Briefing- Why China Is Acting on Clean Energy: Successes, Challenges, and Implications for U.S. Policies

Posted by ChinaFAQs on Oct 12, 2012

On October 12, ChinaFAQs and the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) held a briefing on Capitol Hill about the issues driving China’s renewable energy, energy efficiency, and climate policies. While China and the United States differ in important respects, they have some similar challenges and opportunities relating to energy. Both face economic, employment, energy security, and environmental challenges. The United States and China both cooperate and compete with each other on clean energy initiatives and technology.

Speakers discussed recent energy sector developments in China and bilateral relations, highlighting key factors driving China’s approach to clean energy and climate policy, and the resulting challenges and opportunities for U.S. efforts to develop clean energy and tackle climate change.

Speakers for this forum were:

Joanna Lewis, Assistant Professor of Science, Technology, and International Affairs, Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University
Presentation
Ailun Yang, Senior Associate, Major Emerging Economies Initiative, World Resources Institute
Blog on presentation
Stephen Munro, Policy and International Analyst, Bloomberg New Energy Finance
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Bob Simon, Staff Director, Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

Listen to an audio recording of this briefing

China has pursued an ambitious clean energy agenda and as a result is a leader in manufacturing and in the deployment of various clean energy technologies. China’s 12th five-year plan for development released in 2011 sets a goal of 9.5 percent of overall energy usage to come from renewable sources by 2015 and designates new low-carbon energy technologies as a strategic industry to spur economic growth. Additionally, the five-year plan calls for a 17 percent reduction in carbon intensity from 2010 levels by 2015. As part of its efforts to achieve this goal, China will introduce emissions trading schemes in seven cities and provinces starting in 2013.

For more information, contact Blaise Sheridan at bsheridan [at] eesi.org or (202) 662-1892.
or Luke Schoen, WRI ChinaFAQs Manager at lschoen [at] wri.org or (202) 729-7657.

Attachment	Size
Presentation by Joanna Lewis	2.55 MB
Presentation by Stephen Munro	700.81 KB

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June 12, 2013

Kelly Sims Gallagher comments on the potential for China to set a positive example on climate change, “China gets tough on carbon,” Nature

June 10, 2013

Ailun Yang on the challenges of China meeting its climate goals in, “China’s rich provinces outsource emissions to less developed areas,” The Guardian

May 24, 2013

Denise Mauzerall talks about the national dimensions of China’s air pollution problem in, “China’s Air Pollution: Is The Government Willing To Act?” NPR

April 21, 2013

Ailun Yang discusses the political challenges at the heart of China’s environmental issues and potential solutions in, “Environmental experts say China’s new leadership has to tackle pollution” South China Morning Post

April 19, 2013

Barbara Finamore comments on the effects of rising public awareness of environmental problems in, “Can social media clear air over China?” CNN

Experts

Experts

Name: Nathaniel Aden , World Resources Institute
Name: Edward Cunningham , Boston University
Name: Erica Downs , The Brookings Institution
Name: Meredydd Evans , Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Name: Barbara Finamore , Natural Resources Defense Council
Name: Jerry Fletcher , West Virginia University
Name: Sarah Forbes , World Resources Institute
Name: David Fridley , Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Name: Kelly Sims Gallagher , Tufts University
Name: Banning Garrett , Atlantic Council
Name: Melanie Hart , Center for American Progress
Name: Mikkal Herberg , The National Bureau of Asian Research
Name: Isabel Hilton , Chinadialogue
Name: Trevor Houser , Peterson Institute for International Economics
Name: S.T. Hsieh , Tulane University
Name: Angel Hsu , Yale Center for Environment and Policy
Name: Daniel Kammen , University of California, Berkeley
Name: Robert Kapp , Robert A. Kapp and Associates
Name: Albert Keidel , Atlantic Council
Name: David Kline , National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Name: Bo Kong , Johns Hopkins University
Name: Michael Levi , Council on Foreign Relations
Name: Mark Levine , Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
Name: Joanna Lewis , Georgetown University
Name: Kenneth Lieberthal , The Brookings Institution
Name: Haibing Ma , Worldwatch Institute
Name: Denise Mauzerall , Princeton University
Name: Irving Mintzer , Potomac Energy Fund
Name: Chris Nielsen , Harvard University
Name: Rose Niu , The Paulson Institute
Name: Stephanie Ohshita , Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Name: Huei Peng , University of Michigan
Name: Lynn Price , Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Name: David Pumphrey , Center for Strategic and International Studies
Name: JingJing Qian , Natural Resources Defense Council
Name: Rod Quinn , Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Name: Luke Schoen , Tsinghua-Berkeley Inter-University Program
Name: Deborah Seligsohn , World Resources Institute
Name: Monisha Shah , National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Name: Bo Shen , Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Name: Edward Steinfeld , Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Name: Jennifer Turner , Woodrow Wilson Center
Name: Alex Wang , UC Berkeley Boalt Law School
Name: Elizabeth Wilson , University of Minnesota
Name: Julian Wong , Green Leap Forward
Name: Ailun Yang , World Resources Institute
Name: Zhang Xiaoquan , The Nature Conservancy
Name: Nan Zhou , Lawrence Berkeley National Lab

Data Sources

BP Statistical Review of World Energy
Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (ORNL)
China Energy Databook (LBNL)
Key China Energy Statistics 2011 (LBNL)
Climate Analysis Indicator Tool (CAIT)
Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research (EDGAR)
Energy Information Administration (EIA)
International Energy Agency (IEA)
The World Bank
UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Convened by the World Resources Institute
tel: +1 202-729-7657	10 G Street NE Suite 800
fax: +1 202-729-7610	Washington, DC 20002, USA