In the global climate summit in Copenhagen, Chinese officials are pushing the U.S. and other rich nations to accept new curbs on their emissions and to continue to subsidize poor nations’ efforts to adopt clean-energy technology.
Currently, China is the world’s biggest source of carbon emissions. However, the country’s extensive market and economies of scale are lowering the cost of solar and wind energy in addition to other green technologies like electric car batteries. In short, China may be the key to jumping over a major hurdle to the widespread adoption of environmentally friendly technologies: the heavy subsidies they require to be economical.
China has a technological lead in turning coal into gas, a process called carbon capture that involves turning coal into has, stripping out the carbon and burning the rest. The country has been using a technology widely to make petrochemicals and fertilizers as a substitute for pricier natural gas. Though critics say these carbon capture technologies are just a temporary solution to global warning, analysts estimate carbon capture could account for between 15% to 55% of the world’s cumulative carbon emissions reduction be 2100.
Finally, China is reshaping two of the biggest green technologies: wind and solar power. Chinese companies own three-quarters of the country’s wind-turbine market, thanks to companies which make turbines a third cheaper than European competitors. The Chinese companies are now starting to export.
In terms of solar power, China already has a 30% share of the global market for photovoltaic solar panels used to generate electricity. Many Chinese solar-power panel makers export the majority of their product to Europe and the U.S., causing a 30% drop in world solar-power prices.
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