Stephanie Ohshita

The promise and pitfalls of Japanese cleaner coal technology transfer to China

Cleaner coal technology (CCT) offers a solution to Chinas increasingly severe air pollution problems, but technology transfer and diffusion pose many challenges. This paper examines a Japanese programme, carried out under the Green Aid Plan of Japans Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), to transfer CCT to China. The programme has been successful in engaging policy makers in environmental dialogue and demonstrating the technical feasibility of some Japanese CCT in China. But the programme has also encountered project delays and uncertain markets, and it has not yet led to diffusion of the technologies in China. The lack of diffusion highlights a gap that currently exists between the demonstration of technical feasibility and the widespread adoption and operation of CCT by Chinese enterprises. Current programme efforts are aimed at bridging this gap by giving greater attention to economic feasibility and technology diffusion mechanisms.

A low carbon development guide for local government actions in China

Local level actions are crucial for achieving energy saving and GHG emission reduction targets. Yet it can be challenging to implement new policies and actions owing to a lack of information, funding and capacity at the local level – especially in developing countries such as China. Even though the Chinese government has set national energy and carbon intensity reduction targets, most local governments do not have sufficient knowledge regarding the necessary actions to achieve the targets, as well as the effectiveness and cost of policies; nor do they know how to design and implement a low carbon development plan. This article presents information for local governments on how to create an action plan to tackle climate change and increase energy efficiency. The research examines indicators that can be used to define low carbon development and to evaluate the effectiveness of the actions taken. The guidance provides a step-by-step description of how action plans can be established and essential elements that should be included – from preparing a GHG emission inventory to implementation of the plan. It also provides a menu of policies and best practices found internationally and in China to encourage low carbon development in industry, buildings, transportation, power, agriculture and forestry.

From demonstration to diffusion: the gap in Japan's environmental technology cooperation with China

A programme for cleaner coal technology (CCT) cooperation with China under Japans Green Aid Plan (GAP) has the stated goal of promoting CCT diffusion through demonstration projects. The alignment of interests among Japanese and Chinese government officials and Japanese technology providers has facilitated demonstration projects of Japanese CCT, but it has not led to diffusion of the technologies to other Chinese enterprises. The selection of Japanese CCT to transfer was based largely on analysis of technical feasibility and Chinese government policies, not on economic assessment of diffusion potential among Chinese industrial enterprises. With its emphasis on demonstration project construction, the GAP CCT program gave limited attention to operation and maintenance, a subject of paramount importance to potential CCT adopters. In addition, GAP contained relatively few mechanisms explicitly focused on promoting technology diffusion. The paper notes recent changes in program design and suggests additional changes that could promote GAP technology diffusion in China.

Exercising Power: China’s Transition to Efficient, Renewable Energy

China faces a doubly daunting transition in its energy system: to lessen energy demand from an industry-dominated economy, and to move away from coal-dominated energy supply. In the past decade, China has achieved notable reductions in energy intensity and became the world’s largest manufacturer of renewable energy technology. Yet much more is needed to ease energy consumption, decarbonize energy supply, and clear the air. This chapter argues that China’s central government is exercising and maintaining political power in the transition to sustainable energy by utilizing energy efficiency and low-carbon energy supply to deliver economic development and social stability. The chapter also examines challenges of local-level implementation and the need for significant reforms in the electric power sector.

Consumption-based greenhouse gas emissions accounting with capital stock change highlights dynamics of fast-developing countries

Traditional consumption-based greenhouse gas emissions accounting attributed the gap between consumption-based and production-based emissions to international trade. Yet few attempts have analyzed the temporal deviation between current emissions and future consumption, which can be explained through changes in capital stock. Here we develop a dynamic model to incorporate capital stock change in consumption-based accounting. The new model is applied using global data for 1995–2009. Our results show that global emissions embodied in consumption determined by the new model are smaller than those obtained from the traditional model. The emissions embodied in global capital stock increased steadily during the period. However, capital plays very different roles in shaping consumption-based emissions for economies with different development characteristics. As a result, the dynamic model yields similar consumption-based emissions estimation for many developed countries comparing with the traditional model, but it highlights the dynamics of fast-developing countries.Traditional carbon accounting attributes gap between consumption- and production-based emissions to international trade. The authors develop a dynamic model that incorporates capital stock change and find it improves estimates for fast-developing countries.

Low-Carbon Urban Infrastructure

As cities consider how to provide essential urban services in the post-fossil fuel age, they find that incremental strategies are not enough. The challenge, and opportunity, is to reinvent essential city infrastructure—for water, food, shelter, energy, transport, culture, and economy—in a climate-friendly way. By reclaiming human-scale neighborhoods, relearning and further developing sustainable and passive building techniques, and reaching forward with technology in the service of society, cities can thrive with less energy and fewer greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This chapter examines essential concepts and examples of low-carbon urban infrastructure, highlighting urban form designed in harmony with the city’s geography; resilience to climate change impacts as well as reductions in greenhouse gas emissions; and prioritization of demand-side management in city systems, through improved design, efficiency, and de-carbonization.

Low-Carbon City Policy Databook: 72 Policy Recommendations for Chinese Cities from the Benchmarking and Energy Savings Tool for Low Carbon Cities

Author(s): Price, Lynn; Zhou, Nan; Fridley, David; Ohshita, Stephanie; Khanna, Nina; Lu, Hongyou; Hong, Lixuan; He, Gang; Romankiewicz, John; Min, Hu