Oops - Rampant Chinese Economic Growth Negates Efficiency, Renewables

The world's largest emitter saw carbon intensity, a measure of emissions per unit of GDP, rise three per cent from 2002 to 2009 despite efficiency improving in nearly all its provinces following a raft of investments in less wasteful technologies, according to new research from the University of East Anglia published in the journal Nature Climate Change. The study finds rampant growth has expanded carbon intensive activities, such as mining, metal smelting and coal-fired electricity generation, which has negated any emissions gains made through efficiency improvements.

The starkest results came in Inner Mongolia, where inefficient, carbon-intensive factories have been extensively replaced with large-scale modern facilities. The investment resulted in metal smelting and cement production increasing 14-fold between 2002-2009, with a subsequent 159 per cent rise in efficiency. But a 141 per cent increase in the scale of production meant the net efficiency gain was a comparatively modest 18 per cent.

The carbon efficiency of China's coal-fired power plants also improved by 10 per cent, according ot the report, but production capacity more than doubled meaning coal power's share of the total economy also increased.

The results contrast with official figures, which reported a five per cent decrease in carbon intensity for the first half of 2012, and a nationwide pledge to reduce carbon intensity by up to 45 per cent over the course of this decade. The country is also set to bring in a nationwide carbon market in 2016 and is banning the use of the dirtiest coal as part of a package of measures designed to tackle the air pollution that has dogged its cities.

EDIT

http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2373911/chinas-emissions-cuts-negated-by-industrial-boom-study-finds

Ed. - Emphasis added