Chinese Economy Over Environment

China is set to become the world's greatest polluter this year -- overtaking the US to gain the inglorious world title. And this is no surprise, says Zou Ji from the environmental institute at the People's University in Beijing. For him, the massive amount of CO2 emissions is the logical consequence of the rapid population growth and urbanisation.

"In recent years, two to three hundred million peasants have become urban dwellers -- either because they have physically moved to cities or industry has come to their area," he explains.

"Therefore, energy consumption has automatically increased. And the rise in living standards has led to more energy consumption. People are using more electricity, taking more showers, using more heating in winter, air-conditioning in summer."

Negative effects of coal

Coal provides 70 percent of China's energy needs. And every three to five days a new coal-fired power plant is added to the grid. Each one of these power plants emits 30,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

But that's not all. More and more people are driving more and more cars. There are currently about 2.5 million vehicles in the capital Beijing. And this figure increases by 1000 every day. It's bound to grow as now there are only 20 cars per 1000 inhabitants -- compared to 600 per 1000 in Germany.

Not only is China contributing significantly to global warming, but it's also directly feeling the negative impacts -- especially in one area says the former head of the UN environmental programme Klaus Töpfer, who advises the Chinese government on climate policy:

"Water supply and distribution. The Himalayan glaciers feed into the Yangtze river, and the melting glaciers in Tibet are having the same negative effect on water flow as the melting glaciers in the Alps on the Rhine or the Danube. Climate change is severely affecting agriculture and sea-level changes, as well as contributing to extreme climate conditions."

Not all down to China

Beijing is aware of the severity of the situation. But it refuses to bear all the responsibility for protecting the environment. China is still a developing country says the government and developed nations have to make the larger sacrifice.

The average Chinese emits 3.2 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year -- less than the world per capita average of 3.7 tonnes. Whereas, the average American emits 20 tonnes a year.

Among industrialised nations, only Germany and Great Britain have managed to reduce their emissions since 1990. The Chinese government is quick to point this out and it also has other concerns.

Social instability

30 million Chinese still don't have access to electricity. Many peasants live in very simple huts. But they all want a share of the boom's advantages. So China's leaders are more worried by the prospect of social destabilisation than by the remote risks posed by climate change.

The new plan unveiled on Monday goes some way towards accepting to shoulder some of the responsibility towards the environment, but not at the cost of China's economic development.

It rejects mandatory caps on emissions saying they are unfair towards developing countries. And it doesn't set concrete targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However, it does outline steps for improving overall energy efficiency by 2010.