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Civic Exchange Book proposes Asia as “Game-Changer” in Climate Change Negotiations

Nov 10th, 2008
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New Energy FinanceMichael Liebreich – 10 November 2008

Book Launch

HONG KONG, 10 November 2008 (Monday) – Public policy think tank Civic Exchange released a new book: “Climate Change Negotiations: Can Asia Change the Game?”, which argues that Asia should take the initiative to be a “game-changer” in upcoming global climate change negotiations in Poznan and Copenhagen. The book offers a range of new Asia-based initiatives which might support this process. In particular, developing Asian countries could use their national energy efficiency and sustainable development plans and targets to demonstrate initial commitments to greenhouse gas reductions.

Christine Loh of Civic Exchange outlined a proposed ‘Prosperity Round’ of climate negotiations: “Two vital issues that are needed for climate negotiations to proceed meaningfully: first, the voice of Planet Earth needs to be heard and this can only be done by including regular briefings of the negotiators of the latest science focus on ecosystems changes that are taking place and the urgency to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions; and second, as the world needs to transit out of its fossil fuels-based industrial structure, a new, low-carbon, development path must be created.”

Special guest at the launch, Li Shaoyi of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) introduced ESCAP’s strategies in balancing energy security for Asia and the global concern of climate change: “Pursuing a low carbon development pathway is an effective and probably the most effective way to break the energy security and climate impasse faced by Asia and the Pacific region”, said Mr. Li.

By video link from London, Michael Liebreich of New Energy Finance discussed the importance of low-carbon technologies and recent developments on the financing of low-carbon technologies.

The book is the product of a year-long collaboration between Civic Exchange and the Singapore Institute of International Affairs (SIIA), which began with a background paper on Asian climate change policy “Climate Change Negotiations: An Asian Stir Fry of Options” published in December 2007. Building on that first publication, in May 2008 Civic Exchange and SIIA invited experts from within Asia and around the world to present their perspective on Asia’s key issues in the post-Kyoto agreement; culminating in this new publication.

(more…)

Bikes Boom In Taiwan As Belts Tighten

Nov 8th, 2008
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Amber Wang – SCMP | Updated on Nov 08, 2008

For the past six months Wayne Hsu has been cycling 45 minutes to his office every day, which he says gets him off to an energetic start and, more importantly, slashes his monthly petrol bill.
Hsu, an airline sales representative in northern Taoyuan county, is among a growing number of people in Taiwan opting for bikes over cars amid rising inflation and a slowing economy.

“Cycling is an inexpensive way to exercise and I’ve encouraged my colleagues and even my boss to follow my lead,” he says.

The new-found devotion to cycling is a great boon for bicycle manufacturers on the island, which was once the world’s leading exporter but has watched business fall since the mid-1990s due to dumping charges and relocations of factories to China where production costs are much lower.

China now is the world’s major supplier of low-cost bicycles, while Taiwan retains its edge in high-end products such as racing-style, mountain and folding bikes with an average price tag of US$222, according to the economics ministry.

Exports reached a record high last year of US$1.05 billion with 4.75 million bikes sold abroad, while this year looks set to break that record with the export of 2.76 million bikes totalling US$635 million in the first six months, government figures showed.

There’s no official data on how many bicycles are sold locally, but industry watchers estimate around 1 million were sold last year on the island of 23 million people.

“Business was booming in 2007 and this year looks to be the best,” says Jeffrey Sheu, spokesman for the world’s leading bicycle maker, Giant Manufacturing.

“Our monthly revenue hit a historical high in August, and September looks like setting a new record.”

Giant’s August and September group revenue rose 27 per cent and 35 per cent year on year to NT$3.91 billion (HK$925 million) and NT$4.12 billion respectively, while revenue is projected to increase for the whole of the year by at least 25 per cent to NT$40 billion.

“Our staff are constantly working overtime to meet the ever-growing demand,” says Sheu.

Orders have poured in for Giant products until the middle of next year, prompting the addition of a new assembly line at its central Taichung base to boost annual production to 1 million bikes from the current 600,000.

As inflation soars and financial markets tumble, Taiwan’s bicycle manufacturers and other businesses catering to the thrifty are thriving as the public becomes increasingly eager to economise.

Pacific Cycles, a Taoyuan-based exporter, began selling its signature folding bikes at home in 2005, and since then they’ve become popular with city dwellers for their lightweight and convenient features.

“Our domestic sales are estimated to increase by 100 per cent this year, compared with 10 to 30 per cent in the past,” despite a 66 per cent price hike to NT$50,000 per bike, says marketing manager Max Yeh.

The folding bike, fondly dubbed “xiao che” in Putonghua, or “little foldable” by fans, weighs about 10kg.

The company will soon unveil a second plant, Yeh says.

Ed Lu, an avid fan of the folding bike in the capital Taipei, says cycling to work helps him relax but he added that he’d prefer cleaner air for the ride.

“If more people start cycling instead of driving, we would be able to improve the air quality while reducing traffic jams,” he says. Lu reflects a growing environmental awareness that bicycle manufacturers say has contributed to the growth in Taiwan.

“The public realise that driving less helps reduce air pollution to protect the environment against global warming,” says Giant’s Sheu.

Taiwan’s government has also promised to expand paths, in a bid to promote cycling as part of its “green policy” aimed at saving energy and reducing carbon emissions.

“The market is likely to peak this year … but cycling requires persistence and it’s restricted by weather conditions,” he says. “We hope more people will cycle regularly as a way of life and not just do so because it’s trendy.”

Agence France-Presse

Economy May Affect Greenhouse Gas Targets

Nov 8th, 2008
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Stephen Chen – SCMP | Updated on Nov 08, 2008

China would have a difficult task in overcoming economic hurdles to meet its greenhouse gas emissions targets, a senior central government official said yesterday. Miao Xu, deputy minister of industry and information technology, said in Shanghai that the nation was facing a lot of unexpected adversities this year from home and abroad, making the task of cutting emissions and pollution extremely challenging, Xinhua reported.

The country’s goal, set by the 11th Five-Year Plan, was to cut energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product by 20 per cent in 2010 and emissions of major pollutants, such as sulfur dioxide and airborne dust, by 10 per cent from 2006.

But even with a thriving economy in the plan’s first two years, the country failed to keep up with the annual benchmarks and, because of a disappointing performance in the first half of this year, will probably miss the mark again.

Those failures would make the job difficult, if not impossible in the next two years, Mr Miao said.

To make things worse, an unprecedented blizzard and earthquake hit the nation this year before the world’s biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression began.

He said that to meet the emissions targets in the plan’s remaining two years, the country would have to reduce energy consumption by 18 per cent through industrial upgrades, including rapidly adopting some of the world’s most advanced manufacturing technology.

Mainland enterprises, from steel to power and light industry, have invested heavily in energy efficiency, mostly through funds raised in a booming stock market and foreign investment.

But mainland stock markets have dropped by more than 70 per cent this year, and many companies have reported sharp falls in profit, and even losses.

Gross domestic product in the first three quarters dropped to 9.9 per cent, a 2.3 percentage-point decline from last year, recording the first growth rate below 10 per cent in five years.

The growth rate of large industries was cut by more than 3 percentage points, and investment in infrastructure fell by 10 per cent.

It would be difficult to imagine that, under such economic circumstances, business would have much incentive to take part in the global anti-climate-warming campaign, some environmental experts said.

Even so, the government was considering dramatically increasing public investment to meet the emissions target, Huang Li , deputy director of the National Energy Bureau’s energy conservation and scientific equipment department, told Xinhua in Chengdu yesterday.

The State Council had discussed a proposal to nearly double the targeted nuclear capacity to 7,000 MW by 2020, Mr Huang said.

Rich Nations Should Ditch ‘Unsustainable’ Lifestyle

Nov 7th, 2008
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Reuters in Beijing | Updated on Nov 07, 2008

Premier Wen Jiabao said rich nations must abandon their “unsustainable lifestyle” to fight climate change and expand help to poor nations bearing the brunt of worsening droughts and rising sea levels.

Mr Wen told the opening of a conference on Friday the financial crisis was no reason for rich nations to delay fighting global warming.

“As the global financial crisis spreads and worsens, and the world economy slows down apparently, the international community must not waver in its determination to tackle climate change,” Xinhua news agency quoted him as saying.

The two-day meeting is to push Beijing’s call for rich nations to fund a huge infusion of greenhouse gas-cutting technology for developing countries. But foreign officials at the meeting raised doubts about Beijing’s proposal, which could stoke contention over who pays and how much.

China is widely believed to be the biggest emitter of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas from industry, power plants and vehicles lifting global temperatures. But Wen threw the onus back on rich nations, with their much higher emissions per person and long history of polluting the air.

“Developed countries shoulder the duty and responsibility to tackle climate change and should alter their unsustainable lifestyle,” he told the meeting.

Mainland officials have said wealthy nations should divert as much as 1 per cent of their economic worth to paying for clean technology transfers and helping the Third World overcome damage from the rising temperatures bringing more heatwaves and droughts, more powerful storms and rising sea levels.

This would mean a total US$284 billion a year if members of the Organisation for Cooperation and Economic Development (OECD) paid up based on the size of their economies last year.

Over 190 nations have agreed to seek a new treaty to curtail greenhouse gases from industry, vehicles and land-clearing. China wants technology aid to feature in that pact, which negotiators hope to seal in Copenhagen late next year.

Climate officials gathered in Beijing welcomed China’s growing activism on the issue but questioned its proposal, especially with an economic downturn draining coffers.

“It is undeniable that the financial crisis will have an impact on the climate change negotiations,” said Yvo de Boer, who heads the UN Climate Change Secretariat.

“If we go to citizens under the current circumstances… and say ‘I’m increasing your tax burden in order to pay for climate policy’, that might not go down very well,” he told reporters.

Denmark’s Climate Change Minister, Connie Hedegaard, who is helping guide negotiations leading to Copenhagen, said other governments wanted to see what the mainland offers in future emissions goals in return for help and big emissions cuts by rich nations.

Few rich nations have lived up to vows to give a sliver of their GDPs to development aid, giving little hope for any similar approach to climate change, she said in an interview.

“I think we will not be able to do this at an adequately big scale unless we also activate market forces,” she said of technology transfers.

Pollution-Reduction Goals Still Far Away, Admits Official

Oct 29th, 2008
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Agence France-Presse in Beijing, Updated on Oct 29, 2008

Mainland is having trouble meeting energy efficiency and pollution-reduction goals, but the government remains determined to reach the targets, a top official said on Wednesday.

Vice-Minister of Planning Xie Zhenhua also said Beijing will consider controls on the greenhouse gas emissions of its worst polluting industries if the rich world will hand over clean technology to keep poorer nations competitive.

China has a target of reducing the amount of energy it consumes per unit of gross domestic product by 20 per cent over the five years to 2010.

It has also vowed to reduce sulphur dioxide emissions, a key air pollutant, and chemical oxygen demand (COD), a measure of water pollution, by 10 per cent each from 2005 levels.

“Our work over the next three years will be very difficult, but the government will not waver in assessing the situation in accordance with these goals,” Mr Xie said. Mr Xie also signalled Beijing’s first nod of approval to the “sectoral approach” to containing industrial emissions at the launch of a policy paper on how the country plans to tackle global warming.

Mainland officials have previously denounced the “sectoral approach” as a scheme for rich, high-tech nations to gain a competitive edge by imposing extra costs on rising challengers in sectors, such as steel, concrete and power.

But Beijing is pushing rich nations to transfer more pollution-cutting technology to poorer nations undergoing emissions-intensive industrialisation, and Mr Xie suggested a focus on polluting industries could satisfy both sides.

“China believes that using a sectoral approach is an important measure for implementing emissions reductions in every country. We can decide this for industries with high emissions levels and then transform the technology that these industries use to cut emissions,” Mr Xie said.

“But in whose hands is this technology? Most of it is in the hands of developed nations. If they take this technology and give it to developing nations, it will without a doubt be able to resolve a large amount of the greenhouse gas emission problem.”

Varying proposals for a sectoral approach to curbing emissions involve setting fixed caps, broader reduction guidelines or incentive systems for firms.

Mr Xie did not delve into such specifics or say which industries could be targeted.

But he stressed that up to a quarter of the country’s emissions bill came from manufacturing goods for export, and urged consumer nations to shoulder some responsibility for this pollution.

“Because we are at the low end of the industrial chain, transferred emissions from goods manufactured from exports stand at between 14.5 per cent and 24 per cent of the total.”

“We are footing other people’s bills,” added Mr Xie, who is vice-chairman of the energy and climate-change policy making National Development and Reform Commission.

Mr Xie said he would like rich nations to spend the equivalent of 0.7 per cent of their economy each year on funding cleaner technology to help poor countries skip the dirtiest phase of industrialisation and urbanisation.

He cited the complicated transformers and bearings used in wind turbines as an example of a key technology that could help mainland rapidly expand an already booming sector that makes a clear contribution to cutting emissions.

Mainland Firms To Increase Emission Reduction Projects – Future Of Carbon Credit Trade Dim As Global Pact Nears End

Oct 2nd, 2008
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SCMP, Eric Ng – Oct 02, 2008

The mainland is expected to supply more than half the credits for greenhouse-gas emission trading worldwide until 2012, but the future of such trade remains uncertain as no agreement has been hammered out for when the current global pact expires.

Emission reduction projects on the mainland would cut 116.83 million tonnes of carbon dioxide discharged in each of the next four years, or 52.17 per cent of the global total, according to United Nations data. That represents a sharp increase from 16.61 million tonnes in May 2006, or 30.67 per cent of the global total.

So far, 1,551 projects have been approved by Beijing while 269 projects have also been accepted by and registered at the UN, accounting for 23 per cent of the global total.

Developers of pollution-cutting projects earn so-called carbon credits that can be sold to polluters in countries with mandatory emission limits, primarily in Europe and Japan, which are committed to reduction targets.

Annual greenhouse-gas emission credits from the mainland would amount to more than US$2.5 billion under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), according to a report by World Wide Fund for Nature on China’s emission reduction credits market.

Beijing also collects a levy from a percentage of the credits depending on the type of project.

Feng Shengbo, an associate researcher at National Development and Reform Commission Energy Research Institute’s CDM Project Management Centre, said the government had so far collected more than 100 million yuan (HK$112.48 million), which would be used to help the nation combat climate change.

The most popular projects on the mainland include the replacement of ozone-depleting refrigerants, wind and hydro power generation and energy efficiency improvement.

Of the emission reduction volume in projects approved by the central government, about 23 per cent or 27.45 million tonnes came from the five national state-owned power generation firms.

China and India are among the developing nations that have ratified the Kyoto Protocol, a global pact on greenhouse gas reduction, but they are only required to report their emissions and are not committed to any targets.

The United States rejects emission limits set by protocol, but it is widely expected the country, together with China and India, which are among the world’s largest polluters, will commit to some form of reduction after the protocol expires in 2012.

However, Merrill Lynch director of Asia-Pacific commodities solutions Jennifer Jiang Hongbo said uncertainties over the regulatory environment after the protocol expired and Beijing’s ban on credit sales beyond that meant no such credits had been sold so far.

“This has brought valuation challenges for such trade,” she said. “In addition, the sellers prefer to save the credits for themselves ahead of potential emission reduction commitments by China.”

Pollution Is A Threat To Delta’s Development, Vice-minister Says

Sep 13th, 2008
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Shi Jiangtao in Shenzhen, SCMP – Sep 13, 2008

Severe pollution in the Pearl River Delta is threatening to hurt the area’s social and economic development, a top mainland environmental official has warned.

Pan Yue, vice-minister of environmental protection, said although the delta region remained an economic powerhouse, contributing more than 10 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product last year, it had also become one of the mainland’s most polluted areas.

“The Pearl River Delta has paid a great price in terms of environment and resources for the economic miracles it has created,” Mr Pan told the Green China Forum in Shenzhen yesterday.

The forum was co-hosted by the Hong Kong Business Environment Council and the China Environmental Culture Promotion Association.

Guangdong’s emissions of sulfur dioxide – the main cause of acid rain – last year accounted for 5 per cent of the country’s total emissions while chemical oxygen demand, a measurement of water pollution, was also high, Mr Pan said.

Guangdong’s vice-governor, Lin Musheng, admitted that air pollution in the region, including Hong Kong and Macau, had been getting worse.

Although authorities have spent more than 30 billion yuan (HK$34 billion) on cleaning up the Pearl River, pollution at the river’s mouth shows little sign of abating.

Lax regulation, poor law enforcement and powerful interest groups are often blamed for the mainland’s widespread pollution.

“The environment of the Pearl River Delta is at a critical juncture,” Mr Pan warned. “Pollution problems will put a heavy strain on the socio-economic development of the entire region.”

The environmental official also questioned the concentration of energy-intensive and heavily polluting industries in the region.

According to Mr Pan, Guangdong and Guangxi had made separate plans to develop chemical, steel and papermaking industries along the coast of Beibu Bay.

“Have they gone through an environmental assessment of the region? Do we know whether the environment has the capacity to afford such redundant development?” he asked.

He said the campaign to control pollution in Guangdong, home to the country’s first special economic zones, would have a big impact on other regions struggling to find a balance between economic growth and environmental protection.

Fan Gang, director of the National Economics Research Institute and a central bank adviser, said the price of global competitiveness and soaring economic growth was the huge environmental costs that now had to be dealt with.

Professor Fan said mainland enterprises should not pin their hopes on avoiding their environmental responsibilities.

“A key step for the government is to increase penalties for enterprises that break the law,” he said.

Residents Fed Up With ‘Toxic’ Centre

Sep 1st, 2008
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Raymond Li – SCMP – Updated on Sep 01, 2008

Hundreds of angry residents who live near a trash processing centre in Beijing’s Chaoyang district took to the streets on Friday to protest against toxic emissions, a resident said yesterday.

The protest came as residents failed to have their grievances heard after being exposed to foul air and toxic emissions for several years.

The rubbish processing centre, including a landfill site and incinerator, has been running since 2002, but local government gave building approval for many residential estates nearby, particularly affordable housing projects for low-income families.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been exposed to suspected carcinogenic emissions from the incinerator and foul air. One village is 600 metres from the site.

Zhang Xueyou, a resident from the Wan Xiang Xin Tian estate, said the smell was particularly bad on rainy or overcast days.

Protestors wearing face masks stopped several trucks carrying trash into the centre as police watched. Mr Zhang, who joined the demonstration, said the protest had been peaceful and he was not aware of anyone being detained by police. “We were simply there to express our disapproval of the management of the centre as they have the know-how to tackle the problem,” he said.

Residents were disappointed as authorities, including the director of district, who met residents during the protest, had failed to outline any action they would take against the pollution, he said.

Ozone, Particle Pollution To Be Included In Monitoring

Aug 5th, 2008
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China Daily – 5 Aug 2008

China is likely to start monitoring ozone and particle pollution from next year to keep anti-pollution campaigns going strong after the Olympics, an environmental official said on Sunday.

Fan Yuansheng, of the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP), said the two pollutants had caused great concern, and the MEP was making technical preparations to monitor them.

“We should be able to start regular monitoring of ozone and PM2.5 (particle matter) next year, which would lead to measures to deal with them,” Fan told a press conference.

He was speaking in response to reports that China’s environmental authorities had failed to include fine particles and ozone into their pollution measurements, resulting in an ignorance of the health risks caused by the pollutants.

“Fine particles” are tiny solid particles no larger than 2.5 micrometers in diameter. Health experts believe they are unhealthy to breathe, and have been associated with fatal illnesses and other serious health problems.

Colorless ozone is also believed to cause respiratory problems and affect lungs.

There have been worries that the air in Beijing, which will host the summer Olympic Games in three days, may be unhealthy for some athletes.

China has taken drastic measures to curb pollution, such as closing factories around Beijing and ordering half of 3.3 million cars in Beijing off the roads, to try to clear the skies during the Olympics.

“These measures have been effective so far,” said Fan, director of the MEP’s department of pollution control.

Fan refuted allegations that China’s air pollution standards were more lenient than World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines.

Standards that China had been using to control four major air pollutants – sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and particles – followed the WHO’s “phase one” guideline issued in 2005, he said.

The WHO allows developing countries like China to begin from this guideline to eventually reach its stricter final goals, he said.

Fan said measures adopted to reduce pollution in Beijing for its hosting of the summer Olympics would stay in force after the event.

“Most of these measures are long-term ones and will remain in place after the Games. Not all the temporary measures will be retained after the Games, but they may provide models for our future work,” he said.

Many Beijing residents are worried air pollution could worsen after the Olympics, with factories reopened, construction resumed and traffic no longer restricted.

Fan argued the Olympics would leave environmental legacies in Beijing and China, which has spent billions of yuan to clean its environment.

Xinhua

Hong Kong Factories Not Fleeing Dongguan

Jul 24th, 2008
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HK factories not fleeing Dongguan, says official

Chloe Lai in Dongguan – Updated on Jul 24, 2008 – SCMP

The Dongguan party secretary yesterday denied the city had seen an exodus of Hong Kong factories because of the unfavourable business environment created by the yuan’s rise, a new labour law which has added to their costs, and environmental charges.

Liu Zhigeng also denied suggestions that the authorities were forcing labour intensive, low-tech and highly polluting industries to leave. He said the number of new factories and the number of those either closing or moving was consistent with previous years.

“Over the years, there are always about 4,000 new factories setting up in Dongguan and some 700 either closing down or moving out,” he said.

“The number in the first half year is consistent with previous years. It is natural, businesses moving in and out.”

Speaking to a group of Hong Kong media representatives, the party chief said Dongguan had to upgrade industries to become high-end and environmentally friendly.

However, he stressed the city would rely on economic incentives rather than administrative measures to achieve the goal. “We will do it step by step. We will experiment by implementing a pilot scheme.”

Mr Liu also said the authorities were discussing operations upgrades with low-end and labour-intensive factories. Economic incentives include using 20 billion yuan (H$22.9 billion) to set up 34 sewage treatment plants and four incinerators to reduce environmental costs for the enterprises.

Officials have been ordered to improve their communications with Hong Kong and other enterprises and to cut government charges.

The party chief also said that since most of the Hong Kong enterprises were large-scale, they had not been badly hit by the unfavourable business environment.

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