China has become a leader in clean energy efforts, outstripping the United States and Japan, and leaving Australia lagging far behind, a study commissioned by the Australia's Climate Institute showed on Tuesday.
China aims to reduce energy use per unit of gross domestic product (GDP) by 17.3 percent from 2011 to 2015 and by 16.6 percent from 2016 to 2020, the Shanghai Securities News reported today, citing Huang Li, an official at the National Energy Administration.
The astonishment that China's top energy official expressed over the United States' decision to investigate the country's clean energy policies must be widely shared by global proponents of a greener and more sustainable future.
China, which now relies on coal for around 70 percent of its energy use, will see rapid growth in the consumption of unconventional gas including coalbed methane, shale gas and flammable gas in the next decade, a senior expert said on Monday.
Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Ltd, one of the world's leading solar panel makers, is planning to increase its production capacity by at least four times to meet strong demand from overseas markets.
As part of China's western development strategy, Dunhuang, in the northwestern Gansu province, is booming as a "green energy" city with a solar power industry in the desert.
For China, coal has been both an economic driver and a source of pollution. However, the world's fastest growing economy will continue to rely upon coal in upcoming decades to fuel its economic growth; the difference is that it is also striving to do so in a greener fashion to keep its promise on emission cuts.
China's top economic planner, the National Development and Reform Commission, said Saturday it is drafting a development plan for the emerging industry of energy conservation and environmental protection.
China's environmental watchdog blacklisted Thursday eight cities for outdated sulphur removal processes at municipal sewage treatment plants and five power plants for fabricating smoke-gas monitoring data.
Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang on Tuesday called for efforts to intensify energy conservation, emission reduction and environmental protection to ensure clean, safe and sustainable development.