Huge wind farm in Xinjiang China. Image by Kiwi Mikex
Just as China and the US meet to talk climate change and emissions reduction targets, it seems that China has now begun to publicly express its desire to match Europe by producing 20% of its energy from renewable resources by 2020. Together China and the US account for about 40% of world greenhouse gas emissions, so their negotiations are important to say the least.
As this article suggests, China’s new goal “represents a direct challenge to Europe’s claims to world leadership in the field”. It has also been suggested that this may represent a game changing moment in the area of clean tech. China will soon release a “new energy” program that could actually move the country past Europe and the US into a position as a global leader in renewable energy and low carbon technology.
It’s clear that there is much work to be done by many nations, and a decent global agreement to be negotiated at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December. However, it’s amazing to think that we may be on the verge of a race between major polluting nations to become the cleanest and greenest in the eyes of the world, with countires vying for position as the leader in clean tech and renewable energy development. Now that is one arms race that would be well worth having!
