SOUTH AFRICA: September 29, 2005

But the Asian colossus is also seen leading the way in the use of "green" energies as alternatives to fossil fuels, the head of a leading environmental watchdog said on Wednesday.
"China is already big in renewables. In 5 years time we see them as a world leader in this department," Chistopher Flavin, president of the US-based Worldwatch Institute, told Reuters on the sidelines of an energy conference in Johannesburg.

"Already, 35 million homes in China get their hot water from solar collectors. That is more than the rest of the world combined," he said.

Renewable energy is derived from sources that are continually replaced, unlike fossil fuels of which there is a finite supply. Most renewables are non-polluting. "There are prospects for real take-offs in solar and wind power in China, and not just hot water for homes but in industry," said Flavin.

"State-owned industries and private companies there are investing heavily in renewables," he said.

Sky-high world oil prices have partly been attributed to surging demand from China and the country's overall record on the environment has many greens seeing red.

But Flavin said the rapid growth in oil imports and related costs was making China look for alternatives.

He also said the country was grappling with mounting health and social costs from pollution as well as an energy crisis that has seen rolling black outs.

Flavin earlier told the conference that renewable energy was rapidly growing on a global scale, albeit from a low base compared to fossil fuels.

He said that wind power had an annual average growth rate of about 30 percent from 1994 to 2004, while solar energy had seen yearly growth of close to 25 percent over the same period.

He also said that the costs from such energy sources were falling fast, noting that wind power in 1980 cost 46 cents a kilowatt hour but now cost less than 6 cents.

But he said that much of the oil industry was missing the boat and the message it was sending was that: "Real energy men don't do renewable energy."


Story by Ed Stoddard

Thank you for your e­mail proposing solutions to address climate change.

On April 13, the Government of Canada released Moving Forward on Climate Change: A Plan for Honouring our Kyoto Commitment. Building on the initiatives introduced in Budget 2005, this Plan will mobilize all Canadians in a national effort to address climate change, while supporting economic competitiveness and facilitating Canada’s transformation towards a low­carbon economy in the long­run. A copy of the Plan is available at www.climatechange.gc.ca.

The Plan includes actions to increase the efficiency of our buildings and industry. For example, an allocation of $225 million over the next five years for the EnerGuide for Houses Retrofit Incentive will quadruple the number of homes retrofitted under this successful program. This new federal level of effort will support energy efficiency improvements in a total of 500,000 homes by 2010.

The Plan includes a further acceleration of the capital cost allowance (CCA) rate, from 30 percent to 50 percent, for certain high-efficiency cogeneration equipment and the full range of renewable energy generation equipment included in Class 43.1 (wind turbines, small hydro facilities, active solar heating equipment, photovoltaics and geothermal energy equipment). As well, it is proposed that Class 43.1 be extended to include distribution assets of district energy systems such as pipelines, pumps and meters where the heat energy has been produced using cogeneration equipment that qualifies for Class 43.1 treatment. It is also proposed that accelerated CCA also be extended to include certain equipment used to produce biogas (largely methane) from the anaerobic digestion of farm manure, where the biogas is used to generate electricity.

Encouraging the widespread use of equipment that produces energy efficiently or from renewable sources will continue to be an important part of Canada’s environment and climate change strategy.

With respect to encouraging purchases of fuel­efficient vehicles through taxation incentives, the Government of Canada believes that such a program is worthy of serious study. A “feebate” would provide a consumer rebate for fuel­efficient automobiles, and impose a fee on models that are not efficient. The Government has, therefore, asked the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy (an independent advisory body) to develop options for a feebate, to consult, and to make recommendations to the Government for the next federal Budget.

I am pleased to convey that, in April of this year, the Government of Canada and the Canadian automobile industry signed an agreement on climate change action. Under this Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), the auto industry has agreed to voluntarily reduce greenhouse gas emissions from light­duty vehicles in Canada (cars, minivans, SUVs and pick­up trucks) by 5.3 megatonnes as of 2010, through advances in vehicle technology.

The MOU represents a strong commitment on the part of the automobile industry to work with the Government of Canada, and all Canadians, toward our economic and environmental goals. It also builds upon a long tradition of co­operation between the Government of Canada and the auto industry in improving vehicle safety and addressing emissions issues. Indeed, while the MOU is expected to accelerate the introduction of more climate­friendly technologies in future, I am encouraged by recent announcements from auto manufacturers to expand their offerings of more fuel­efficient and gas/electric hybrid versions of some of their cars and light trucks.

I appreciate your support for the ongoing work to meet Canada’s Kyoto commitments.

Yours sincerely,

Original signed by:

Stéphane Dion