Experts Say China Could Help Produce A Greener World

By Julianne LaJeunesse- University of New Mexico

Experts at a Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholar's forum Friday said that if China is given adequate financial and political support, the country could go from being one of the world's biggest polluters, to one that produces more green technology using less environmentally unfriendly energy.

Barbara Finamore, the director of the China program at the Natural Resources Defense Council, made it clear that China's capacity to create green technology with better uses of energy would not be a "Sputnik race," rather every country would benefit from investing in a clean-up of China's energy use.

"This is a race where the opening up of the Chinese domestic market for renewable energy is also a major opportunity for U.S. companies to that are well-positioned... to take advantage of it and understand it," Finamore said.

Finamore, who just returned from China, said in order for China to become more environmentally accepted in the international community, cleaning up their energy consumption must occur provincially.

"What we've been able to do... is work in the pilot project level," Finamore said. "That's where the rubber meets the road, that's where you need to make a difference if you're really going to be able to achieve whatever climate agreements China makes. But we also help to translate them into national policy... in both China and the U.S. and into international policy."

The pilot project level Finamore referred to is a province-based test run of energy standard implementation, which if successful, could change national policy because, according to Finamore, China's pricing bureau "is never going to agree to open up the regulatory system for collecting electricity rates to energy efficiency, unless they're sure these programs already work on the ground."

David Doniger, a senior attorney and policy director also from NRDC said that it's in both the United States and China's interest to agree on a method of halting negative energy consumption that causes global warming via carbon and greenhouse gas emissions, or GHG.

Doniger noted that some American and international concerns regarding China's emissions, are relevant, including tensions regarding proposed methods to control emissions, such as: border adjustments, allowances and leakage.

He added that U.S. Cap-and-Trade legislation like the House's Waxman-Markey and the Senate's Kerry-Boxer bills should not be seen by China as part of a broader U.S. trade agenda, rather as a legitimate method the United States is using to change its relationship with the environment.

Doniger and Finamore were joined by Lynn Price of the Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory, a group who in 2007 won a Nobel Peace Prize for their work on climate change.

American oil exported daily

Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) discussed energy prices and promoted an economy run by renewable energy sources at an event hosted by progressive think-tank NDN. Durbin said gas at $4 per gallon is killing the US economy and that gas prices are shipping $700 billion to foreign suppliers of oil. He said Republicans in Congress, in the last two months, have blocked 12 Democratic attempts to debate bills that would lower gas prices and create green jobs. He added that Republicans have used a record number of filibusters this session, frustrating Democrats and the American public.

Durbin said in the first four months of 2008, 1.6 million barrels of US oil were exported daily. He also stated that since the United States only has three percent of the world’s oil supply, OPEC could react to increased American supply by lowering their production in an effort to keep gas prices high. He added that 700 million barrels of oil in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve are ready for use and that 34 Senate Democrats sent a letter to President Bush asking him to release 10 percent of the reserve. Durbin suggested that a partial opening of the reserve would show the international community that the US is tired of inflated oil prices.

Durbin cited a report that says three million jobs can be created in the next decade if greater investments are made in green technology. He said following the Arab oil embargo in the early 1970s, oil imports from the Persian Gulf fell 87 percent and GDP grew 27 percent. He suggested that the United States can benefit once again by making energy security a priority. He added that increased energy security is a technology deal and that Republicans have opposed tax incentives that promote increased technology, energy conservation, and renewables.

Economic woes remedied by green technology

Representatives from leading renewable technology companies and small businesses appeared before the House Small Business Committee to discuss the role of green technologies in spurring economic growth, particularly for small firms that are developing and using green, renewable practices.

Gregory Wetstone, senior director of government and public affairs for the American Wind Energy Association stated that nearly 35% of the nation’s new electrical capacity in 2007 came from wind energy, and the numbers are growing. Wetstone also said that America provides one of the best opportunities to harness wind energy. In addition, he said that turbine production plants help the economy by relying on nearly 400 sub-suppliers, many of which are small businesses.

Speaking on behalf of the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contrators Association, Kevin Tindall stated that if only one in 10 homes installed water-efficient fixtures it could save more than 300 billion gallons of water and save nearly $2 billion annually in energy costs. Upgrading to these technologies also creates a strong demand for employees that are knowledgeable about energy-efficient products and necessary education programs.

However, Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa) expressed concern over the cost of green technology. Andrea Lucke, vice president of sales and design for Robert Lucke Homes in Ohio stated that the average buyer stays in their home for only 7 years. This is not long enough to make the purchase of green technologies like solar panels feasible for homeowners. Members of the panel urged the committee to increase and continue federal incentive programs for such technology to combat this issue.

Clinton, Obama echo one another on issues

Senators Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Barack Obama (D-IL) spoke to a crowd of largely CWA members to thunderous applause and multiple standing ovations about their plans as potential presidents of the United States on issues that ranged from labor unions and health care to broadband internet and green energy, from the mortgage crisis and the looming recession to NAFTA and the pending Colombia trade agreement.

Both democratic nominees expressed solidarity with union members and criticized the current Bush administration for their lack of support for the labor movement. Clinton allied herself with union workers as the “underdogs,” who kept persevering despite being told to back down. Clinton said she planned to make the Employee Free Trade Act “the law of the land.” Both candidates called for an end to privatization and outsourcing of American jobs, and Clinton promised to end tax breaks and subsidies to oil companies if elected. Obama pledged to invest $150 billion over ten years in green technology and new jobs that cannot be outsourced.

Both candidates advocated making high-speed internet available to all Americans to enable them to compete within the global economy. They also opposed Pres. Bush’s attempt to secure a trade agreement for Colombia, urging Congress to oppose the deal and call for an end to Colombian violence before negotiations are made. Clinton called herself the only candidate with a specific plan about how to fix NAFTA, and also said that Obama has no plan for universal health care. Obama said he opposes NAFTA, that he is the only candidate who will help middle-class families, and acknowledged that although he and Clinton have run a “fierce campaign,” no one can afford another four years of Bush policy. He called for an end to fighting in Iraq, and a new fight for American infrastructure.

Both candidates also compared Sen. McCain to Bush and said that McCain would worsen the damage caused by the Bush administration. Clinton said that if McCain received a 3 a.m. phone call with an economic crisis at hand, he would let it continue to ring. Obama criticized excessive war spending as wasteful, negated a 100 year occupation in Iraq alluding to a comment made by McCain, and urged America to say no to a metaphorical Bush third term.