World Energy Outlook 2007

urning of fossil fuels, the loss of soil fertility and deforestation caused by
overuse of biomass, the disruptions to ecosystems and communities caused by
the construction and operation of hydroelectric facilities, the disposal of waste
from coal and nuclear power plants, water shortages caused by over-extraction
for coal production and growing emissions of greenhouse gases.
Despite improvements in fuel quality, changes in combustion and emissions
control technologies and the relocation of some industrial activities, air
pollution remains a major problem in China. The government has stepped up
efforts to address the problem, with a degree of success in some cities. Most
cities have forced factories to move to less populated areas and pushed for fuelswitching
from coal to gas where possible, though growth of emissions from
vehicles is offsetting emissions reductions in the industrial and household
sources that have been the main contributors in the past. The State
Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) has temporarily halted some
large projects for failing to comply with impact-assessment requirements, has
introduced new emission standards for vehicles and has begun to set standards
for total allowable emissions from stationary sources in addition to those for
concentrations of pollutants in emission streams. The stringency of
environmental regulation and enforcement is likely to increase. The
government’s overall objective of reducing the energy intensity of the economy,
to the extent that it is successful, will also contribute to curbing pollution. Total
emissions of major pollutants, including SO 2
, are targeted to fall by 10% below
the 2005 level by 2010; meeting the energy-intensity reduction target of 20%
over the same period (see below) would reduce SO 2
emissions by 8.4 million
tonnes.
The country’s heavy reliance on coal is the primary cause of energy-related
environmental degradation. In coal-producing areas, washeries and especially
coking plants are major culprits. Some progress has been made in reducing
particulates, SO 2
, NO x
and other air, water, and solid waste discharges from
industrial facilities and power plants, with the installation of pollution-control
equipment and greater application of waste recovery and reuse, offsetting the
impact of rising coal use. But coal-related pollution from the latter remains a
big challenge. Pollution caused by road traffic is also getting worse as car
ownership and freight expand. The sheer number of new vehicles and growing
congestion on the ever-expanding road network threaten to overwhelm
technical and regulatory progress on energy efficiency and emissions.
Diversification to other energy sources – especially nuclear power and nonhydro
renewables – is a high priority, alongside better ways of using coal. But
even if targets for nuclear (40 GW by 2020) and non-hydro renewables (over
60 GW by 2020) are achieved, they will represent a small fraction of total
installed capacity for many years to come (NDRC, 2007b). Hydropower
274 World Energy Outlook 2007 - CHINA’S ENERGY PROSPECTS