Low-carbon Economy --the Inevitable Choice to Achieve Sustainable Development

Low-carbon Economy --the Inevitable Choice to Achieve Sustainable
Development
SHI Baojuan, ZHENG Zuting
College of Economics &Management, Hebei Polytechnic University, Tangshan, P.R.China, 063000
[email protected]
Abstract: Although there are no specific stipulations about China's emission reduction in “Kyoto
Protocol”, China attaches importance to the global environment and pays attention to the global climate
change. China has actively drawn up and implemented a series of national policies to reduce carbon
emission, and has carried on the related discussions about important issues and made important progress
in developing low-carbon economy. However, China has considerable barriers to develop low-carbon
economy in natural resources, industrialization stage and technical conditions. To solve all these
problems, the article proposes some suggestions: China should increase the R&D investment in
low-carbon technologies and low-carbon products; and China should establish the policies and
regulations consistent with low-carbon economic development.
Keywords: China, low-carbon economy, recycling economy, countermeasures
1.
Introduction
Global warming is the severe challenge for human survival and development. With the continuous
increase of global population and economic scale, the environmental problems brought by energy use
have been taken notice of gradually. Besides the hazards of smoke, photochemical smog and acid rain,
the global warming caused by increased carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere has brought a
series of problems. To solve the problems, many new concepts have emerged such as low-carbon
economy, low-carbon technologies, low-carbon lifestyle, low-carbon city, low-carbon society, etc. The
transform of energy, economy and values may be a new way towards the ecological civilization. It
abandons the traditional growth pattern of the 20th century, applies innovative technology and
innovation system of new century directly, and realizes sustainable development through the low-carbon
economy mode and low-carbon lifestyle.
2.
The Concept and Characteristics of the Low-carbon Economy
2.1 The concept of the low-carbon economy
In 2003 the British Government published “Energy White Paper” and proposed the low-carbon economy
for the first time, which attracted wide attention all over the world. The so-called low-carbon economy
is an economic development pattern, guided by the sustainable development concept; through various
ways of technical innovation, system innovation, industrial restructuring, new energies exploitation, etc;
with the possible minimal consumption of carbon, petroleum and possible minimal emissions of
greenhouse gas; to achieve both economic and social development and ecological environment
protection together. Low-carbon economy considers both low-carbon and economy: the low-carbon
means that the economic development must reduce or stop the dependence on carbon-based fuels to the
minimum, and achieve energy use transition and economic transition; the economy means that the
stablity and the sustainability of the economic growth should be kept on the basis and in the process of
the energy use transformation, and this concept can exclude neither the development and output
maximum nor the long-term economic growth.
2.2 The characteristics of the low-carbon economy
2.2.1 It is economic
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That “low-carbon economy is economic” has two meanings: the one is that the low-carbon economy
should develop in accordance with market economy principles and mechanisms; the other is that
low-carbon economy should not lead to the decrease of people's living conditions and welfare. In other
words, the low-carbon economy objects to the extravagance and excessive energy consumption, and
consents to the gradual increase of the people's living standards. Generally speaking, the development of
low-carbon economy can not let the human return to farming community.
2.2.2 It is technical
Technicality of the low-carbon economy means that through technological progress we can both
improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions intensity.
Improving energy efficiency requires that under the same energy consumption the services that people
enjoy should not be reduced; reducing gas emissions intensity requires that under the same green house
gas emissions people’s living conditions and welfare should not be reduced. All these need to be realized
by the R&D of energy efficiency technologies and greenhouse gas reduction technologies.
2.2.3 It is targeted
The target of developing low-carbon economy is to keep the greenhouse gas concentrations in the
atmosphere in a relative stable level; to make the greenhouse gas emissions not cause global warming to
influence human’s existence and development; to realize the harmonious development between the
human and the nature.
3.
The Necessity of Developing the Low-carbon Economy
3.1 The development of low-carbon economy is favorable for changing China’s economic
development pattern
China has adopted resources, energy-intensive economic growth pattern for a long time, and the
traditional growth pattern has not been changed thoroughly. Resources consumption and the
environment problem caused by high-carbon economy model make the whole society suffer great losses
in the production, environment, economy and other aspects. In the background of the global financial
crisis, the carbon emissions are becoming new green barriers of developed countries to restrict the
exports of our traditional superior products. Therefore, if we can’t change the economic development
pattern promptly, the resources and energy, the environment and the society may be all in difficulties.
The development of low-carbon economy and the change from high-carbon economy to low-carbon
economy are the effective ways to realize the transition of our country’s economic development pattern
from extensive form to intensive form.
3.2 The development of low-carbon economy is favorable for the optimization of China’s energy
consumption structure
Although China's energy structure is becoming optimized gradually, Chinese resource conditions
—“rich in coal, less in gas and short of petroleum” result in coal-based “high-carbon” energy structure,
and the limited choices of low-carbon energy. At present, China’s energy structure is still the
high-carbon structure: fossil fuels accounts for 92.7% of China’s overall energy structure, coal of high
carbon emissions accounts for 68.7%, petroleum accounts for 21.2%. In 2007 in China’s electricity
power installed capacity, thermal power installed capacity is 554 million kilowatts, accounting for
77.7%; hydropower installed capacity is 148 million kilowatts, accounting for 20.4%; nuclear power
installed capacity is 9.068 million kilowatts, accounting for 1.3%; wind power and other new energy
capacity is more than 600 million kilowatts, accounting for only 0.8%. It is estimated that the burning of
every ton of coal will produce 4 tons of carbon dioxide gas, producing 35% carbon dioxide gas more
than petroleum and 75% carbon dioxide gas more than natural gas per ton. In 2007 the coal accounts for
27.8% in the global primary energy consumption. The proportion of coal consumption is less than 20%
in the developed countries, while the proportion of coal consumption in China is up to 69.4% which is
far exceeding the world average. According to “United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
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Change” and “Kyoto Protocol” , the carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions rights have
become resources; actually in international negotiations on climate change the identification and
decomposition of emission reduction index aims at obtaining emissions rights.
3.3 The development of low-carbon economy is favorable for promoting the smooth construction
of China’s conservation-oriented society
Based on resources and environment carrying capacity, the construction of China’s
conservation-oriented society aims at improving the utilization efficiency of the resources and the
environment; achieving the maximum economic and social benefits with minimal resource consumption
and pollution emissions; ultimately promoting the harmony between the socio-economic and natural
ecosystem; realizing the comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable development. This is consistent
with the development of low-carbon economy. According to resources elements including natural
resources and environmental capacity, in the international system, through developing low-carbon
technologies and industrialization, the development of low-carbon economy means to achieve lower
energy consumption, higher energy efficiency, lower carbon emissions and even carbon capture and
storage to promote the smooth construction of China’s conservation-oriented society and the
improvement of international competitiveness.
3.4 The development of low-carbon economy is favorable for constructing our innovation-oriented
country
The development of low-carbon economy is to promote technological innovation and institutional
innovation, makes the low-carbon technologies which is in line with the world’s development trend
emerge and widely used, such as energy efficiency technologies, energy conservation technologies,
renewable energy technologies, greenhouse gas reduction technology, etc. At present, there is a large gap
in policy measures of the low carbon technologies and in the development of low-carbon economy
between China and the developed countries, especially in the key technologies in the field of new energy
and renewable energy, and the energy use efficiency in industrial production and resident consumption.
Therefore, the technology and policy of the introduction, digestion, absorption and re-innovation can
contribute to the achievement of developing low-carbon technology innovation and institutional
innovation, and also have important practical significance in promoting the construction of our
innovation-oriented country.
4.
The Countermeasures of Developing the Low-carbon Economy
4.1 Optimize the industrial structure and develop low-carbon industry
The proportion of our country’s primary, secondary, tertiary industries still remains 1:5:4, and the
industrial structure is serious irrational: the economic growth is too dependent on secondary industry;
the proportion of heavy chemical industry is higher; the proportion of low energy consumption tertiary
industry and service industry is lower and the development of the tertiary industries is inadequate. In
2006, the energy China consumed in unit GDP (1 U.S. dollar) is 11.5 times of Japan consumed, 7.7
times of Germany and France, 4.3 times of the United States. Therefore, China needs to develop high
efficient energy and low-carbon emission industries:
raise the industry entry standards and avoid
lasting negative impact;
adjust industry structure and make the profit curve of the industry and
products extend to both ends;
develop high-tech industries and modern services and transform the
traditional industries such as iron and steel, cement industry with high-technology;
bring the
development of low-carbon economy into national industrial revitalization plan and create conditions for
the low-carbon development.
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4.2 Develop the recycling economy and focus on industrial energy conservation and
emission-reduction
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Both the recycling economy and the low-carbon economy are popular economic models. Based on
market mechanisms, through the establishment of policy countermeasures and the development of
science and technology, they promote the transformation from high input, high consumption and high
emissions, low effective socio-economic model to low input, low consumption, low emission, high
efficiency model, and they bring the society into a virtuous cycle of sustainable development. The basic
path of the recycling economy and the low-carbon economy is fully consistent. The energy conservation
and emission-reduction is an effective way to develop recycling economy: give priority to reduction;
start from reducing production chain; promote resource recycling and efficient energy use; turn the
waste into the wealth; change the harm into the good. The development of energy conservation and
emission-reduction should focus on industrial energy conservation, which is decided by our
development stage and the proportion of industrial energy consumption.
4.3 Optimize energy structure and develop alternative energy and renewable energy.
The development of low-carbon economy demand that we should adjust energy structure reasonably,
optimize the ways of using energy, improve energy use efficiency, and develop alternative energy and
renewable energy actively. In the near future, China should regard energy conservation and clean use of
coal as the key to continuously improve energy use efficiency, and accelerate the research and
development of new energy, renewable energy, low-carbon technologies and sequestration technologies;
in the medium term China should increase the proportion of renewable energy, and promote the
application of hydrogen fuel cells and other new energy technologies, carbon capture technologies and
sequestration technologies; in the long term China should establish sustainable energy system which
takes renewable energy, clean coal, advanced nuclear energy as the main body. In addition to saving
energy and enhancing energy efficiency, we should also accelerate the development of clean alternative
energy, the energy of solar, hydro, wind, nuclear, geothermal, and other new energy sources.
4.4 Set up carbon funds and encourage the research and development of low-carbon technology
Carbon funds are used for investment to promote the research and development of low-carbon
technologies, and to accelerate technology commercialization. China's carbon funds should be built,
based on government investment, through multi-channel in fund-raising, in enterprise operation mode.
Carbon fund companies can find carbon-neutral technology through a variety of ways, assess their
emission reduction potential and technological maturity degree, encourage technological innovation,
develop and cultivate the market of low carbon technologies to promote long-term emission reductions.
The government should strengthen the independent innovation ability of the enterprises, encourage
enterprises to develop low-carbon technologies and low-carbon products, integrate the existing
low-carbon technologies in the market, and promote and apply the above technologies quickly.
4.5 Formulate relevant policies and form low-carbon development long-term mechanism
China has formulated a series of laws and regulations, such as “Energy Conservation Law”, “Clean
Production Promotion Law”, “Renewable Energy Law”, “Recycling Economy Promotion Law” and
“Climate Change National Assessment law”, etc. All these laws and regulations have made institutional
arrangements for promoting the development of recycling economy. And they play an important role in
promoting the development of China’s low-carbon economy, and in promoting the building of energy
conservation society and environmental friendly society. However, the Government must also clearly
understand that there is gap between the current legislation and the perfect low-carbon economy
legislative requirements. At present, China should vigorously strengthen the legislation relating to
low-carbon economy, and formulate and perfect low-carbon economy legal system. At the same time,
we should formulate specialized laws as soon as possible relating to environmental and resource field,
such as “Environmental Protection Law”, “Environmental Impact Assessment Law”, “Air Pollution
Prevention Law”, “Coal Law”, “Electricity Power Law”, etc; we should also formulate relevant
regulations to speed up the building of resources recycling system, such as “Electricity Conservation
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Management Practices”, “Petroleum Conservation Management Practices”, “Building Energy
Conservation Regulations”, “Various Waste Recycling Regulations”, etc to guarantee the effective
running of low-carbon economy.
4.6 Propagate and educate extensively and raise the level of public awareness
Currently, there are still some misconception and misunderstanding on the low carbon economy. The
public education about low-carbon economy can resolve a variety of thinking errors to form the thinking
mode of developing low-carbon economy; can also raise the national awareness of social responsibility
on energy conservation and emissions reduction to form initiatives behavior and supervision
consciousness in the whole society; and can create a good social atmosphere. Meanwhile, we should
start from the primary and secondary education to improve the overall national quality of energy
conservation and emission-reduction, to strengthen the codes of conduct, to form the social environment
to promote low-carbon economic development.
5.
Conclusion
Generally speaking, in the development of low-carbon economy in China at present, there are both
opportunities and challenges, but more opportunities than challenges. For a large developing country
like ours, challenge is both force and impetus. Only firmly grasping the opportunities, facing challenges
bravely, turning challenges into opportunities, can our country accelerate the pace of development to
maintain comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable development in the new century global
competition.
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