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Kyoto urges sound growth
Yuan WuChina Daily  Updated: 2005-03-05 08:57

Italy will invest US$1.35 million in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region to help replant forests there.

The effort is to help the European Union nation achieve a reduction of harmful gases into the atmosphere that affect the environment and are believed to cause global warming, required by the Kyoto Protocol. The pact calls for emissions of so-called greenhouse gases to be cut by 5.2 per cent by 2012, compared to release levels in 1990.

If governments like Italy do not wish to shut down factories that heavily pollute, they are required to assist developing countries with energy-saving technologies or to construct projects that absorb harmful gases.

Such actions are a requirement of the Clean Development Mechanism in the Kyoto Protocol. Italy chose China as one of its partners to help fulfil the Italian commitment.

The project in Inner Mongolia will take place over a 3,000-hectare area.

The Kyoto Protocol came into effect on February 16, marking a decisive step forward in safeguarding the planet. The mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol provides more flexibility in meeting goals of emission reductions.

At the same time, they gave developing countries ways to benefit from developing know-how and systems to protect their environment.

Experts say China can benefit from the assistance by cutting its greenhouse gas emissions, developing environmentally-friendly sectors, improving its economic growth model and eventually realizing sustainable development.

Since 2002, some developed countries have begun to fulfil the mechanism's requirements by investing in projects such as wind power stations and planting forests in China.

Li Junfeng, an expert on the Kyoto mechanism at the National Development and Reform Commission, said that such projects can help China save hundreds of millions of yuan.

A research group at the Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering at Tsinghua University estimated China will attract another US$237 million in foreign investment under the mechanism. And the increment will reach US$475 million in 2010.

However, despite the large-scale input from developed countries, China's future co-operation with other countries on protecting the planet is not optimistic. Compared with what it will get from the protocol, China will shoulder more responsibilities.

In line with the protocol, the emission cuts will be carried on through three steps. Although China, as a developing country, has no quota for greenhouse gas reductions before 2012, after that it surely will have and be required to eventually reach the level for the developed countries.

Zhong Dajun, director of the Research Centre at Dajun Economic Observation and Research, said that with the effectiveness of the Kyoto Protocol, Japan and some European Union countries will probably transfer their high-consumption carbon-intensive industries to developing countries.

If China does not improve its current means of development but pursue high gross domestic product (GDP) at any price, Zhong said, it will be extremely hard for the country to reject such a transfer.

Generally, heavy industry projects, which require high consumption of resources, release large amounts of pollution and produce low-added values, carry on for at least 50 years, experts say.

After 50 years, a third phase of emission cuts regulated by the Kyoto Protocol will come into effect.

China, without exception, will then also have to live up to its responsibilities for reducing greenhouse gases required at that time.

Can China finish industrialization and enter an period as a knowledge-based industry? Or, will China find ways to clean those industries?

No one knows for sure now.

Chinese officials should put the immediate benefits aside and see further ahead as they attract investment for developing their economy, said Zhong.

China cannot copy the development models of Western countries by resorting to control measures only after its environment has seriously deteriorated.

Liu Deshun, a professor who studies climate change at Tsinghua University, maintains that no matter whether China has quotas to reduce emissions, it should begin to upgrade its economic growth model to an energy-saving and sustainable one without delay.

Liu suggests that some indices, such as energy-consumption for unit GDP or unit power generation, should be added into the nation's evaluation system of economic development for curbing the increase of greenhouse gas emissions. Indeed, some such pilot programmes, in which environmental costs are factored into GDP, are taking place across the nation now.

Signing the Kyoto Protocol means not only China's fulfillment of its responsibilities for environmental protection, but also joining the global endeavour to preserve the planet.

The protocol can help China and its enterprises strengthen their sense of saving costs and resources.

Superficially, greenhouse gas emissions are an issue of environmental protection. Actually, they are related to measures to develop efficiency in resource consumption.

The Chinese Government should work out clear requirements on environmental protection from different sectors.

And for domestic enterprises engaged in producing environmentally-friendly products, the Kyoto Protocol will bring additional commercial opportunities and create a favourable atmosphere for development.

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