China is on a mission to reduce its carbon emissions and change the perception that it’s apathetic toward climate change to one that reflects a proactive attitude.
In 2006 it came out with a five year plan to reduce its energy intensity, placing municipalities and commercial and industrial sectors under enormous pressure to meet quotas. The intentions have been good, but as is to be expected with such a large-scale undertaking, results have been mixed.
The good
One of the success stories has to do with retrofitting old buildings to make them more energy efficient. This has been particularly important in the north-eastern regions of Japan where cold fronts come courtesy of Siberia’s frozen tundra and temperatures have been known to drop to -40 degrees Celsius. Energy consumption is staggering as homes, flats and businesses have the heating on for at least half the year.
Cities such as Harbin, Qingdao and Lanzhou have taken a layered approach to the problem and are retrofitting residential buildings with five layers of insulation in the walls, insulation for roofs and even better windows in an effort to keep out the cold. Some residents have compared the insulation to a new winter wardrobe and refer to coats and hats when talking about their improved walls and roofs.
According to Harbin officials (cited in a National Geographic article), the retrofitting drive will increase energy efficiency by as much as 50%.
The bad
The retrofitting drive has received some criticism for the almost negligent manner in which some people think it has been implemented. There have been complaints of poor construction and inferior construction materials. There have also been safety concerns, particularly with regard to flammability.
Other problems include energy pricing systems. Residents are typically charged a flat rate based on the size of their home or flat and not on the actual amount of energy used. This leads to a lot of wastage as people leave the heating on just because they can.
There are also few incentives for people and businesses to save energy and subsidies barely merit a mention.
The future
According to Mark Levine, head of the China Energy Group at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the country needs a structural change in the economy. But China is reluctant to take drastic action in this regard in case it derails their development drive, which has gained significant momentum over the past decade or so and helped the country become a super power.
There is also the fact that China needs to develop to accommodate its growing population, especially as urbanisation increases.
In addition to an economic overhaul, the Chinese government also needs to come up with a comprehensive plan to address energy consumption, as opposed to setting vague (and ambitious) targets. It also needs to provide its people with reasons to change. Unless change starts from the top and comes from within it’s unlikely that a positive attitude will filter down to the masses.
(image by FloNight (Sydney Poore) and Russell Poore, via Wikimedia Commons)
Jade Scully is a copywriter excited about writing copy and stories, blogging about the world and editing. She currently and regularly publishes her stories on a number of blogs. Jade loves animals and hopes to begin writing copy for the animal rescue charity TEARS as her contribution to the cause.
