Made in China, inefficiently

Being the world’s factory has its drawbacks. While China has enjoyed double-digit growth, the country’s vast industrial complex has pumped out millions of tonnes of carbon and wasted untold mega-joules of electricity. Working with iron, steel, oil, petrochemicals and coal, particularly with antiquated machinery, is not energy efficient.

But faced with spiralling economic and health costs caused by environmental degradation, the Chinese government has decided that rectifying the problems should be at the top of its agenda.

The European Commission, in its energy efficiency action plan, agrees. China, along with Brazil, India, Japan, Russia and the US, should do more to reduce energy consumption, according to the Commission.

The Commission wants to bring China and other major polluters, both developed and developing, into an international framework to promote energy efficiency.

While the environment is a major concern for the EU, the predicted depletion of oil and gas reserves in the middle of this century is also playing on the minds of policymakers, as is halting the race for resources in Africa and Latin America, where the EU accuses China, privately, of tearing up the rule-book and pursuing deals no matter what the environmental, economic and social costs.

Among the measures that are currently under consideration is the introduction of standards for the minimum performance of goods and services as well as labelling and certification.

Under the Commission’s plans any framework should cover a wide-range of energy use; industry, transport, residential and commercial.

According to statistics from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which represents many of the world’s most developed economies, by 2030 the residential usage of energy in non-OECD countries will outstrip that of the US, EU, Japan and other OECD members by 29%.

In 2007 the Commission hopes, according to the action plan, to host a "major international conference to kick-start the process".

The task will be a difficult one. While China is waking up to the dangers of environmental degradation, economic growth is likely to remain the government’s paramount consideration.

Already Chinese officials are keen to ensure that any new international standards do not become a technical barrier to trade, particularly to the export of manufactured goods, which drive the Chinese economy.

But analysts say that if China wants to keep up growth and reduce the country’s levels of pollution then improving efficiency might be the only way to proceed.

Some of the issues that the Commission would like to see tackled are already being addressed.

A package of ten measures came into effect at the beginning of this year, which the Chinese authorities hope will significantly improve energy efficiency by 2010.

They have pledged to upgrade the country’s estimated 500,000 kilns, which are only 65% energy efficient, by using better quality coal and improving technology. According to the government’s own figures, that will reduce coal use by 10-25 million tonnes. Still, it is estimated that this measure will contribute to an improvement in efficiency of only 2%-5%.

The Chinese government also hopes to roll out the use of co-generation systems, which produce both heat and energy simultaneously, reducing the need for two separate processes to take place.

Other measures include, replacing fuel oil with clean coal, improving energy conservation in buildings, introducing energy efficient lighting and improving the efficiency of electrical motors. Alone electrical motors consume 64% of electricity in the industrial sector.

Being the world’s factory has its drawbacks. While China has enjoyed double-digit growth, the country’s vast industrial complex has pumped out millions of tonnes of carbon and wasted untold mega-joules of electricity. Working with iron, steel, oil, petrochemicals and coal, particularly with antiquated machinery, is not energy efficient.