After more than 30 years of reform and upon opening its doors, China has achieved immense success. China is the second largest economy in the world, the most populated sovereign nation on earth with 1.3 billion people and has experienced unprecedented economic growth over the past decade. China has come from a land of rural farming communities to a land of high tech, mega cities, unstoppable economic engine power and of large influence on the international stage. China 

is really a model for economic success yet, the country continually faces evolving conditions at home and abroad, such as decelerating growth rates, issues of increased of energy consumption and high pollution ratios, environmental and resource constraints, international trade frictions as well as deepening socioeconomic divides.

Human development should be the ultimate objective for all economies and societies. Human development is in regards to safe medical access, education, freedom and individual rights as well as host of many other developmental processes. There is also economic development which allows for a higher standard of living due to more money in peoples pockets. Let me be clear that human development and economic development are not the same thing. Economic development i

s a means of creating human development but only if done correctly. Climate change threatens human development not only in China but around the world through droughts, flooding, crop yield numbers and a host of other impacts which intern cause mass migrations, potential health risks, food security issues and economic instability.

So where does China stand on climate change?

China is nearly the largest economy in the world and with all engines running full steam ahead anything that hinders economic growth is considered a negative kink in the wheel which must be corrected immediately. China acknowledged that climate change poses a large threat to it’s people as well as its continuous economic growth. China sees that mitigating climate change is a careful balancing act between ecological stability and economic growth. China wants to address climate change in a way that will allow economic growth all while helping to combat climate change. Is it possible to have economic growth and reduce their carbo

n emissions as the same time?

The answer is simple, yes and no.

China has adopted a carbon based intensity form of carbon output measurement. This carbon based intensity mechanism will be used to base their future reductions in output as a form of measurement. Carbon based intensity measurements are based as a percentage on GDP (Gross Domestic Product) output.

For example, if China through all of it’s economic activity produces 100 widgets annually all while producing 200 Tonnes of CO2 annually then a percentage is formed. The percentage is based on the amount of CO2 emitted compared to how many widgets China produced. China currently wants to bring its efficiency up by producing more widgets all while producing less CO2 per widget. So if China produces 200 widgets next year a 100% increase but only produces 300 tons of CO2 per year a 50% increase then they would decrease the percentage of carbon it took to make each individual widget. This sounds great as each widget is being made with less CO2 emissions per unit.  Under this scheme emission levels will appear to go down. The problem lies in the fact that China as a nation would

still produce more CO2 than it did in the previous year. This means an increase in CO2 production and a negative environmental impact every year.

While China is actively working to increase its efficiency and reduce its CO2 output with carbon based intensity as a CO2 measurement, China will continue to pollute more every year as long as there is economic growth. China’s plan with Carbon based intensity measurement forecasts for the year 2020 to have 5.6 tonne’s of CO2 emissions per person with a further reduction by the year 2050 down to 3.7 tonnes of CO2 emissions per person. This is a good number however the problem lies in the fact that while emissions on an individual bases are reduced the actual amount of CO2 emitted as a nation would still climb pending increased economic growth. As the economy continues to grow into the 10% and 20% range

larger it will be producing more CO2 as an entire country than it is today which essentially destroys the whole first intention which is to reduce CO2 output. China is currently expanding roughly 8% a year which means even if this carbon based intensity policy is instituted immediately in as little as 1-2 years Chinas output will already be more than the national rate today.

China will become the worlds lar

gest economy in the world within the next one to two decades and if it is to act as a true world leader it should have hard concrete targets of absolute CO2 reductions. China can not afford to create fancy ways of showing CO2 reductions as percentage of GDP and growth. China needs to step up to the plate and be a strong world leader by providing hard targets on absolute reductions. China is still experiencing unprecedented economic growth and has not yet reached economic maturity. Lets hope China corrects its fault based policy and proves to the world that they are ready to lead through environmentally friendly economic growth and long term sustainability.

Ryan Sullivan, IFLRY and YLC Climate Change Conference Delegate 2009, 2010