 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| . |  |
. |
China to remain reliant on coal in long term: official
Beijing (AFP) Sept 25, 2009 China will continue to rely on coal for most of its energy needs "for a long time", a senior official said Friday, just days after President Hu Jintao pledged action on its greenhouse gas emissions. "It is an indisputable fact that China mainly relies on coal for its overall energy structure. Such a structure will remain hard to change for a long time," Zhang Guobao, head of the National Energy Administration, told reporters. China, which according to several groups of scientists is the world's worst emitter of greenhouse gases, relies on coal for nearly 70 percent of its energy needs. In a speech at the United Nations this week, President Hu Jintao pledged to reduce the carbon intensity of China's economy by a "notable margin" by 2020 from their 2005 levels, but did not provide a figure. Carbon intensity is the measure of greenhouse gas that is emitted per unit of economic activity. Analysts say Hu's promise focuses on improving energy efficiency as China's economy grows, which could slow the growth of emissions -- but is not a guarantee that China's volume of carbon output will fall. China and other developing nations have long resisted mandatory emission curbs as part of the next treaty on fighting climate change, which nations will try to hammer out in Copenhagen in December. Zhang said the government would "go all out" to develop renewable energy sources to "reduce carbon emissions and energy consumption". As an example of its efforts so far, China's installed wind power capacity was the fourth biggest in the world after increasing four-fold in the past three years to more than 12 gigawatts, Zhang said. "I am confident that in the near future installed wind power capacity in China will be the first or second largest in the world," Zhang said. China has committed in its current five-year plan to cutting energy consumption per unit of GDP by 20 percent between 2006 and 2010. It also aims to get 10 percent of its power from renewable sources by 2010 and 15 percent by 2020. Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Surviving the Pits
China mine blast death toll rises to 54: govtBeijing (AFP) Sept 15, 2009 The death toll from a gas explosion last week at a coal mine in central China has risen to 54, with 25 others still trapped, the government's work safety watchdog said Tuesday. The State Administration of Work Safety said in a statement on its website that rescue efforts were continuing in the city of Pingdingshan in Henan province, but that the mine shafts had been damaged in the blast. ... read more |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2009 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
Google
Facebook