My first exposure to China’s climate policy position was at COP 17 in Durban, So. Africa. There I asked a Chinese delegate if shale gas would be in the mix of transition fuels to wean China off coal in order to ameliorate the air pollution which continues to be a major contributor to a growing public health problem in eastern China. \u00a0His response was that shale gas was a minor resource in China and that coal would continue to be a major player in energy production. Clearly the implication was that China was not interested in resolving the air pollution that chokes major cities as much as the continuation of the pace of economic development that was rapidly bring China into the 21st century as a developed nation. \u00a0This was not what I was hoping for at a climate change conference.<\/p>\n
What a difference three years makes! \u00a0Since COP 17 and\u00a0over the past year\u00a0I have spent a month \u00a0exploring Yunnan Province in southwestern China looking at sustainability efforts through \u00a0alternative energy and climate change effects on agriculture and water availability. \u00a0While you see \u00a0the reason their CO2 emissions are so high (construction of high rises with no tenants, multi-lane highways to small towns, and long rail and highway overpasses to avoid farmers fields and the energy needed to build all this)\u00a0even in the relatively cleaner western parts of China, there is a sense that this pace of development is not sustainable if for not other reason then the environmental degradation it is causing to some very beautiful landscapes. Moreover a lingering drought has this mostly agrarian part of China reeling from lack of rain especially for rice production. \u00a0Climate change may be taking hold and the Chinese sense it.<\/p>\n
So what has changed? \u00a0While we are not sure exactly what the China’s strategy will be, it is clear they want to slow the use of coal to improve the air quality of the major cities at the very least. \u00a0We saw lots of reasons to believe that alternative, non-fossil fuel energy is being used especially at the personal level. \u00a0In the large cities and small villages as well solar hot water is the name of the game. \u00a0In Kunming, the provincial capital, every rooftop has a solar water heater; even apartment buildings string a dozen or two water heaters together to supply all the tenants. \u00a0Biogas has become a staple of rural energy life in place of burning scare wood. \u00a0And government officials at the local level are encouraging these changes.<\/p>\n
So what can we expect from the Chinese at COP 20 where they will be even a bigger player in the negotiations than they were in Durban? \u00a0It is hard to know as one is never quite sure what they will come up with and how they will approach climate change mitigation now. \u00a0But from talking to the people in Yunnan province including the scientists doing biomass and solar heating research it appears that the Chinese are beginning to see the value of slowing development, encouraging well established alternative energy sources at the local level, and becoming more concerned about a pending public health crisis in their megacities. \u00a0Will the Chinese find a way \u00a0not only to play nice with the other “kids” in Lima but also be a positive influence in solving global emissions problems? Stay tuned.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" My first exposure to China’s climate policy position was at COP 17 in Durban, So. Africa. There I asked a Chinese delegate if shale gas would be in the mix of transition fuels to wean China off coal in order to ameliorate the air pollution which continues to be a major contributor to a growing … <\/p>\n![\"Solar](\"http:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/cop20\/files\/2014\/09\/167.jpg\")
<\/a>