[Why China should be under pressure when the biggest polluter in the world -- the US of A is ruuning loss?<g>]--"China under pressure on emissions as Kyoto looms"
China is the world’s second argest source of greenhouse gases but when the Kyoto Protocol on climate change comes into force next week it will be under no obligation to cut emissions.
It has approved the Kyoto treaty, but along with India has no obligation to cut carbon dioxide emissions during the pact's first phase to 2012, an exemption the United States says is unfair and one of the reasons it walked away from the agreement in 2001.
But analysts say China will come under pressure on its environment – and is likely to respond – keen to show it is a good global citizen serious about cleaning up its polluting power sector and smoke-belching factories.
"This definitely will have a strong impact on the Chinese government to make some adjustments in their strategy and policy towards climate change", said Yang Fuqiang of the Energy Foundation, which provides grants to Chinese researchers working on energy issues.
Cities in China, the world's most populous nation, are choked by car exhaust and factory emissions. The country relies on coal for 70 percent of its power and is the world's second-largest oil consumer.
Its voracious economy, which grew 9.5 percent last year, is driving ever higher demand for fossil fuels and the burgeoning middle class are buying more cars than ever. At the rate its economy is growing, China is likely to surpass the United States on emissions by 2030.
“That would really be political trouble for China”, he said. “After the Kyoto Protocol they have no way to say this is only discussion or negotiation, but we don't need any action.” Under the protocol, only developed countries are supposed to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 5.2 percent of 1990 levels. But China and India will be under increasing pressure to play a greater part in the pact's second phase in 2012 when signatories are supposed to make deeper cuts.
With the start of the protocol , China may play a leading role as it seeks to boost its diplomatic profile to match its economic weight. The question remains on how China can clean up yet keep its export machine on track.
Increasing the use of renewable energy, such as wind, solar power and biogas is also crucial, experts say, but they add that will require technology sharing and the political incentives.
The Energy Foundation's Yang says China could consider a carbon tax, which would target coal use, or an energy tax, which would be calculated by heat value and therefore target oil. The government is also drafting a law that would require power companies to buy electricity generated by green energy sources, state media has said.
Beijing has said it wants to boost the use of cleaner natural gas in power generation to six percent by 2030 from a little over one percent, but it has not introduced incentives for power plants to make the switch.
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