China Daily
COPENHAGEN:
Though a low-carbon economy and a place where people can tap into their
full potential could both be achieved, in the next 10 to 20 years,
human development remains China's top priority, Chinese experts say. The stand on investing in people was
made at an event in conjunction with the Copenhagen climate change
conference and ahead of the Tuesday release of key findings from the
China Human Development Report 2009/10. The report, to be published in its
entirety early next year, requires human development to be taken into
consideration in developing a low carbon economy.
It is not reflected solely by GDP growth, said the report.
Zou Ji, professor of Renmin University
and the report's lead author, said over 700 million people in China are
living substandard lives. "They don't have flushing toilets and they don't even have clean tap water. So we still need urbanization," he said.
More than 270 million Chinese people do not have access to an adequate supply for safe drinking water, said the report.
China said in late November that it was targeting a hefty 40-45 percent cut in carbon intensity by 2020 from the 2005 level.
"The effort to reduce carbon emissions
should not come at a price that makes our national economy suffer and
make our farmers suffer," Zou said. The Chinese government could easily issue an order for deeper cuts, but that would make the poor people remain poor, he said.
"China could realize (its newly
released target) all on its own, but if some other industrialized
countries are asking for more cuts, it has to provide financing and
technology," he said, adding that those who do not offer a helping hand
should not have the right to ask China to cut more. "China does have the money to invest
a lot in developing and applying CCS (carbon capture and sequestration)
technology, but the same money could also be used to improve standards
of living of the extremely poor." "China needs urbanization so that
people could have strong houses that won't fall during earthquakes.
China needs to build roads, power plants, water pipes and waste-water
treatment plants for them," he said. Even to meet people's basic needs for
clothes, food, shelter and transportation, China would see a rise in
carbon emissions, Zou said. "China does not have enough cotton to
make 100 percent cotton clothes for every person, so it needs synthetic
fiber that comes from oil refining, the process of which generates
emissions. China does not have enough organic food to feed people, it
needs chemical fertilizer that also comes from oil refining," he said. The report also said that as China is
committed to reduce carbon intensity by 40 to 50 percent, it will also
witness a sharp increase in incremental investments to do so. "It will cost the country $30 billion
more to meet the 45 percent target, and to cost another $80 billion to
$90 billion to achieve the 50 percent target," Zou said, adding that
though China will spend a lot more effort to meet that goal, it is
still within reach. Increase in income and overall human
development will generate more energy consumption and carbon emissions,
but it will be reduced with the implementation of technological
innovations and a more sustainable lifestyle. Zou listed a total number of 60
technologies that China needs from international cooperation for
emissions reduction, such as CCS, fourth-generation nuclear power
generators, high efficiency energy storage technology, electric
vehicles and smart grids.
(China Daily 12/17/2009 page10)
It
goes on to state that "human development should allow people to live a
healthy and decent life, to have education and to have a say in the
policy-making process."
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