Greenpeace report touts developing countries’ efforts to fight climate change
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Despite a stalemate at the negotiating table, there are encouraging developments on climate actions on a national level.
The emerging economies, in particular, are moving from rhetoric to solutions, sowing some signs of climate leadership, said a recent report by Greenpeace.
China, for example, has become a green tech leader, introducing serious measures on energy efficiency and is preparing to put a price on carbon. Over the 12 days from the beginning to the end of Cancun for example, China will have built more than 300 new wind turbines (at a rate of one every hour), said the report.
China's 11th Five-Year Program (2006-2010) on national economic and social development set a target of reducing the total pollutant emissions by 10 percent and energy consumption per 10,000 yuan ($1,504) of GDP by 20 percent.
The country made strong efforts to green the economy and reached the goal a month ahead of schedule, said Xie Zhenhua, Deputy Director of the National Development and Reform Commission at a conference held in Beijing on Nov. 29 and 30.
To achieve the goal, China launched a nationwide campaign to eliminate energy-consuming and polluting facilities in industries such as electricity, steel and coal.
Meanwhile, India has continued to pursue its renewable energy strategy through various measures, such as establishing a Renewable Energy Certificate Mechanism and introducing a tax on coal that will fund renewable energy developments.
In addition, Brazil has made significant contributions by reducing its deforestation rate to a record low.
The reduction in Amazon deforestation, from over 27,000 square km in 2004 to below 6,500 square km this year, is in fact the largest reduction in emissions made by any country anywhere on the planet.
While the situation in rich countries is much less bright, there is still progress.
Within the EU, member states are starting to realize that shifting from its 20-percent emission reduction target (by 2020 at 1990 level) to 30 percent is good for the EU’s own economy, regardless of what others do, said the Greenpeace report.
Unlike Canada, Japan has not replaced their relatively ambitious 25-percent target with a lower one. Now they need to continue with its implementation, it added.
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