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LSE: Public lectures and events
How China Tackles Climate Change in its Wider Development Agenda
00:28:08
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- [00:00]
A
Good evening, everybody. My name is Stuart Corbridge, and it's a great pleasure to welcome you here tonight to the LSE for a talk on how China tackles climate change by Her Excellency Madam Fuying, China's Ambassador to the United Kingdom. This talk has been organized by the school's Asia Research Center. And just before we get going, if I could ask you all please to make sure that your mobile phones are turned off and anything else that might be irritating for the ambassador. The timing of this talk, as we all know, could not be better. We're all gearing up now for the Copenhagen Climate Conference, which will begin next week. It's obvious that China is going to be a crucially important player in these talks, as it will be in all future climate change negotiations. And I think it's also very obvious that the great story of the past 30 years has been the extraordinary rise, both economically and geopolitically, of China. Students of development like myself have had to rethink our accounts of the mainsprings and consequences of economic growth and of the relationship between the growth machine and poverty alleviation. Recent World bank figures make the point extremely clearly. Over the period from 1980 to 2005, more than 600 million people in China have been pulled above the World Bank's new international poverty line of $1.25 a day. And to put that another way, most of the reductions in global poverty that we've seen over the past 30 years have occurred in China. It's very clear now that China is not only the de facto lender of last resort to the United States, but is also the economic power that many countries are looking to to pull them out of the global economic crisis that broke a couple of years ago. Now, it's equally clear that development is not a painless process. The great Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter reminded us that development is a continuous process of creative destruction. It's a kind of Faustian bargain. And as China assumes its new position as a leading player in the global political economy, it's obvious that an increasing number of questions will be asked of the Chinese government and of its people. Questions, for example, about China's role in Latin America or in Africa, and perhaps most of all, about China's stance on global warming and on climate change more generally. Happily, tonight, Ambassador Fuying is here to tell us about how China tackles climate change as part of its wider development agenda. And we're very grateful to you, Ambassador, both for talking to us and for agreeing after your talk, to take questions from the audience. Madam Fuying took up her present position as Ambassador to the United Kingdom in 2007, having previously served as Ambassador to the Philippines and also to Australia. In between her postings in Manila and Canberra, Madame Fuying was the Director General of the Department of Asian affairs in China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a ministry that she served with distinction since the late 1970s. Madame Fuying also has an honorary doctorate in Civil law. Ambassador Fu Ying, it's a great pleasure to have you with us here tonight at the lse, and we very much look forward to hearing your lecture.
- [04:19]
B
Thank you, Professor Colbridge. Ladies and gentlemen, I'm very honored today to come to talk with you on such an important subject of climate change. And I'm very impressed, actually. So many of you turn up today in spite of the rainy, muddy day. I'm also pleased that Professor Chris Brown is in the crowd. He told me when I was in Kent University, so if I make any mistakes in my analysis, you also know where the blame can also go. It's a special honor for me because the LSE is well known for its scholarship on climate change and its crucial contribution to this global debate. China is a huge country with a population of 1.3 billion. It has diverse climate conditions and a fragile environment. The effect of climate change is a very real threat which we face every day. According to Chinese scientists, the average temperature in China has risen by 1.1 degrees centigrade in the last five decades. That is higher than the reported global average. We are seeing more frequent bouts of extreme weather conditions in many parts of the country. Last spring, for example, the most severe drought in 50 years hit northern China, affecting over 4 million people's livelihood. And this photo really captures the phenomenon. The weather, the water levels everywhere, are dropping. And it's something I have experienced personally. When my father passed away, he. He left the wish to have his ashes scattered in the river of the village he grew up and the river he swimmed in. And I took a long journey to that small village, only to find, to my sadness, that the great river my father used to talk about is now no more than a creek. And the children in the village would never have the joy of swimming in the big river, the way my father and his generation enjoyed. So, yes, environmental damage and climate change is a reality for us, for China. Out of the world's most populated 20 cities, half of them are in China. 70% of the Chinese rivers are polluted to some degree, and China has become the largest carbon emitter of the world. You may Want to know how have we got here? China has reached this stage when it is making great endeavor to lift people out of poverty. Unlike you here, we have condensed two centuries of industrialization into only 30 years. Now that the Chinese people have woken to the threat and with the same zeal, we have embraced industrialization, we are embracing cleaner development. And in China, climate change is not just a topic for discussions. It is backed up by policy and actions at all levels. Let me share with you some examples. First, on the legal and policy front, China has put forward a voluntary reduction program from 2006 to 2010 period that includes 20% reduction in energy intensity per unit of GDP. To achieve this, we amended the Law on Energy Saving and the Law on Renewable Energy. We've also set up strict evaluation system for energy efficiency. This enables the central government to hold provincial leaders accountable for for meeting energy efficiency targets. The evaluation result for 2008 is on the web for all to access. Out of 31 province, out of 31 provinces and regions, 26 fulfilled emission reduction targets. One cannot underscore enough that the importance of having transparency as it is placing great pressure from the people on those provinces who are not meeting the targets. Let's see a close up of the chart and translate it into English. You could see that Beijing we have three good performers and two bad performance here. And you could see Beijing is doing well. It's over fulfilling its target for 2008. It's over 7% and I'm sure Olympic helped Beijing a lot. Now Beijing is quite near to the 20% target for 2010. Now it's at 17.53. But at the bottom you'll see Xinjiang is well behind and is very unlikely to meet the target and probably need lots of help. Secondly, in China now, the industries have to make very tough decisions to achieve clean development projects with high emission can no longer go ahead and some of the existing high emitters are being phased out. It is understandably very difficult to push through these reform measures. There is inevitably resistance because for a developing country, shutting down factories means job losses for many who need them. For example, we have cut down the average consumption of coal per unit of power by 20% and that is achieved by demolishing many of the high polluting and inefficient power plants and that led to the loss of 400,000 jobs. Years ago, I myself worked on the site building a power plant of this type and when it was demolished, my friends who worked there called and we all had very mixed feelings because we gave the best years of our young lives building the power plant. Now it's being demolished, but we all know it's inevitable. If I go back next time, I think next photo will probably be what I will see there. So three, the third point is that we have increased and will continue to increase the percentage of clean and cleaner and alternative energy. Alternative energy sources in China. Low carbon and energy conservation have become new growth sectors in China. Many British companies are actively involved in clean development projects in China. In the past nine months of this year, clean energy contributed one third of China's newly added power capacity. China now ranks as first in the world for solar heating and photovoltaic generation, as well as installed hydropower capacity. You may be surprised to know that 1 out of 10 families in China are already using solar heating. And that includes my family. You could see that in the new buildings in China living quarters, most have solar panel on the roof. This winter came early in Beijing, but my husband said the heating for our flat works pretty well. So the fact that the Chinese people are so keen to adopt clean energy is a strong indication to a indication of Chinese people's determination to have a better future. And next, let's talk about trees and reforestation. We all know that trees absorb CO2 from the atmosphere. The Chinese people have really taken tree planting to heart. It has become even fashionable for young couples to plant trees to mark their wedding. I even have a photo to show you. Maybe I should say that heaven forbid, if any of them get divorced, Divorce rate is getting very high. Seriously, it's higher than when I was young. But these trees, whatever happens, they will remain standing, I can promise you. But seriously, China has planted more trees than any country in the world. With 2.6 billion trees planted, 2 per each person in China, that's an incredible number. Last but not least, the only means for China to really achieve its ambitious target is through science and technology, and has to be through science and technology. And that is why China is investing heavily in research and development. And China has become a giant laboratory for the testing of all kinds of clean energy technologies. In the latest stimulus package, worth 400 billion pounds, 15% is invested in climate change. I'm sure you'll agree that this is a huge number by any standard, especially considering that we are in a financial crisis. Thanks to all these efforts, China is well on track to reach our target for 2010. This is an achievement that compares well with the effort of other countries. At the UN Climate Change Summit last September, President Hu Jintao stated that China would take even further steps to counter climate change. To follow up that statement, the Chinese government has announced its target for 2020 based on 20155 levels. They will include bringing down CO2 per unit of GDP by 40 to 45%, increasing the ratio of non fossil energy to 15%, expanding forest coverage by 40 million hectares. That's about 400,000 square kilometers. That is I guess more than one and a half times of the United Kingdom, the size of this country. We'll make all these into compulsory and verifiable targets within the framework of our domestic development program. I hope you will appreciate that achieving this target and further reducing emissions will be increasingly harder in China. Let me explain why we have already closed down, as you've seen, many of the old high energy consuming factories. That is to say, the easy part is already done. Between 1990 to 2005 the per unit GDP energy consumption is came down by 47%. And between 2005 to 2010 it will again come down by 20%. The next will be the raising of the energy efficiency of the remaining plants. And this is going to cost more and involve more sacrifice. And that is why investing in research and development is so critical for us as only innovation can help China to make that leap. And this is also why we are looking to the developed countries for technology transfer and capacity building. According to the International Energy Agency's analysis, if China fulfills its target by 2020, it it will have reduced its emission of CO2 by 1 billion tons. And this will be a great achievement given that we are a developing country and we still have equally pressing survival priorities. If you will allow me, I will explain on this point. Although China may soon become the second largest economy in the world as China is growing at more than 8%. And the current second largest economy is Japan, which is not growing much. So we may become the second largest economy by the end of this year or maybe next year. But China remains a developing country. This is something that many people often forget.
- [19:53]
A
Forget.
- [19:54]
B
China's per capita GDP has just passed US$3,000. If you see in the chart, the yellow color is United States and the blue is United Kingdom. And you go all the way down, the red is China. And look at who's before China. Jamaica, Namibia. And can I also ask you a question? Do you know in which year the United Kingdom in its history was at this income level? Where China is at today? 1960s, 1930s, 50s, 1900. That's close. According to the British economist Angus Madison, Britain was there 1913. In per capita terms, China only ranks 104th in the world. It might be a surprise to you, as professor mentioned, that 135 million Chinese are still living under one US dollar a day. Sometimes even the most basic things that we take for granted can be beyond the reach of some Chinese people. People take for example, in China's northwest. It's a place where water is very scarce and the farmers in the village in Gansu Province take baths only three times in a year. Three times in their life. Sorry, three times in their life. At birth, at marriage, and at death. So when we discuss climate change, we often talk about facts and figures. But we should not forget there is also this human element. Imagine when electricity reaches this Gansu village, not only the farmers are going to be able to dig deeper, to drill deeper for water. Their children will be able to watch television for the first time. And it's inevitable that they will see a wonderful world outside the village and they would dream for better life. So who are we to tell them that they have no right to a better life? And who are we to tell them that they cannot live like the people in Shanghai, in London that they see on television? And why can't they have ipod, laptop, refrigerators, or even cars? And that's the human dimension, the challenge, the difficult mission for China is to enable its 1.3 billion people to realize their dreams, but in the environmentally responsible manner. So now let's come back to the point about China being the world's biggest CO2 emitter. If you look at the figures in per capita terms, an average Chinese person's emission is 4.6 tons. That includes our export, an average American emit 20 tons, and Britain in blue color, 10 tons. So we can hardly call China energy greedy. And yet, according to an AFTI survey, 63% of Americans believe that China is not doing enough and China should undertake more emission reduction. It feels like a person who is always having four pieces of bread and telling the person who is having the first piece of bread to go on a diet. Between 1750 to 2005, developed countries accounted for 80% of the world's CO2 emissions. Even today, with only 20% of the world's population, developed countries pump more than 55% of the total emission into the atmosphere. So when it comes to emissions, developed countries and developing countries cannot be compared like for like. This is why we attach so much importance to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, which set out the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities. This is ultimately about fairness, about equal right to development. The Copenhagen conference will commence in five days. Time. It will be a major milestone in a global effort to tackle climate change and the people of the world have high hopes for this conference. For Copenhagen to be successful, China believes several things need to happen. First, developed countries should undertake to achieve substantial emission reduction targets for the second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol. Countries that have not signed up to the Kyoto Protocol should formulate similar reduction targets. Second, effective mechanism should be set up to ensure that developed countries provide financial and technological support to developing countries. Third, developing countries should also adopt mitigation measures according to their national conditions, within the framework of sustainable development and with finance, financial and technological support from the developed countries. The Chinese Premier, Wen Jiabao, will attend the conference and China is willing to play a constructive role in bringing the negotiations to a successful conclusion. We look forward to a close cooperation with the UK and the rest of the world. All in all, climate change is a global challenge which can only be resolved through global cooperation. As a mother, I hope that my daughter and the later generations will breathe in clean air and will have good environment to live in. So countries should all work together as partners to make sure that our children will inherit a better world. Thank you.