China’s development of clean energy sources continues apace (Image: Zhao Ge/Xinhua/Eyevine)

China is fast becoming a world leader in the fight against climate change.

In the past year, it has halved the growth in electricity demand, continued to increase its wind and solar energy production, and is in the process of developing emissions trading schemes to cover a quarter of a billion people.

The US is also doing well, although much of its improvement comes from a shift away from oil in favour of cheaper gas and a slower economy, rather than as a result of direct action on climate change.


That’s the conclusion of the latest in a series of reports entitled “The Critical Decade” published by Australia’s Climate Commission, and examining global action on climate change. The report focuses on the US and China, which together produce 37 per cent of the world’s emissions. Earlier this month, the two nations issued a strongly worded statement pledging to work together to curb climate change and “set the kind of powerful example that can inspire the world”.

The report describes China’s development of renewable energy as “extraordinary”, pointing to a 50-fold increase in the amount of energy generated from wind power since 2005. Its investment in clean energy in 2012 was $65.1 billion, which represents 30 per cent of the total investment by G20 nations that year. The government is developing seven emissions trading schemes around the country that will include 256 million people and 3.4 per cent of the global economy. The schemes are expected to start this year in some regions with the expectation that they will be rolled out nationwide from 2015.

Emissions still rising

China’s greenhouse gas emissions aren’t expected to peak until 2025 at the earliest. However, the country has reduced its carbon intensity – the amount it emits per unit of GDP – by 5 per cent in 2012, which means it is on track to meet its pledge to reduce its carbon intensity by 40 per cent by 2020. The idea is to give China room to continue economic development, while doing so in a sustainable way as possible.

The US is also on track to meet its goal of reducing absolute emissions to 83 per cent of 2005 levels by 2020, with California’s emissions trading scheme playing a role, as well as the country’s $35.6 billion investment in renewable energy, second only to China. However, other factors have also helped, with the slower economy causing emissions to slump, and its ambition to be energy independent leading to an increase in domestic gas use rather than imported oil.

ZhongXiang Zhang, an economist at Fudan University in Shanghai, China, says the US got lucky on low emissions, which are not entirely down to its emissions policy. Since the “US is now in an easy position”, it might push China towards stronger targets, he says.

Good, but can do better

Around the world, one third of countries that belong to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), including the US, have achieved absolute reductions in greenhouse gas emissions while maintaining economic growth. That proves “countries can continue to grow their economies while shrinking their emissions”, the report notes.

“There is significant momentum being driven by a mix of economic, political and environmental motivations,” says John Wiseman from the University of Melbourne. “That in turn creates a range of risks that these trends could fall over or head in unpredictable directions.” He says that while the US’s energy independence policy has led to an increased uptake of renewables, it also uses more gas and is working to exploit carbon-intensive tar sand oil.

“This report reminds us that we do still have the knowledge and time to drastically lower emissions, and lessen the impact of future climate change,” says David Schlosberg from the University of Sydney. He warns however, that the pace must accelerate.

The report’s authors, who include Tim Flannery, Australia’s chief climate commissioner, agree – describing this as the critical decade to accelerate climate change action. “This decade must set the foundations to reduce emissions rapidly to nearly zero by 2050. The earlier such action is under way the less disruptive and costly it will be,” they write.