Peggy Liu

People need to understand that every 5 years China is essentially a different country. That is simply how fast things are changing. Many people think of China as the factory of the world today. In fact, it’s changing very rapidly and becoming the world’s clean tech laboratory. The pace at which China is running towards this “green gate” is the fastest we’ve seen in human history.

367 days ago

Peggy Liu

The reasons why China is going green are very different from why it’s happening in the US. For China, it’s really all about national security. As we all know, China is growing and urbanizing very quickly. It’s building its infrastructure rapidly, and industry, which uses 70% of all energy in China, is growing.

But compared to the US, China has very little energy resources locally. It imports energy from countries like Russia, Australia, and Indonesia, and because of its dependence on outside energy sources, it still experiences rolling blackouts and energy shortages.

For China, energy security equals national security. China knows that it must develop its energy locally. And since China doesn’t possess enough domestic fossil fuels to power itself, the only option is to turn towards renewables.

367 days ago

Peggy Liu

There is a huge sense of urgency around the issue on a national and local level. China’s cities are full of pollution that you breathe and literally see and feel. Cancer is now the number 1 cause of death in China. There was a study done at Cornell a few years back that found that 40% of deaths around the world were caused by environmental pollution.

Chinese people are well aware of the health issues associated with pollution. So for them, climate change is not a 2050 scenario where polar bears are extinct – it’s something that’s happening today. We are facing extreme drought and desertification.

Most of China is poor and is heavily impacted by climate change. The Chinese government is extremely concerned about its construction of a “Harmonious Society.” So its challenge is how to continue growing, yet manage the world’s most severe environmental problems and the health and energy needs of 1.3 billion people. China is not going green because it’s a moral issue—it’s is going green because it has to.

367 days ago

Peggy Liu

The government is pushing for 100 ecocities during its 12th Five Year Plan. China has and is continuing to invest billions of dollars into the research and development of sustainable technologies in areas like clean energy, energy efficiency, and environmental protection. And it’s pouring abundant capital into experimenting with implementing these technologies on the ground. It’s throwing them like spaghetti on a wall and seeing what sticks.

There are 15 cities that are piloting smart grid today. A year and a half ago, there were 27 cities piloting the use of LED streetlights. There are thousands of kilometers–6 major lines–of high-speed rail. Sometimes the spaghetti doesn’t stick to the wall. For example, there was a huge experiment with coal-to-liquid fuel that ultimately failed. That’s okay. Because as long as one model ultimately works, it can be deployed at scale across the company very rapidly.

What is uniquely effective in China is its ability to pilot programs in, say, 15 cities. The cities are allowed to use whatever model they see fit to implement the program and they are incredibly competitive with one another. If the Chinese government sees 1 or 2 cities whose programs are more successful than the others, they have the ability the scale the models across the entire country very rapidly.

For example, in 2008 China banned free plastic shopping bags. This happened after a couple cities experimented with the program and it worked. Literally, in one day plastic bags were banned across the country. You can still buy them, but now very few people do. Instead, they carry reusable grocery bags.

367 days ago

Peggy Liu

China doesn’t divide jobs into green jobs and other jobs. Most of its jobs today are related to going green — green buildings, green transport, healthy food, access to clean water, waste management, clean energy.

Nearly every aspect of Chinese urbanization and industry is focusing on reducing energy consumption, the use of natural resources, and emissions. This is a national priority now. So I can’t answer how is China increasing green jobs, because China isn’t thinking that way. China is focusing on increasing jobs period, and those jobs have to be green.

367 days ago

Peggy Liu

I would say the large scale of the workforce that needs to be trained and the short timeframe to do it in while we urbanize over 20 years. Also, the low level of education of most of the workforce and the lack of vocational training for sustainability capabilities will be a challenge.

367 days ago

Peggy Liu

China’s sustainable development is going to take multidisciplinary and international collaboration. Social entrepreneurs–like One Earth Designs, which delivers solar energy devices to Himalyan communities–are working in rural areas to implement clean energy education and technologies tailored to local needs. Sustainability leaders can work at the local level, demonstrate innovative programs that work, and then work with organizations like JUCCCE to scale them to the national level.

367 days ago