Energy and Environment: China 2020

Author: Wang Jinnan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-12-01
Features: The 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China proposed the goal of achieving a moderately prosperous society in all respects by 2020. Environmental demands are an important component of realizing a moderately prosperous society. Energy is the foundation of national economic development and social activities. China's energy structure determines that coal will remain the primary energy source for a considerable period in the future. Therefore, environmental issues arising from energy production and consumption will become increasingly severe as energy production and consumption grow. Coal combustion remains the main source of atmospheric pollutant emissions in China's future, significantly impacting regional environmental quality and human health. Meanwhile, with the improvement of people's living standards and the acceleration of urbanization, urban environmental problems caused by vehicle exhaust emissions have become quite serious in certain regions. As China accelerates its efforts to build a moderately prosperous society in all respects, higher demands are placed on energy production and consumption. China has become a major country in private energy production and consumption. In 2002, China's total energy production was 1.39 billion tons (standard coal), ranking third in the world, while its total energy consumption was 1.48 billion tons (standard coal), ranking second in the world. Correspondingly, its sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide emissions ranked first and second in the world, respectively. China is a developing country. According to the development experiences of countries worldwide, during the process of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and achieving a per capita GDP of $3,000, China's energy demand is in a phase of continuous growth. Currently, China's atmospheric environmental situation remains extremely severe. The energy structure and excessively high energy consumption intensity place heavy pressure on China's atmospheric pollution prevention efforts. In the next 20 years, China's energy development faces four major environmental challenges: environmental demands, environmental capacity, environmental management requirements, and global climate change. The Chinese government and energy production and consumption sectors must actively address these challenges and pressures, guided by the scientific outlook on development, formulate relevant policies, and take certain measures to minimize the impact of energy development on environmental health.