Download Management & Engineering Low-carbon Economy in China

Management & Engineering 15 (2014) 1838-5745
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Management & Engineering
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The Significance and Approaches of the Development of
Low-carbon Economy in China
Rong DENG, Baogui HU
Beijing University of Agriculture, Beijing 102206, P.R.China
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
Low-carbon economy,
Energy,
Production
Low-carbon economy is aiming for a higher output-input ratio, to realize a sustainable
increase in the economic and social development and unceasingly upgrade people’s living
standard, through special means of production and business featuring in an efficient use of
natural resources, low emission and less environmental pollution. It is a mode of economic
development sticking to the idea of sustainable development. This article discourses both the
significance and approaches of developing low-carbon economy in China.
© ST. PLUM-BLOSSOM PRESS PTY LTD
1 Introduction
Low-carbon economy is aiming for a higher output-input ratio, to realize a sustainable increase in the economic and social
development and unceasingly upgrade people’s living standard, through special means of production and business featuring in an
efficient use of natural resources, low emission and less environmental pollution. It is a mode of economic development sticking to
the idea of sustainable development and circular economy.
In the modern world, people began to realize that it is important to deal with the climate change, because it is disadvantageous to the
development of human societies. So there comes the idea of low-carbon economy. The key to solve the problem is to slow down the
greenhouse gas emissions from human activities, of which mainly the carbon dioxide from the consuming of fossil energy. Economic
development leads to an ever-increasing demand for energy, which contradicts the idea of slowing down the carbon dioxide output in
order to adapt to climate change. Low-carbon economy is to adapt to the impact of climate change under the framework of
sustainable development.
In 2009, before the 15th UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, China set a goal for the year of 2020. That is to slash the
carbon dioxide output per unit of domestic gross product by 45-50 percent compared with the year of 2005. It is for sure that the
discharge amount of the carbon dioxide will be in a reasonable increase in the future, but the increment speed will be much slower
than the increase in GDP. It is a strategic decision for China’s economic development in adapting to the global climate change, which
suits the specific conditions of China and its current development. Therefore, the development of low-carbon economy becomes a
much-talked-about topic in China.
English edition copyright © ST. PLUM-BLOSSOM PRESS PTY LTD
DOI:10.5503/J.ME.2014.15.013
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2 The Significance of the Development of Low-carbon Economy
A general survey of the history of the human society development finds that the people’s production and living conditions were at a
lower level in the agricultural societies. Therefore less impact was made to the natural environment, let along the greenhouse gas
emissions. All the wastes from human activities could be dissolved by the natural environment, so it is a stage of natural low-carbon
economic development. Later, along with the development of industrial societies featuring in vast investment, great amount of
consumption and emission, the style of economic increase appeared to be under an extensive management with less efficiency of
energy utilization. Oil and coal accounted for a considerable proportion in the energy consumption, which made a rush increase of
the greenhouse gas emissions. At that time, the human societies were at the stage of high carbon economic development with vast
input and great amount of emissions. When people came to realize that the natural resources were scarce resources, and the natural
environment was non-renewable, they began to reflect upon its practices in the past, and to emphasize the importance in the
economic use and recycling of the resources, hoping for a sound progress of the natural environment, thus a stage of low-carbon
economic development began.
In fact, low-carbon economy, sustainable development and recycling economy have many in common. They all put stress on
environment-friendly, resource-conservation and ecological balance. But there are differences, too. While sustainable development
puts stress on the kind of development based on the reasonable utilization and maintenance of the natural resources, and a beneficial
circulation of eco-environment, recycling economy wants to reduce the consumption of the environment and natural resources to the
minimum. Therefore it concerns more on the cyclic utilization of the materials, cleaner production, high efficient use of energy and
the minimizing of the amount of wastes. Low-carbon economy considers more on the restriction of carbon emissions both in the
production and consumption procedures. Activities producing great amount of carbon emissions should be restricted and limited,
while those with no carbon emission be encouraged.
The developed countries have got some experiences in carbon minimizing, which China can refer to. These countries tried a lot to
adjust the industrial structure, husband energy resources, increase the energy efficiency, optimize the energy structure, and control
greenhouse gas emissions, and they do have some achievement in carbon minimizing. The upgrading of industrial structure leads to
the transformation of the economy to the low-carbon economy with the greenhouse gas emissions per unit of domestic gross product
decreasing. Raw materials industries and low-end manufacturing are transferred to the developing countries to enhance energy
efficiency. The economic development in these countries sees a rapid booming of finance, service and information industries with
low carbon emissions, and taking a growing part in GDP. Taking UK as an example, the development of high energy consumption
industries, including low-end manufacturing, metallurgical industry, and chemical industry was slowed down or even stopped, or
transferred to the developing countries by upgrading the standards of environment protection. From 1990 to 2007, the secondary
Industry in UK decreased from 35% to 23% in terms of the GDP share, while that of the tertiary-industry increased from 63% to 76%.
In industrial manufacturing, the production of crude steel fell sharply by 2/3.
At present, China is the world’s second largest producer and consumer of energy, the biggest producer and consumer of coal, and the
second emitter of greenhouse gases. In the 1980’s, China was committed to opening its door and encouraging foreign investment, and
high energy consumption and low-end industries began to flood into China, while promoting the local economic development, but
presenting serious damages to the environment, and increasing the amount of energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions at
the same time. Now China is in the middle stage of Industrialization, so inevitably, great amount of energy and resources will be
consumed for quite a long time in the future. In such a special period, it is important to advance a strategy of low carbon economy
development integrated with Chinese realities, which is of great guiding significance to the economic development in China.
3 Main Approaches of Low-carbon Economy Development
In the process of low carbon development, the enterprises are the subjects of social and economic development. Therefore, they
should be subjects of low carbon economy development, too. While in producing the mode of low carbon economy development in
China, enterprises should be encouraged to take the road of low carbon development, which is the foundation of low carbon
development. Therefore, the government must make a series of policies and measures to encourage the enterprises to adopt the
concept of low carbon development, for instance, to promote the practice of cleaner production, the idea of ecological design in
product design, and the development of renewable sources in energy utilization.
3.1 Cleaner production
Cleaner production has different definitions at different angles. By introducing each definition synthetically, UNEPIE/PAC comes to
think that cleaner production covers the whole process of pollution prevention, including raw material purchasing, processing
technique, and the use of the product. So it defines that cleaner production is a new creative way of thinking, which puts the
environment strategy of wholly prevention in the work flow of production, and product service, in order to increase the
eco-efficiency and reduce the risk of human environment.
In the process of production, cleaner production requires to economize on raw materials, stop the use of poisonous and harmful raw
materials, and decrease the amount and toxicity of all wastes. As for the product, it is required to lessen the undesirable effects in the
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whole lifecycle, from the process of raw materials to the ultimate disposal of the product. When it comes to the service, the
environmental factors must be considered in product designing and service.
China declares its own definition of cleaner production in China's Agenda 21—White Paper on China’s Population, Environment,
and Development in the 21st Century: cleaner production refers to the practical production methods and measures, which can meet
the demands of people’s needs, the intelligent use of natural resources and energy, and the protection of the environment. It is
essentially a plan and management of human productive activities with least materials and energy consumption. It advances reduction
of wastes through recycling and innoxiously treatment or even nips the wastes in the production process. At the same time, with the
progress of sustainable development, the production of green products, harmless to the human environment, will become the
predominant direction of the product production.
3.2 Ecological design
Ecological design aims to make product design be in harmony with natural environment, and to reduce the effect of production and
consumption on environment to the minimum. Double significances are covered in ecological design. One is in the environment
protection, featuring in the reduction of resource consumption and the realization of sustainable development and the cyclic
utilization of the resources. The second lies in the management, requiring the enterprises to reduce the production cost, resources
consumed and the risk on the environment in order to enhance competitiveness of the enterprises in a way that will not endanger the
environment.
When promoting the idea of ecological design, low carbon should be considered in the raw materials and energy investment, and the
waste recycling as well. In the production process cleaner production is a must to ensure low carbon emissions. Enterprises should
upgrade their research capacity on low carbon emissions, make a full use of cleaner production technique, and ensure the implement
of the low carbon ecological design in the whole work flow from product designing to every progress in the production.
3.3 The development of renewable energy sources
Renewable energy resources is the name for all renewable energy sources, including biomass energy, solar energy, light energy, mash
gas and so on. Biomass energy refers mainly to the energy generated from the extract of alcohol from starchy crops and the biodiesel
from oil crops. Solar and light energy are those collected and to be used directly, and mash gas is used as energy by the methane
produced in the course of fermentation of the crop straw and livestock manure. Since all the energy (coal, oil, nuclear power) in use
today are non-renewable, people name the biomass energy, solar energy, light energy, and mash gas renewable energy.
In fact, most of the renewable energies are all solar energy in different forms of storage. On the heels of the oil crisis, there are more
attentions to the utilization of renewable energies, because they are inexhaustible and more environmental friendly with less carbon
emission.
In recent years, there has been a rapid progress of renewable energy resources in China. From 2005 to 2008, renewable energy
resources increased by 60%, and its proportion in the primary energy source composition goes from 7.1% up to 8.9%. Now China is
targeting to raise the proportion of the renewable energy to 15% by 2020. At that time, the improvement of the energy resource
structure will help to reduce the amount of CO2 emission from unit energy consume by 10%, which is of great importance to the
reduction of the intensity of CO2 emission, too.
4 Conclusion
For development of cleaner production, ecological design in product design and renewable sources in energy utilization, the
government must make a series of policies and measures to encourage the enterprises to adopt the concept of low carbon
development.
References
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[4]. PAN Jiahua. Improve the International Competitiveness by the Path of a Low Carbon Economy. People’s Daily, 2010-4-13, 23
[5]. ZHAO Qiguo, QIAN Haiyan. Thinking of Low-carbon Economy and Agricultural Development. Ecology and Environmental
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