By Nelson De Guzman (The Philippine Star) Updated August 15, 2011 12:00 AM
BEIJING - China now leads its Asian neighbors in the current global effort to utilize renewable energy resources and implement environment protection measures.
The Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Laos and Myanmar could very well take their cue from China on how this country was able to sustain its energy requirements while protecting its environment.
Next to US, the Philippines is the world’s second largest producer of geothermal power.
Geothermal energy accounts for roughly 19 percent of the Philippines’ total power requirements while the rest comes from the use of coal, hydro and imported fossil fuels.
But when it comes to the utilization of renewable energy resources, the Philippines still has a lot to learn from countries such as China. During the visit of ASEAN journalists here, Chinese officials said that the Philippines has the potential to tap its abundant supply of renewable energy resources such as sun, water and air without necessarily degrading the environment.
China for its part, took the initiative of legislating a comprehensive energy conservation (EC) program by tapping renewable energy resources.
Other countries like India, Thailand and Vietnam have also adopted similar measures, also taking into account the preservation of their ecosystems.
To meet the needs of its growing energy demand while restoring the health of its environment, China saw the only option is to follow a different development path.
With a total investment of 2 billion yuan, roughly $300 million, the Chinese government came up with a national policy which will encourage all companies to adopt measures and programs to recycle and conserve energy with the end result of cutting down their emission levels.
China developed the “Circular Economy” concept as a strategy to reduce its impact on natural resources as well as the damage on the environment. The CE concept simply calls for a very high efficient method of sustaining national development within natural and economic constraints.
He Bingguang of China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said the concept would allow the national government to provide financial support and tax breaks to all companies that would adopt the CE measures.
He said this program urges industries to recycle their waste material, conserve energy resources and attain zero emissions without compromising national growth. “It was a difficult task laid on our Ministry,” He said.
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Monday, August 15, 2011
Phl can learn from China on renewable energy resources management
China has already overtaken Japan as the second leading economic power in the world.
China’s gross domestic product (GDP) stood at $5.8 trillion in 2010, surpassing Japan with a total GDP of $5.474 trillion.
Its burgeoning economy, however, pays a high price when it comes to energy consumption and degradation of ecosystems. China has already suffered enough while hosting the 2008 Beijing Olympics over concerns that the smog enveloping the city could threaten the health and safety of the athletes.
The Chinese government suspended all work in heavy industries in and near Beijing during the Olympics.
This apparently prompted the Chinese government to embark on a long term solution, taking into account the mounting energy demand spurred by its rapid economic growth.
Right after the Beijing Olympics, President Hu Jiantao signed the Circular Economy law that took effect in January 2009.
The CE law took into account China’s rapid economic growth demands.
State officials saw the present massive exploitation of natural resources and inefficient production practices cannot continue. They are also aware that a higher standard of living would not be feasible under local conditions.
And so, China decided to adopt the Japanese and German models of waste recycling.
Officials stressed the key measures under the CE would include strengthening the accountability system and tighter control and supervision of high polluting and energy consuming industries.
The central government has allocated 83.3 billion yuan to support 10 key energy-saving projects with the aim of promoting energy efficiency technologies.
State Council spokesman Chen Yao said the government is investing heavily in the industrial sector to eliminate obsolete production methods and control energy-intensive polluting industries.
Chen stressed the system would cut down carbon emissions and conserve energy resources.
While it would be almost impossible to attain a complete closed-loop circular economy since at some point, many materials are dissipated in the process of production, officials stressed this could be achieved by simply recycling some of the waste materials.
What is equally important, Chen pointed out, is that China being a rapidly growing country, took the right direction in the efficient use of resources.
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