop the notion of a legally binding treaty in favour of a system of national commitments. He also argued that it would be up to a small group of eight or ten heads of state, and their sherpas, to negotiate implementation of the Copenhagen Accord.”

The US on China
21 January 2012, US Consulate in Shanghai

China’s role at climate talks in Copenhagen

“China has played a positive and constructive role in the climate negotiations by maintaining cohesion among developing countries.”

China angry with UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown

“China’s only concession during the talks was more cooperation with international organizations on verification of compliance on reduction commitments. The Europeans, however, “played a lot of tricks” and took advantage of their “united front” to endeavor to push CHINA to increase its carbon intensity reductions to an unacceptable level of 60 percent.

“[TEXT REMOVED] said Premier Wen was quite angry that UK Prime Minister Brown had simply repeated European earlier demands on the 60 percent target.”

China’s Government struggles to keep up with negotiation process

“The behavior of China’s delegation at Copenhagen reflects not only a lack of coordination between the Foreign Ministry and National Development and Reform Commission, but also that China´s internal decision-making process does not mesh with the fast-moving negotiating environment that characterized the Copenhagen discussions.”

Related Stories:

EU commits to two degrees climate change goal despite US doubts

Saudi Arabia: Protection of environment key to development

Analysis: Despite soaring emissions is China the world’s new green superpower?

Maldives offers to host a landmark climate change speech by President Obama

February 26, 2010, Meeting with Maldives’ Ambassador to the US and the State Department, Washington DC

“[Ambassador] Ghafoor proposed that President Obama deliver a speech on climate change from Maldives when he next visits the region. He said Maldives would provide a dramatic backdrop and draw further attention to environmental challenges the islands face.”

The US on Saudi Arabia

February 12, 2010, US Embassy in Saudi Arabia to Todd Stern and Jonathan Pershing of the US State Department

Saudi Arabia looks to soften climate change stance

“There appears to be a growing sense within the SAG that it may be in danger of becoming isolated on climate change, which may prompt a re-examination of its position. Saudi officials have suggested that they need to find a way to climb down gracefully from the country’s tough negotiating position.”

Saudi worried about funding new economy for growing young population

“On one hand, Saudi Arabia’s lead climate change negotiator has criticized the Copenhagen process in private and in public, arguing that the UNFCCC process is the only acceptable legal framework. On the other hand, Saudi officials are very eager to obtain investment credits for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) and other technology transfer projects that will only become available once an agreement has been reached. Saudi officials express concern about the impact a transition to a low-carbon energy mix will have on the country’s revenue stream at a time when it faces enormous financing needs to transform its economy to create jobs for its young, growing population.”

US looks to leverage OPEC countries via the UAE following its “low key” approval of Copenhagen Accord

22 February 2010, From the US Embassy in Abu Dhabi

“Thani Al Zayoudi, a policy advisor at the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) who also serves as Masdar’s Director of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) Department, told EconOff on February 22 that the UAE had kept its association low key for political reasons. He noted that Kuwait had rejected the Accord and that Saudi negotiator Al Sabban had told the UAE in a recent call that Saudi Arabia also planned to reject the Accord.”

The post Wikileaks’ climate change highlights appeared first on Climate Home News.

China has identified 20 technologies that it will focus on to limit the effect of climate change and help it adapt to resulting impacts.

The strategy has been highlighted by the NGO The Climate Group and was unveiled last month as part of the country’s 12th Five-year plan.

Shanghai and China's other megacities are set for an energy efficiency drive. (Source: Flickr/trioptikmal)

A recent report showed that contrary to previous estimates, per capita emissions in China are now approaching the same level as in the EU. The technologies will be key to delivering on China’s aim to reduce its energy intensity by 16%, to cut its carbon intensity by 17% and to source 11.4% of its energy from non-fossil fuel sources.

Some environmentalists may not be pleased to see shale gas, carbon capture and storage and geoengineering on the list of mitigation technologies. These are viewed by some at best as a distraction to low-carbon energy generation and at worst dangerous follies.

A triple pronged energy efficiency strategy is likely to be more popular however.

The “Specially Designated National Plan on Science and Technology Development in Tackling Climate Change” demonstrates the country’s commitment to clean technology and is consistent with warnings that other nations could swiftly fall behind if they don’t keep up.

Speaking at the UN climate negotiations in Durban last year Christiana Figueres, the UN’s climate change chief said: “It’s concerning and sad that the US has lost leadership, not just politically but perhaps more importantly for them, in their economy.

“The fact they are losing out on the green economy, losing out on investments in clean energy, losing out on the possibility of being a large exporter of clean energy and technology. It’s something that’s very difficult to understand and one wonders when they are going to wake up to that,” added Figueres.

Collaboration versus competition

Despite the competitive nature of developing clean technology sector, Changhua Wu, Greater China Director at The Climate Group, believes the scale of the challenge means no single country will go it alone.

“Tackling climate change is a game of we-are-all-in-it-together,” she said. “A global-level cooperation will provide the right platform for shared innovation and know-how to accelerate the technology R&D, the application of those technologies, as well as the scale up of the applicable and feasible solutions to address the common challenge we all face today.”

John Ashton, former Special Representative on Climate Change for the UK Foreign Secretary previously told RTCC that there was a role for China to play in kick-starting the development of many of these technologies due to the scale it is able to achieve.

Adam Matthews, Secretary General of Globe International, which looks to build a critical mass of legislators to agree and advance effective environmental policies, backs the idea of cooperation. He warns however that there is still much work to be done before this collaboration can be done effectively.

“There is a long way to go before China has a fully-fledged carbon market, or one that could be linked to the EU. But the potential is clear,” he said. “Such co-operation could build low carbon industries in both regions and align the EU to the world’s future largest economy, improve political ties and strengthen business links.”

The Ten Mitigation Technologies

-High efficiency super-critical power generation technology

-Holistic coal gasification-based integrated combustion-cycle technology

-Non-conventional natural gas exploration and development technology

-Large-scale renewable energy power generation, storage and grid connection technology

-New energy automobile technology and low carbon fuel substitute technology

-City energy supply and end-use energy efficiency and emission reduction technology

-Building energy saving technology

-Energy saving and scale-up technology of waste energy and waste heat in the production process of iron and steel, metallurgical, chemical and building material industries

-Carbon sink technology in agriculture, forestry, husbandry and wetland

-Carbon capture and storage technology

The Ten Adaptation Technologies:

-Forecast and pre-warning technology of extreme weather events

-Drought-ridden region water resource exploration and high-efficiency water utilization, and optimized allocation technology

-Drought-resistant and high-temperature-resistant plant species selection and cultivation, and pest-prevention and control technology

-Typical climate-sensitive ecosystem protection and remediation technology

-Climate change impact and risk assessment technology

-Human health integrated adaptation technology

-Typical coastal land adaptation technology

-City lifeline engineering safety guarantee technology in response to extreme weather events

-Standards and regulation amendment of some key sectors in adaptation to climate change

-Human-controlled weather manipulation technology

The post China’s 20 top technologies to combat climate change appeared first on Climate Home News.

Many hope China will join an Asia wide trading scheme in the future. (Source: Flickr/theseoduke)

South Korea has become the latest in a succession of country’s to establish a carbon trading platform.

Parliament passed the necessary laws several months later than planned with 148 of its 151 members voting for and three abstaining.

Trading schemes create carbon certificates that can be bought and sold to allow companies to pay for additional emissions over and above their allowance, or to cash in on shortfalls created by better efficiency.

Companies can also earn credits by funding carbon cutting projects overseas.

China is currently trialling regional schemes with plans to create a national programme gathering steam.

“The announcement is very encouraging news for a carbon industry which is currently bumping along the floor,” said Gareth Phillips, chairman of the Project Developers Forum, a group representing companies that coordinate carbon-cutting projects overseas.

Carbon prices, the value of one ton of Co2 emissions, have recently sunk to record lows, decreasing the incentive for businesses to take part in the schemes.

“It is very good news that the Koreans have, after a long and protracted debate, decided to move forward with an emissions trading scheme,” Phillips told RTCC.

“One more scheme to add to Australia’s Carbon Price and New Zealand’s trading scheme greatly increases the likelihood of a regional or Asia-Pacific scheme. It’s a vote of confidence for the industry.”

The post South Korea passes carbon trading laws to combat climate change appeared first on Climate Home News.

A huge Chinese wind farm near the Mongolian border. There is more than 10GW of installed wind power in Inner Mongolia. (Source: jlau)

Desert solar energy could be powering homes in Russia, Japan, and China under plans by Desertec and backed by the Japanese Renewable Energy Foundation (JREF).

The two organisations have partnered to promote the creation of a new electricity grid to connect solar power from deserts in Mongolia and China, to cities across East Asia, including fast-growing markets like Vietnam.

“Technologies to harness solar and wind energy have improved dramatically in the last few years,” said Dr. Tomas Kåberger, JREF Executive Board Chair.

“Combined with modern power transmission technologies, renewable energy can support the long-term economic prosperity of the region.

According to the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the Mongolian National Renewable Energy Center, Mongolia has a potential renewable energy capacity of 2.6 million megawatts. Bloomberg estimates this figure to be seven times that of all the world’s operational nuclear reactors.

The Gobi Desert is estimated to be the third largest potential source of solar energy in the world and also experiences steady, strong wind speeds making it ideal for both technologies. It is however, hugely isolated.

“Establishing an Asian Super Grid will be challenging and require a high-level of international collaboration but its benefits make it worth the effort,” said Kåberger.

The grid would use special transmission lines that lose low levels of power allowing electricity to be distributed over thousands of kilometres.

JREF was formed in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear accident to promote the development of renewable energy in the country.

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Will camel nostrils create new agricultural space in deserts? (Source: Flickr/Xavi Talleda)

Camel nostrils inspire artificial desert oasis

In Qatar they are building a greenhouse based on a Camel’s nostrils. It won’t look like a humpbacked monster – but it does take inspiration from the way a camel’s nostrils evaporate and condense moisture to keep cool – and also apparently from ‘fog-basking beetles’. It will be open to visitors from July.

Sustainable design to give products an after-life

Heard of ‘Closing the Loop’ and ‘Cradle to Cradle’? No – me neither – until this week. It’s all the rage with UK designers, who are developing products that can easily be broken down and used again once their own life has come to an end. It also places focus on the use of renewable energy in the manufacturing process, water conservation and social responsibility. New design firms like Sibley Grove are applying it to their development of Interiors, Furniture, Jewellery, Graphics and Branding.

WWF targets damage limitation by “absurd” Arctic drilling

The WWF told a UK parliamentary committee that drilling for oil in the Arctic was “absurd”. The group also said that it was the least strategic way they could think of to pursue energy security.

The NGO conceded that an outright ban on drilling was unlikely but it will continue to press for no-go zones in the most sensitive areas of the Arctic.

China's growth is built on coal but PwC's Allan Zhang says domestic supply is low. (Source: Flickr/wsilver)

China has to tackle energy efficiency to pursue economic growth

Whoever takes power in the country following the elections in October will have to face growing resource scarcity at odds which China’s drive for growth.

The week Allan Zhang, Sustainability and Climate Change Director at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) told RTCC that the current economic model in China is “unsustainable” and overly reliant on diminishing fossil fuels and raw materials.

The country’s use of coal is expected to soar over the next five years. Sources of the fossil fuels – as well as water, labour, and minerals – will rapidly diminish, leaving the country to find a way to consume less energy and less resources, while also protecting its environment.

EU climate action chief calls for end to fossil fuel subsidies

Connie Hedegaard, the EU’s climate commissioner has called for the removal of fossil fuel subsidies at the Rio+20 summit this June.

The bloc’s climate enforcer, widely credited as the driving force behind the EU’s brawny stance at the UN climate talks in Durban last year, said cutting the subsidies would be a good first step toward putting a price on environmental damage.

Contact the team on info@rtcc.org or @RTCCNewswire.

The post Five things we learned about climate change this week appeared first on Climate Home News.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (centre) and the BASIC Ministers at the Durban climate talks (Source: UNFCCC)

Developed countries have damaged their credibility and must now take the lead on climate action, according to the most recent communiqué from the BASIC group of countries.

The bloc, which includes Brazil, China, India and South Africa, met earlier in the week for the first time since the UN talks in Durban concluded.

The statement released by the bloc broadly welcomed the Durban Platform on the condition that negotiations continued to include the concept of “common but differentiated responsibilities”. It also re-emphasised that the agreement was built on “a carefully balanced package of ‘mutual reassurances’ between the parties”.

A strong stance on the efforts of developed countries was outlined, particularly in light of Canada’s withdrawal from the Kyoto process.

“Any attempts by developed countries to casually set aside their existing legal commitments while calling for a new legally binding agreement seriously questions their credibility and sincerity in responding to the climate crisis,” read the communiqué.

“Developed countries must rise up to their historical responsibilities and take the lead in the fight against climate change by undertaking robust and ambitious mitigation commitments consistent with science,” it continued.

The BASIC group has strong ties with a number of other negotiating groups at the UN climate talks including the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and the G77+China bloc.

The statement also reaffirmed the solidarity between the fast-developing BASIC countries who continue to have much in common with their less well-off allies.

“Ministers emphasized that BASIC countries as part of G-77 & China are extremely vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change and therefore share the deep concern of SIDS, LDCs and Africa. The Ministers reaffirmed the need to maintain and strengthen the unity of G-77 & China as the unified voice of developing countries in the climate change negotiations.”

Parties to the UN climate talks are currently preparing their positions ahead of the next scheduled meeting in Bonn this May.

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The USA should stop hiding behind China on climate change, according to former UK Environment Minister John Gummer.

Speaking to RTCC, Mr Gummer, now known as Lord Deben, praised the efforts of China as well as South Africa, Brazil and India but called for their domestic efforts to be complemented with continued development of the UN sponsored international climate negotiations.

“Proportionally, China is arguably doing more to combat climate change than any other country,” said Lord Deben.

Through his work as President of GLOBE International, a network of environment legislators, Lord Deben has helped develop domestic and bi-lateral climate action in several countries, including China, India and South Africa.

“The fact is, China believes in climate change and is trying to find a way to shoulder a proper proportion of the burden internationally. And, internally it is finding ways to deal with the very serious effects of climate change.

“In general, the US doesn’t believe in climate change and it isn’t trying to find ways to solve the problems internationally. It is trying to find a way that it doesn’t get blamed for any failure,” said the former Tory Minister.

Lord Deben also accused the US of hiding behind statistics about the scale of Chinese emissions and using them as an excuse for inaction.

“There are all sorts of faults with that. First of all it isn’t up to China to go first [on emission cuts] because the Americans have contributed more to climate change and have a huge historic responsibility.

“Secondly, the US is producing wildly more pollution per head than China.

“Thirdly, much of the pollution in China is on the behalf of the US because they exported their [manufacturing] jobs to China. Yet they haven’t reduced their own emissions,” said Lord Deben.

Data from the World Bank for 2008 estimates that carbon emissions per capita in the US are 17.9 metric tonnes compared to just 5.3 for China.

The US frequently points to the total magnitude of China’s emissions as an argument that it should commit to make cuts first.

A Norwegian study in 2009 compared the countries’ consumption-based emissions. Rather than being linked to the emissions made within a specific territory, they are based on the carbon related to the raw material, manufacture and shipping of the products consumed in a country.

This method puts Chinese emissions at 3.1 metric tonnes for China compared to 29 metric tonnes in the US.

A call in the UK for emissions reporting to switch to the consumption-based model was rejected earlier this month, with Climate Change Minister Greg Barker claiming that the change would make an international climate deal “nigh-on impossible to negotiate”.

The change in system would swing the UK’s emission cuts of 28% between 1990 and 2009 to an increase of 20% between 1990 and 2008.

Former UNFCCC chief Michael Zammit Cutajar described the US-China dynamic as “the G2” of climate negotiations.

Speaking last week at an event organised by RTCC, Cutajar said the US position on climate change had “morphed into a sub-plot of the position US-China position on the geopolitical stage”.

Contact the author of this story @rtcc_john or jp@rtcc.org

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The smog in Beijing can become so severe that it grounds planes (Source: flickr/IK's World Trip)

The Chinese Government has revealed a drastic set of proposals to combat air pollution in the nation’s capital with old cars and heavy industry targeted.

State media reported that 1.6 million high-emitting vehicles will be removed from the roads by 2020 as part of measures to reduce air pollutants by 15% by 2015, compared to 2010 levels.

The target is based on fine particulates – small airborne particles, 2.5 micrometres in diameter – from exhaust fumes and industrial emissions that can create serious health problems.

The proposals will also limit the growth of factories within the city limits. Other industries, such as cement manufacture, will be removed from Beijing all together.

The state news agency Xinhua said that the city’s coal use will be reduced by 62% by 2020, based on consumption in 2015.

The city also plans to plant 330,000 acres of new forestry.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that 1.3 million deaths a year can be attributed to outdoor air pollution.

China’s latest five-year plan includes a framework to switch the economy away from heavy industry and towards a more knowledge-focused base.

The country has also established seven regional carbon markets and there are suggestions that they could merge into a national carbon trading platform by 2015.

The post Beijing announces drastic action to slash air pollution appeared first on Climate Home News.

European Commissioner for Climate Action Connie Hedegaard called for more clarity from developing countries on their willingness to cut emissions. (Source: EU)

The EU called for the US and China to stop their “ping-pong” blame game and clarify their positions on a global deal, during a press conference on Wednesday.

“The cost of buying time is rising,” said Connie Hedegaard, EU Commissioner for Climate Action.

The EU has backed a second commitment period of Kyoto but wants assurances that are other major emitters are willing to commit in the future. The US, which did not ratify Kyoto has said it will not consider a new global deal until major emerging economies, including China, sign-up as well.

“We are not looking for them to tell us what they will commit to, but that they will commit,” said Hedegaard. “Those who won’t even say they will commit in the future take on an unbearable responsibility,” said Hedegaard.

Asked how the EU’s position differs from that of the US given that both are dependent on other developing nations, Hedegaard said: “The difference is whether your emissions have gone up or down since 1990. The difference is whether you ratified Kyoto.”

The US was also branded “ignorant and arrogant” by Jo Leinen, chairman of the European Parliament delegation at COP17, for passing a bill to forbid US airlines from taking part in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).

Leinen said they were arrogant for not respecting EU legislation and ignorant for not appreciating the value of the ETS.

The EU will include aviation in its ETS as of January 1 2012. All flights landing or taking off within the EU will be included, regardless of the nationality of the airline, the final destination or the origin of the flight.

On Tuesday, the BASIC group of countries described the EU move as a “trade action, hidden in the guise of climate”.

The post EU says US “ping-pong” blame game with China must stop appeared first on Climate Home News.

India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with China's President Hu Jintao. (Source: Wikimedia/Jose Cruz/ABr)

The number of statistics about China bandied around by opponents of climate action is astounding in its own right.

Depending on who you talk to the country is opening a new coal power plant every month, every week, every month. As the country’s middle classes swelled, so too did its emissions. In the past the country has fiercely protected its right to this development and it’s record of cooperation during the UNFCCC process is far from unblemished.

Then last week from nowhere, lead negotiator Su Wei said that the country wanted to talk with the EU about the possibility of taking on an obligation to cut emissions.

With the US stating repeatedly that it will not sign-up to any commitment without all the other major emitters, all eyes turned to India.

But how fair is it to treat the two countries the same in the context of the negotiations.

“India is not a major emitter. It just happens to be a very large country,” says JM Mauskar, special secretary with the Indian Ministry of Environment. “India has a very low carbon footprint and it remains a very poor country.”

This is no sob story. The numbers back him up. China’s CO2 emissions per head of population are almost three times higher than India’s. While China’s are comparable to Sweden and Portugal, India’s are akin to those of Honduras, Namibia and Gabon. India has 400 million people living without electricity, China has around 70 million. You get the idea.

The Indian GDP per capita is almost identical to that of Africa’s. No one is expecting all of Africa to match China’s commitments. Perhaps if India negotiated in 30 discrete blocks things would be different. As it stands, it represents a lot of carbon dioxide emissions, in one neat and tidy delegation.

“You can’t compare China and India,” says Kartikeya Singh, CIERP Junior Associate at the Fletcher School who is also serving as an advisor to government delegations in Durban. “It’s convenient to compare them side-by-side because of their mammoth populations but the reality from an energy and emissions perspective, is quite different. They have fast growing economies too and all of these indicators make people want to put them together in a club.”

Both also suffer from an assumption that they are both doing very little about climate change. A myth that is perpetuated by the “coal plant” statistic.

“China is doing jaw-dropping emissions reduction work, they have made huge cuts by shutting down many polluting industries and putting in place policies to advance their “scientific” approach to development. Neither India or China are good at communicating what they are doing,” says Singh.

The US, many other people’s nominees for the climate enemy number one, is in a similar situation. While its progress in multi-lateral international talks has been fairly stagnant, there is plenty of action in the US as well.

“The world is being held hostage by US congress. The US can’t look for a federal solution. They are going to have to look at the local level. If you’re an Annex I country you’re damned if you do and you’re damned if you don’t.”

In the US, climate change is not viewed by as a major voting issue by the vast majority of the electorate. In India, as more time progresses, we can expect voters to demand more and more action from their government. Climate change is not about faraway islands dipping below sea level or notional warming evidenced only by scientific data sets. It’s about survival.

“People in India understand environmental sustainability is important. Climate change is not viewed in the traditional way that it is in the West. It’s more about water resources and electricity access for example. It’s about what people see on the ground on a daily basis. Which brings you back to development. As a voting issue it doesn’t just come down to climate change,” says Singh.

At the moment, India is certainly not the new China, but it is heir to the throne. It has a unique opportunity to continue its development and build green economy simultaneously. As that continues, expect its stance at the COP to evolve just as China’s has.

The post COMMENT: Is India the new China? appeared first on Climate Home News.

Ban Ki Moon with Xie Zhenhua, who told reporters they would talk about a legal deal in 2015 if the science said so. (Source: UN/Paulo Filgueires).

The BASIC group of nations condemned developed nations for breaking promises and attempting to distract the process from their own obligations on Tuesday.

The bloc, which includes South Africa, Brazil, India and China, said that a second period of Kyoto commitments was vital and that industrialised nations must focus on that.

“Developing countries should not be asked to make a payment every time an existing obligation becomes due on the part of the developed countries,” said Jayanthi Natarajan, Indian Minister of State for Environment and Forests. “We have already walked the extra mile and in fact many of us are already doing more than developed countries.”

The group also said that it would consider looking at an appropriate text for a legally binding deal, which it backed in principle, in 2020.

Chinese Minister responsible for Climate Change Xie Zhenhua appeared to contradict this assertion adding that dependent on the scientific evidence in the next IPCC report, China would be ready to talk about a legally binding deal in 2015.

The Indian Minister then launched an attack on “unilateralism”.

“The EU’s unilateral civil aviation tax under its Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) is a trade action, hidden in the guise of climate,” she said.

The EU has said that all flights landing or taking off in Europe will be included in its carbon trading mechanism.

Head of Environment for British Airways, Jonathon Counsell, dismissed the claims: “We don’t believe that. The EU ETS is genuinely there to address aviation’s contribution to climate change and in principle we support that,” he said.

“It is the most cost effective way to address your carbon dioxide emissions. Effectively implemented it can be the right first step and we want to see the global industry covered in a cap and trade scheme,” added Counsell.

“BA has always supported the implementation of an effective emissions trading scheme as a first step toward a global sector approach. We have some concerns about the existing scheme. We believe it will result in non-compliance and retaliatory action from non-EU airlines,” he added.

The post BASIC group slams developed countries as ministerial talks begin appeared first on Climate Home News.

There is much still to be discussed in Durban as time runs out to save Kyoto (Source: UNFCCC)

By John Parnell
RTCC in Durban

China has said that the failure to reach a second commitment period of Kyoto would kill-off the protocol and damage the UN process of climate change talks.

Negotiator Su Wei called for more focus on Durban’s pre-agreed agenda. Attention has increasingly turned towards plans for a new legal deal covering encompassing more nations than Kyoto.

“We must decide on a second commitment period of Kyoto. If we don’t get a second period, Kyoto will be dead and it would do serious damage to the multilateral process,” said Su.

“We need to focus on what must be done immediately. The Green Climate Fund (GCF) must be operationalized as a matter of urgency. We must determine the original capital for the GCF so that we don’t just create an empty shell.”

Su also called for more action on the Bali roadmap which is already two years behind its original timetable, which called for a key decisions to be made in Copenhagen in 2009.

He also said that work on adaptation needed to happen immediately and called for a cut through the red tape.

“This is the African COP and we should look at the urgent issues of adaptation. Not just looking at reports of reports and holding seminars about seminars. We need to do something concrete. On the ground.”

China had hinted last week that it would consider a legally binding deal in the future but is not comfortable with the 2015 deadline that the EU proposes for the conclusion of talks on such a deal.

The post China: Absence of second Kyoto period would “seriously damage” UN process appeared first on Climate Home News.

The EU is “pleasantly surprised” by China’s progress on Climate Change, chief negotiator Arthur Runge-Metzger told RTCC.

While Beijing has made strides Runge-Metzger said the US was stuck in a difficult political position domestically that has thwarted its own headway in the climate negotiations.

“We are very much looking forward to seeing what other countries are doing about climate change and we were pleasantly surprised by China,” said Runge-Metzger. “It has already inserted its Cancun pledge in to its next five year plan. That is a very important step but there are many other countries that will have to follow suit. In some countries, the pledge is made, but the implementation is shaky.”

When asked if the United States had become an obstructive force in the process Runge-Metzger refused to criticise them too heavily.

“I think the United States is in a very difficult situation. The Obama administration is certainly committed to move on climate change but the situation in Congress and the Senate does not allow any movement forward and that is a huge problem because there are many other countries that can just hide behind that position,” said Runge-Metzger.

“Applying pressure to the US is something that we need to do collectively. It also important that those who hide behind the United States come out and are very clear out about being committed and showing sufficient political will to take this discussion forward towards real implementation.”

The post VIDEO: EU “pleasantly surprised” with China’s climate action appeared first on Climate Home News.

Lead Chinese negotiator Xie Zhenhua with UN Secretary-General (Source: Ban Ki Moon)

By RTCC staff

China will launch a carbon trading mechanism, embark on a public information drive and pursue commitments from developed countries at COP17 as it looks to combat climate change, according to a white paper released by the Chinese government today.

The report lists 11 key actions for the country’s mitigation and adaptation plans, in line with its most recent Five-Year Plan and its achievements so far.

The paper has been released “to enable the international community to fully understand China’s policies and actions for addressing climate change, and the positive results achieved” it states.

“We hope the nations of the world will translate their political willingness into concrete action,” said head Chinese climate change negotiator Xie Zhenhua, speaking at the launch of the report.

As part of its strategy the paper states that China will draw “on the experience of the international carbon emissions trading market while taking into consideration its actual conditions, gradually promote the establishment of a carbon emissions trading market…so as to give full play to the fundamental role of the market mechanism in optimizing the allocation of resources, and realize the objective of controlling greenhouse gas emission at minimum cost”.

The white paper lists previous climate change propaganda films including Facing Climate Change and Same Hot, Same Cool, the World Over, and declares the intention to continue in this vein.

“[China] will also extensively publicize knowledge necessary to respond to climate change and advocate low-carbon consumption through the mass media,” it says.

The paper also re-iterates the country’s commitment to reducing its energy intensity and calls for further commitments from developed nations – inside and outside the Kyoto Protocol – on emissions reductions ahead of the COP17 talks in Durban.

“China will continue to strengthen dialogues and exchanges with developed countries, initiate South-South cooperation on climate change…and provide practical support to other developing countries in coping with climate change.”

Writing exclusively for RTCC, Ajay Gambhir of Imperial College London’s Grantham Institute for Climate Change, explores China’s negotiating position going into COP17.

China’s 11 point action plan on climate change

-Strengthen legal system to address climate change

-Accelerate economic restructuring towards less energy intensive industries

-Shake-up energy mix with clean coal, natural gas and renewables

-Continue work on energy conservation

-Invest in R&D and make relevant policy changes to enable “circular economy”

-Organise local level low carbon development

-Establish carbon trading market

-Enhance carbon sinks trough reforestation and by tackling desertification

-Enhance adaptation capacity particularly in “eco-fragile” areas

-Strengthen capacity building and improve GHG monitoring and statistical analysis of renewable energy, educate public and promote low-carbon initiatives through mass media

-Continue international cooperation with developed countries and through South-South cooperation

The post China pledges to establish carbon trading mechanism appeared first on Climate Home News.

The Chinese government is acutely aware of the risks of developing along an energy-intensive, high-carbon pathway – one need only look at the myriad references to energy efficiency, renewable energy and carbon intensity in its 12^th Five Year Plan. China imported more than half its oil in 2009, when it was the second largest oil importer in the world after the USA.

It remains highly reliant on coal, which accounted for over 70% of its primary energy supply in 2009. Air pollution from fossil fuel-based transport remains a major concern. A low-carbon, less energy-intensive pathway would provide China with several direct benefits including reduced expenditure on energy, cleaner air and greater energy security. In addition, such a pathway would have the co-benefit of significantly reducing China’s, and therefore the world’s, greenhouse gas emissions.

According to recent research by HSBC, China’s government believes climate change is increasing water stress, food losses and power cuts in a number of provinces. Global action on climate change should therefore be very much in China’s interests.

Strong negotiating position

Although China has so far only pledged to the UNFCCC a CO₂ target for 2020 (and using an intensity rather than absolute level), voices from within China are calling for a look towards the longer term: for example the Chinese Academy of Sciences said earlier this year that emissions in China need to peak by 2030 in order to tackle climate change and break out of its energy- and resource-intensive growth path.

Nevertheless, China is arguably under little pressure to increase ambition on its own targets, or indeed state anything longer term, with continued intransigence in the USA and an apparent stasis in the EU over increasing its 2020 target. As such, China is likely to continue to push for increased commitment from developed countries, without needing to offer anything more of its own in the way of targets at this stage.

Investment in low-carbon pathway

Developing and adopting a broad range of low-carbon technologies at immense scale will be the only way that China can significantly deviate from a pathway which leads to around 15 GtCO₂ of carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.

To put this figure in context, some analysis suggests that global greenhouse gas emissions should not be much greater than 20 GtCO₂e by 2050 if we are to retain a good chance of keeping global warming below 2 degrees Celsius.

According to forthcoming research by the Grantham Institute for Climate Change at Imperial College (and several other recent studies on China’s potential low-carbon pathways to 2050) such technologies are likely to include hundreds of Gigawatts of installed nuclear, hydro, wind, and possibly also solar PV capacity, whilst on the demand side the achievement of world-leading energy efficiency in industrial plants, buildings and vehicles, as well as low-carbon vehicles and low-carbon heating/cooling across the country,  will be essential rather than optional.

If successfully deployed, this range of technologies could allow China’s carbon dioxide emissions to peak before 2030 and reach levels of below 5 GtCO₂ by 2050 – a massive reduction compared to business-as-usual.

Many of the technologies that are likely to be central to reducing Chinese and global emissions require further efforts to develop and deploy them at scale, and here China could benefit from finance and technical know-how from the developed world. These include advanced nuclear manufacturing, elements of solar PV and vehicle battery technology development, urban planning for transport and buildings, and implementation of monitoring and regulation of energy efficiency standards for buildings and appliances.

Mechanisms for change

Mindful of the costs and technical challenges associated with developing and deploying such a range of low-carbon technologies and measures, Chinese negotiators will look to ensure that in Durban continuing progress is made on critical elements of the Cancun Agreements, including the initialisation and capitalisation of the Green Climate Fund, as well as the clarification of the functioning of the Technology Mechanism.

Even without these elements in place, China has gained an important competitive advantage in the manufacture of several low-carbon technologies such as wind turbines and solar PV modules, and is deploying them at scale.

If China follows a low-carbon pathway, its technology development initiatives and large market can be expected to have a major impact on the global development, including cost reduction, of key low-carbon technologies. This may open up options that would not otherwise have existed for other countries.

Nevertheless a more international, collaborative effort on low-carbon technology is in everyone’s interests and the further that Durban can advance these initiatives, the better.

The post Analysis: China’s dilemma in Durban appeared first on Climate Home News.

Source:Wikimedia/Beijing Patrol

By John Parnell

A lot has changed in China since its reported leading role in the collapse of negotiations in Copenhagen.

It has reforested an area of the land the size of Belgium. It has ramped up efficiency measures and is making vast strides in renewable energy.

Despite all of this, it is still painted as the climate change super villain. Small but carbon intensive economies frequently claim the scale of China’s emissions renders their own green initiatives futile. A lazy excuse for inaction. And perhaps one that is no longer valid.

“China’s twelfth five-year plan has some bold targets on energy efficiency and reducing energy intensity,” says Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, “and unlike the eleventh five-year plan these targets are binding.

The plan also maps out a switch for the economy from carbon-heavy industry to IT, biotechnology and clean energy.

“They take it very seriously. They are the world’s biggest producer of windmills and solar panels. They are doing lots more than the Americans in terms of making their economy more energy efficient and more than some European countries.”

Despite this, the country remains firmly black-listed among most environmental groups.

“There’s rational and irrational reasons for singling out China,” says Joanna Lewis, assistant professor at Georgetown University.

“In terms of the actual facts, it is the largest emitter and the largest energy user so the scale of emissions in China are greater than a place like Malaysia, even if the growth rates are comparable. But they also have a larger population, on a per capita basis things look quite different.”

According to the World Resources Institute, China’s rank in greenhouse gas emissions per capita is 121 of 185, two places behind Sierra Leone. Malaysia is fourth.

Shortly after the twelfth five-year plan was announced, a further document detailing China’s renewable targets was released. The most notable declaration was a target of 50GW of installed solar energy.

The question in the build-up to Durban is will China bring these ambitious domestic targets to the international stage?

“The developing countries led by China will make one last stand to keep Kyoto and failing that, they’ll look to ensure funding measures like the clean development mechanism,” says Lewis, who doesn’t believe China’s approach to the negotiations has changed much over time.

“They will look after their own self-interests, keep the international process moving forward without making too many concessions and ensure that the US and the other developed countries have lived up to their commitments. I think they will want more or less the same in Durban. Compared to Copenhagen Durban has much lower stakes.

“Copenhagen was unique among climate negotiations that we’ve had in the last decade or so. The stakes had been elevated much beyond the normal level of negotiations. This put China under a global spotlight in terms of climate negotiations and they weren’t expecting that.”

With US leadership sorely lacking, there is a diplomatic opportunity at COP 17 for the Chinese to push progress forward.

But despite their successes at home, question marks still remain over the country’s political will for an international agreement.

The post China: Good COP, bad COP appeared first on Climate Home News.

SolarWorld's US president Gordon Brinser makes his case in court (Source: SolarWorld)

By RTCC staff

China has responded angrily to a US investigation into alleged dumping of cheap solar panels, saying progress in international climate negotiations could be hindered as a result.

Responding to complaints from a consortium of American manufacturers, the US Department of Commerce will look into the appearance of Chinese panels priced below the cost of manufacture. It will also look at whether Chinese government subsidies have breached World Trade Organisation rules.

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce released a statement saying the probe threatens the chances of international cooperation between the two countries.

“The probe could damage energy cooperation between the two countries and impede the progress of global efforts to deal with climate change,” said ShenDanyang, a Ministry of Commerce spokesman on its website, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

“Chinese people and enterprises are greatly dissatisfied about US attempts to blame Chinese exports for the country’s sluggish development,” said Shen.

The US market has welcomed the probe.

“China’s plans for the US market have been clear from its excessive and illegal subsidization of its export-heavy industry, its ever-escalating drive to dump product at artificially low prices on the US marketplace,” said Gordon Brinser, president SolarWorld Industries, the manufacturers that led the group of complainants.

“The anti-competitive tactics of Chinese exporters have threatened to wipe out US producers and jobs,” said Brinser. “Domestic producers look forward to returning to steady increases in efficiency and sustainable decreases in pricing that directly result from legal international competition.”

The disagreement is one of a number of trade disputes between China and the West. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce press site lists responses to disagreements over a diverse range of goods from diamond drill bits, paper and X-ray equipment.

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Source: Wikimedia Commons/Julian Herzog

By RTCC Staff

A lawsuit against the EU is being prepared by Chinese airlines and the country’s Air Transport Association (CATA) in response to EU proposals to include international flights in its carbon trading initiative, according to the Xinhua news agency.

Under the EU Emission Trading Scheme (ETS), all airlines flying to or from Europe as of 2012 will be included in the carbon trading system and will be required to buy permits for 15 per cent of their emissions.

CATA and a number of major Chinese airlines are in the process of filing a lawsuit against the EU, according to CATA deputy secretary general Chai Haibo.

If the quotes printed in the China Economic Daily are correct, it will be the second such action after US airlines filed papers with the European Court of Justice in July, 2011.

“We hope the EU will avoid this unilateral move, solve international aviation emissions issues on the basis of mutual respect and consensus, and promote the sustainable development of the industry,” an anonymous official with China’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAAC) told Xinhua.

European airlines have also added their voice to concerns with British Airways calling for more clarity in an exclusive interview with RTCC.org.

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Lord Anthony Giddens (Source: Wikimedia/Szusi)

By RTCC Staff

The US has displayed a “disappointing” lack of leadership in climate change negotiations, according to academic and former advisor to Tony Blair, Lord Anthony Giddens.

Speaking in an interview with The Ecologist, Giddens said the US had fallen short of his expectations under President Obama.

“The main joker in terms of the international arena is the United States. Lack of American leadership I find deeply disappointing. I had high hopes that President Obama would be an inspirational leader for climate change policy,” said Giddens.

“I was hoping that there’d be important bilateral agreements between China and the US, which would lead to substantial programmes of energy transformation. So far they’ve had talks but these haven’t led to much.”

Giddens attributes the lack of progress on climate change in the states to partisan politics in the US. He says this was stoked by Obama’s Health Care bill that polarised the country and has made it difficult for the federal government to lead.

“In the US the complete polarisation of climate change issues is really unfortunate not just for the US, but the rest of the world. [In the UK] there is a pretty large cross-party consensus. Ideally, I’d like every country to have that. Climate change is not a left-right issue, it concerns everybody,” he said.

The post Former Blair advisor: Lack of US climate change leadership ‘disappointing’ appeared first on Climate Home News.

Source: Wikimedia/UN Climate Talks

By RTCC Staff

The EU is committed to its offer of extending its 2020 CO2 emissions targets to 30 per cent and will not be withdrawing the offer in Durban, a senior EU negotiator has said.

The deal, which depends on other countries making similar commitments, could signal a statement of intent from the EU as all parties begin to jostle for position in the build up to the talks.

“The question of whether the EU should relax its 30 per cent conditions is politically not on the cards at this point in time,” Artur Runge-Metzger, director of the international and climate strategy directorate at the EU Commission, told Reuters.

Speculation in recent weeks had suggested the US is unlikely to extend its own targets. China has responded by re-affirming its commitment to the bloc of developing countries and pointed the finger at the Americans for inspiring the inaction of other nations.

“Everyone is looking at the US and whether the US can also increase its level of ambition, but in Washington there is complete stalemate in terms of climate policies,” said Runge-Metzger.

“This has had a knock-on effect. Other big countries like China said it has already fulfilled what it promised in Cancun and it is for the others to get involved,” he added.

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