China exceeding US efforts on pollution

China's Bold Initiative

Is the world's largest coal consumer, in its bid to respond to
spiraling demand, poised to become the global leader in renewable
energy?

By Michael Totten, Solar Today
(excerpt)

"China's past three decades of double-digit economic growth are
incurring massive costs, calculated by the World Bank to be 8 percent
of China's annual gross domestic product (GDP). These costs are
projected to double by 2020, resulting in some $400 billion in annual
health and environmental damages - if business as usual continues. But
this bleak reality and even darker future are being challenged by
Chinese leaders. They recently have enacted laws that, for the first
time ever, set as the nation's top priorities aggressive pursuit of
the 4Es (efficiency of energy, water, resources and land), pollution
prevention and waste reduction, and rapid growth of renewable energy.
China has set a goal of reducing the energy intensity per dollar of
GDP by 4 percent per year through 2010 (compared to the Bush
administration's goal of 1.8 percent per year, roughly business as
usual)."

"Are these ambitious laws and goals - which well exceed any U.S.
efforts - for real? More explicitly, don't the entrenched bureaucracy
and national industries with vested interests in capturing the $10
trillion of revenues from the planned construction of coal, large-
scale hydro and nuclear power plants pose an obvious barrier to the
success of these goals? "

In full:-

http://www.solartoday.org/2007/mar_apr07/china.htm

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