6/27/13

6/27/13, Beijing

Today in class we talked about different objectives and challenges China is facing today regarding whether China can go green or not.

Objectives include:

1. Keep economy going
2. Satisfy people’s growing material needs
3. Improve their standard of living
4. Establish a fair and just society
5. Provide a clean environment and conservation of resources

What needs to happen for China to do these things?

1. Population control. This is why there are no current plans to abandon the 1 child policy
2. Switch mode of economy from manufacturing to service based
3. Improve efficiency of resource use
4. Develop substitute resources (get rid of coal)

Some challenges include:

1. World’s largest population
2. Health and education needed
3. Food security
4. Water scarcity
5. Current air pollution
6. Soil erosion and degradation

In order for China’s development to be considered sustainable, there needs to be harmony between the economy, society, and the environment. When these are not in harmony, the growth is not sustainable.

Some steps in the right direction have been taken in recent years. For example, China leads the world in renewable energy installation. Himin is a Chinese company that creates more renewable energy technology than any other company in the world. Again, the massive population is a huge barrier to these methods being successful especially with solar power because of how expensive it is. Solar panels are expensive to build and use precious metals.