In 2010, the Chinese government designated Shenzhen, a city of about 13 million inhabitants in the south of China, to be among 11 provinces and cities to develop and pilot low-carbon solutions for industry, transport, renewable energy, construction, consumption and ecology. China’s government uses pilot projects to spur low-carbon urbanization, and designated locations must prepare...
Geopolitical interests drive creation of solar energy leaders Over the past 20 years China has emerged as the world leader in solar energy technology. At the end of 2019, China’s total installed capacity of solar PV power made up 204 GW of energy. Government investment into solar panel producers, subsidies, and access to government bank...
Recommendation # 1: A Community-Based Employment and Development Program Program Recommendation # 2: A Clean-Tech Funding and Consulting Program for Small and Mid-sized Companies President Xi’s bold commitment to make China carbon-neutral by 2060 during the UN Climate summit in 2020 raised hopes that the world’s largest carbon emitting country will finally take the necessary...
Figures for China’s electricity consumption and the energy mix behind it differ across various relevant monitors. The International Energy Agency states China’s electricity consumption for 2018 was roughly 6.833 Terawatt Hours (TWh)—an increase of nearly 1079% since 1990. Coal-generated and hydro-generated electricity made up the largest proportion of the country’s energy usage, followed by wind...
Recently Reported Greenhouse Gas Emissions Level: 9,528.21 Megatons in 2018 Compared to 2088.85 Megatons in 1990 (IEA) 9,825.8 Megatons in 2019 Compared to 2,323.8 Megatons in 1990 (IEA) 11,535.20 Megatons in 2019 Compared to 2,404.74 Megatons in 1990 (EDGAR)Greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reports for China vary in numbers but are unified in that they cover...
China surprised the world in September with a pledge to take further action in combating climate change and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. The first pledge was made to leaders of the European Union mid-September, then reiterated in President Xi’s speech to the UN General Assembly. Neither announcement provided any details as to how carbon...
In China, climate change and environmental pollution mitigation research has been playing an increasingly important role, especially since 2012 when President Xi formalized the concept of “ecological civilization”. Numerous organizations are conducting research into the environmental effects of economic development. They can be divided into four categories: Government-funded think tanks which research informs macro socio-economic...
Green jobs have been on China’s agenda since 2006, when it became one of the first member countries to collaborate with the International Labor Organization (ILO) in conducting research on and formulating measures to create green jobs. Since then, China has prioritized green development, e.g. energy efficiency in industry, transportation, and buildings; development of wind,...
China is home to 55 ethnic minorities. While many live in rural areas affected by poverty and lack of employment opportunity, environmental or climate (in)justices are not exclusive to them. The divide of who suffers from environmental pollution runs along income and rural-urban lines. And China sees itself internationally as a victim of climate injustices...
In post-COVID-19 pandemic efforts to revive the economy, China’s government has so far – unlike other countries – resisted issuing a large stimulus package. Instead, the current stimulus measures amount to 2 trillion RMB – split into government bonds and financial relief measures – are targeted at spurring innovative technologies and consumption to stabilize employment...
