CHINESE ENERGY POLICY
Kohlfürst, Puchtler, Wrann
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
JufzjodoAM4&feature=related
General information on China
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Middle Ages: flourishing economy
Trade with Europe: Chinese inventions made their
way to Europe
The turn came 1911
– Fall of the last dynasty Qing
– opium wars, civil war, 1st and 2nd world war
1949: Mao Zedong proclaimed the Peoples Republic
of China (PRC)
Energy demand
Exploding demand:
- Net exporter: construction material
- Change of living standards
Energy structure
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Coal
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Oil
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2/3 of energy production
major coal producer worldwide
Net importer, highly dependant
on Middle East
Renewables
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Biofuels: corn
Solar power: photovoltaics
Hydro power: Three Gorges Dam
Wind power: + 95% in 2007
Nuclear power: low developement
China‘s internal energy conflicts
Energy vs. other resources
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Large reliance on cheaply available coal
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smog, acid rain, polluted waterways etc.
new coal power plant approx. every 2 weeks
Not only due to fossil fuels
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Three Gorges Dam
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Power of 18 average nuclear power plants
Destruction of wildlife habitat (Yangtze river dolphin)
Pollution can no longer be „flushed“ by the river
Relocation of up to 1,24 mio. inhabitants
Economic growth vs. sustainability
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Economic growth vital for political stability
Reliance on fossil fuels like the West not
realistic long-term
Huge investments in renewable energy
sources
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third-largest provider of electricity from wind
solar market rapidly catching up with Germany
Centralized vs. decentralized
generation
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Large power plants for big cities
(predominantly in the East)
Rural areas very attractive for decentralized
generation
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Biogas from agricultural „waste“
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Local added value
Clean disposal of the „waste“
Simple construction
High-quality fertilizers as „by-product“
Energy supply vs. energy efficiency
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Investments in efficiency can greatly reduce
need for new power plants
10 program priorities outlined by government
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Expanding co-generation
Expanding centralized heating systems, etc.
Highly-consuming industries (e.g. iron/steel)
etc.
China‘s external energy conflicts
Dependence on imported Oil/Gas/Coal
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In the 1970s and 1980s net exporter of oil
Dependence on imported oil/gas because of
population growth
Fourth largest producer and second largest
consumer of oil
More than a half of China´s energy needs
are covered by imported oil
Largest producer and consumer of coal
Dependence on imported oil/gas/coal
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Power struggels because other countries of
the region have the same problems
The Middle East provides 58% of the
imported oil
China is investing in „green energiy“ to
become more independent
China as an exporter of energy
resources
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China produces over 95% of the world´s rare
earth supply
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China is constraining the export of the rare
earth oxides
Voting behaviour in the UN Security
council
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China´s energy dependence is apparent
especially in its relation with Iran and Iraq
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China seeks to secure the import routes for
oil
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