A new report released by Greenpeace says the top 10 power generators in China emitted more than 1 billion tons of carbon dioxide in 2008.
Greenpeace is calling on China, the world’s largest producer and consumer of coal, to move away from coal and get serious about implementing more renewable energy sources and improving energy efficiency, which could position the country as a leader in renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies. China’s electricity segment is the country’s biggest consumer of coal. The top ten Chinese power companies used approximately 600 million tons of coal in 2008, the report says.
In a July 28 press release, Greenpeace urges the Chinese power companies to phase out all inefficient coal-fired plants by 2012, which would lead to a massive reduction of coal consumption and prevent the emission of more than 220 million metric tons of CO2 a year.
The report, “Polluting Power: Ranking China’s Biggest Power Companies,” found that the country’s top ten power companies provide almost 60 percent of China’s total electricity. The three largest companies collectively put out more CO2 emissions than the total emissions of the United Kingdom.
Under previous energy plans, by 2010 the big power companies were bound to incorporate at least three percent of their capacity from non-hydro renewable sources, but eight of the top ten power companies were nowhere close to this goal at the end of last year, the report said.
The advocacy group notes that China has made significant strides in recent years to augment energy efficiency and reduce hazardous pollutants. However, as China produces and consumes more electricity than all other countries aside from the United States, transformation of the energy industry to low-carbon energy is critical not only to China’s environmental and climate protection, but global climate as well, Greenpeace says. As the United States, India and China work toward reducing their considerable carbon footprints on the world, Greenpeace’s report puts a spotlight on China’s electricity sector as an area to bring about significant change.
