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Driven together by a green future

By Alexis Hooi and Sun Xiaohua (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-09-29 14:17

Participants at the 35th China Daily CEO Roundtable held yesterday in Tianjin. Standing from left to right: Edoardo Croci, vice-mayor of Milan; Tetsushige Nishio, Japan's administrative vice-minister of the environment; Zhu Yinghuang, editor-in-chief emeritus of China Daily; Yuan Si, vice-chairman of the environmental protection and resources conservation committee of the NPC; Troels Lund Poulsen, Denmark's minister of environment; Vincent Van Quickenborne, Belgium's minister of economy and reform; and Qu Yingpu, deputy editor-in-chief of China Daily. [China Daily]

China is well-positioned to take a leading role in the economy of the 21st century, one that will be driven by the environment, top officials and industry leaders said on the sidelines of the 2008 Summer Davos in Tianjin yesterday.

There is much the country can do as it forges ahead in its development, from market demand deciding environmental policy and regulation to green technology fueling the economy of the future, participants at the 35th China Daily CEO Roundtable heard.

"Environmental challenges here have brought with them environmental protection laws and policies correspondingly turning environmental protection from a sort of 'social appeal' into realistic market demand for all kinds of environment industries to have taken shape," Yuan Si, vice-chairman of the environment protection and resources conservation committee of the National People's Congress of China, said to 50 other members of the breakfast discussion at the Holiday Inn Binhai.

Citing the fast-growing sector of renewable energy as one example, Yuan said installed wind power capacity increased 100 percent continuously in 2006 and 2007, reaching 5.90 million kW by the end of last year to rank in the world's top five for the sector. This was largely the result of a renewable energy law approved in February 2005 that had removed the risks of investment in the sector and boosted market confidence.

Indeed, figures from the United Nations Environment Programme have forecast robust growth in China for clean energy, drawing increasing investor interest in a sector where global investment is expected to reach $450 billion a year by 2012.

The optimism and promise of the environmental industry in China rang loud and clear at yesterday's forum.

"It is important that the business cannot solve everything, when it comes to environmental concern. But the business is part of the solution. Talking to our companies, many of them want to be in China and are keen to inject their expertise and to share ideas," said Vincent Van Quickenborne, Belgium's minister of economy and reform.

"In China, environmental protection can also be a business for companies. It's a fantastic opportunity for Chinese entrepreneurs to engage themselves in environmental products of different types," said Jorgen Mads Clausen, president and CEO of global components producer Danfoss A/S.

"There is worry that addressing environmental and climate change issues will slow down economic growth. But Japan's experience showed that the economy and environment can go hand in hand. Successful examples include hybrid vehicles," said Tetsushige Nishio, Japan's administrative vice-minister of the environment.

"The 21st century is one where the environment is driving the economy," added C.S. Kiang, chairman of the environment fund of Peking University.

"This is a time of opportunity. China in the 21st century is what it can do for the world for the economy, for climate change. It's an opportunity for humankind to work together."

Providing a public platform

Still, participants at yesterday's roundtable highlighted some of the challenges for China in an "environment-driven" economy.

"China, right now, must strike a balance between environmental protection, economic growth and a better use of natural resources," said Zhu Yinghuang, editor-in-chief emeritus of China Daily.

The role of public participation in tackling environmental challenges was considered to be particularly important at all levels, with media having a major responsibility in raising environmental awareness and promoting the implementation of green policies.

"In Denmark, we have had very strong regulation on the environment. Even then, it has been possible to protect the environment and also have economic growth in Denmark during the last 25 years," said Troels Lund Poulsen, Denmark's environment minister.

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