China’s Hu heads to US on energy efficiency wave
By Emma Graham-Harrison
BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese President Hu Jintao may find
his energy saving initiatives an unlikely source of pride
during a visit next week to the United States, where he faces
criticism over human rights and Beijing’s currency policy.
The two countries are the world’s top oil consumers and
emitters of greenhouse gases, but Hu has turned away from
China’s previous mantra of economic growth at almost any cost
to spearhead a huge drive to cut wasteful energy use.
A hike in taxes on gas-guzzling cars, some of the world’s
strictest fuel economy targets and a new round of ambitious
energy-efficiency goals are among the initiatives that have
impressed environmentalists and energy analysts alike.
In contrast, U.S. counterpart George W. Bush has drawn flak
for his reluctance to tighten efficiency standards or raise
fuel taxes, despite a pledge to tackle the country’s addiction
to oil.
“Based on apparent views from the top levels of government,
China seems to be more proactive on sustainable energy
development than the U.S.,” said Chris Raczkowski,
Beijing-based managing director of renewable energy firm Azure
International.
Hu still faces obstacles implementing policy further down
the chain of command, compared to some U.S. state governments
that are having more success pushing an aggressive efficiency
agenda.
“If you look more at the middle level, you see U.S. states
and cities are sometimes very proactive in promoting cleaner
energy, energy efficiency,” said Raczkowski.
The U.S. government pulled out of the U.N. Kyoto Protocol
on climate change, but Maryland has become the eighth U.S.
state to join a pact seeking mandatory limits on carbon dioxide
emissions, which most scientists believe contribute to global
warming.
MIXED RESPONSE
U.S. utilities are planning a fleet of new coal plants due
to bountiful domestic supplies and high gas prices, but only a
fraction of those will use clean coal technology that gasifies
coal before burning and captures carbon dioxide emissions.
The enthusiasm of China’s leaders for energy efficiency
grows from pragmatic concerns about dependence on costly
imported oil and the impact of smog and greenhouse gases from
coal.
China has plenty of room for improvement — it uses over
four times as much energy to generate GDP than the average
Group of Seven nations, the Asian Development Bank said, and
still relies on coal for around 70 percent of that energy.
Provincial officials used to putting wealth creation ahead
of other aims may shy away from sacrificing growth for
efficiency.
“It is really the top-level officials who have this vision
about China’s energy future,” said Greenpeace energy and
climate campaigner Yang Ailun. “It is difficult to enforce them
at a local level, but you can see the attitude is really
changing.”
Despite both sides’ efforts to boost efficiency, few
analysts doubt oil consumption will continue to rise and
growing competition for limited resources could be a source of
tension.
The U.S. Congress’s nonpartisan budget analyst said last
week China’s rising energy demand could boost global oil prices
by as much as $14 a barrel over the next five years. But it did
not address consumption in the U.S., where a population less
than one-quarter that of China burns over three times as much
oil.
The Center for Global Energy Studies expects Chinese demand
growth of around 5 percent or 330,000 barrels per day (bpd)
this year, versus a forecast increase of 1.3 percent in U.S.
consumption that translates into a similar 270,000-bpd
expansion.
China may trim oil demand growth if a string of projects to
turn its vast coal reserves into synthetic gas or oil are
successful. Analysts say these could account for nearly half of
2005′s crude import volumes within a decade.
“China is taking this technology seriously and it’s an area
where they think they can place themselves at the cutting edge,
stealing a march on the U.S.,” said Tony Regan of energy
consultancy Tri-Zen.
(Additional reporting by Neil Chatterjee)