The Clean Development Mechanism and Sustainable Development in China's Electricity Sector

Abstract

The Clean Development Mechanism, a flexibility mechanism contained in the Kyoto Protocol, offers China an important tool to attract investment in clean energy technology and processes into its electricity sector. The Chinese electricity sector places centrally in the country's economy and environment, being a significant contributor to the acid rain and air pollution problems that plague many of China's cities and regions, and therefore a focus of many related energy and environmental policies. China's electricity sector has also been the subject of a number of economic analyses that have showed that it contains the highest potential for clean energy investment through the Clean Development Mechanism of any economic sector in China. This mechanism, through the active participation from investors in more industrialized countries, can help alleviate the environmental problems attributable to electricity generation in China through advancing such technology as wind electricity generation, clean coal technology, high efficient natural gas electricity generation, or utilization of coal mine methane. In this context, the Clean Development Mechanism also compliments a range of environmental and energy policies which are strategizing to encourage the sustainable development of China's economy.     

Resources and international climate change policy gridlock

Few other policy zones are as complex as the issue of climate change. If the more pessimistic projections of climate change doom are correct, then the failure to address the issue is likely to be catastrophic and irreversible. The Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change has predicted the potential extinction of many species and that the existence of small-island and other vulnerable countries will be threatened if business-as-usual greenhouse gas emissions continue. Climate change is a transboundary problem and requires unprecedented levels of cooperation between states and serious and sustained responses from major emitters. However, the growing demand and consumption of natural resources for continued energy security and cornucopian economic growth have undermined the outcomes of international climate change negotiations. It is argued here that there is a strong connection between the major emitters’ positions at United Nations’ climate talks, their possessions, dependence and consumption of natural resources, and the continued undermining of international climate change policy for unsustainable growth. This paper assesses the resource politics of the US, China, India, Canada, Russia, and Saudi Arabia and their positions at climate talks to show the link between lack of climate change policy progress and the positions of these main players.     

中国西部环境政策回顾及建议

西部生态环境脆弱而屏障作用显著.在新一轮西部大开发的背景下,对过去西部地区生态环境保护与管理政策进行回顾和总结,辨析其实施成效与存在的问题,并进一步提出相关政策建议,对今后西部国土开发和生态环境保护具有重要意义.本文通过对我国西部生态环境政策进行梳理和分析,发现:①西部地区的生态环境政策在不同阶段具有不同特征,改革开放以前(1949-1977年)主要是开发带动治理,改革开放-西部大开发之前(1978-1999年)逐渐由开发转变为以保护为主,西部大开发十年期间(2000-2010年)开始全面实施生态环境保护和建设;②在空间上,通过自然保护区设置、生态移民、财政转移支付和差别化的生态环境政策,在一定程度上促进了生态、社会、经济的协调发展;③在各项政策和工程实施下,西部生态环境退化趋势得到明显缓解,同时,农牧民的生活条件和经济收入得到较大提高,在生态环境治理、全社会参与、环保投资等方面探索出诸多成功经验;④生态环境政策还存在一些亟待解决的问题,如生态环境建设多以各个部门主导,缺乏统一规划和政策协调,有些政策缺乏充足的科学依据,生态补偿政策缺乏总体还需进一步完善,环境政策实施效果评估,反馈环节还较薄弱等.针对这些问题,本文最后提出建议.     

The environmental impact of industrialization in East Asia and strategies toward sustainable development

The East Asian economy has been growing fast in recent years, and environmental stresses are building up rapidly. Transboundary air pollution, water shortages, drinking water contamination, freshwater and marine pollution, deforestation, climatic disasters, and other environmental problems are becoming serious threats to the well-being of people in this densely populated region. The ESI (environmental sustainability index) reported by the World Economic Forum in 2005 is a good indicator of the environmental status of the region; most East Asian countries ranked at the bottom. East Asia is not moving toward a sustainable society, and the environment will not sustain the current rate of economic development for long. The traditional culture of East Asia used to be sustainable, so we can learn much from our traditions. Land use should be planned from an ecological point of view so as to best preserve the land’s productivity and stability. There should be definite goals as to where and how much to preserve the three important ecological bases: forests, coastal wetlands and agricultural farms. The forest is the base for the terrestrial ecosystem, including flood control, water resources, and climate; the coastal wetland is the base for the marine ecosystem; farmland is the base for producing food. Within these defined goals, limits should be set on how much land can be utilized for activities like urban development, manufacturing, and recreation. Limits on the pollution load resulting from such activities should be set so as not to irreversibly damage the environment. Economic development should be planned to allow the use of energy and resources only after satisfying these constraints.

中国流域生态补偿标准核算方法分析

补偿标准核算是建立流域生态补偿机制的重要内容,也是生态补偿机制实施的关键环节.本文选取政策视角归纳了我国10个省份已经发布和实施的流域生态补偿政策的基本内容,对这些政策的补偿标准核算方法进行了分类,提出以成本和价值作为补偿标准核算方法分类的依据.结合流域生态补偿标准相关的研究成果以及国外政策,对我国流域生态补偿标准核算的政策内容进行了分析,在此基础上对政策层面流域生态补偿标准核算方法的发展和完善提出了建议.为了体现经济规律,同时增强生态补偿制度的激励作用,流域生态补偿政策中的补偿标准在污染赔偿方面需要进一步体现水污染造成的损失,在保护补偿方面需要体现水资源保护的经济价值.在未来我国流域生态补偿实施的过程中,相关方面协商确定补偿标准的趋势将会日益明显,在这个过程中各种量化核算和调查方法可以发挥比较重要的支持作用.本文的分析结果对于推动国家层面流域生态补偿标准核算政策制定或规范地方实践活动具有一定的参考价值.     

完善我国医疗废物集中处置收费政策的思考和建议

医疗废物处置收费政策是医疗废物处置产业化发展的重要前提和保障。当前,医疗废物处置收费政策执行难,欠费、漏费等问题非常突出,医疗废物集中收集十分困难。在对我国医疗废物处置收费政策进行全面分析和评估的基础上,对当前收费政策存在的主要问题和产生的原因进行了分析。以加快完善医疗废物处置收费政策为目标,从完善政策体系、加强监管执法、提高标准合理性、综合确定费用承担方、制定鼓励性的经济政策、提高宣传和缴费意识等方面,提出医疗废物处置收费政策改革完善的若干建议。     

南京市经济发展与环境污染关系的实证研究

根据南京市1991～2003年经济与环境数据,分析经济发展与环境污染的相互关系,建立了南京市经济增长与环境污染水平的计量模型,进而评价了南京市的环境保护政策。研究表明：作为一个重化工业城市,南京市自20世纪90年代以来,在经济高速发展的情况下,其环境恶化程度逐步得到遏制,部分环境指标与人均GDP演替轨迹呈现显著的环境库兹涅茨曲线特征。这主要归功于南京市政府近年来有效的环境政策和巨额的环境投资。     

中国城镇化态势分析和可持续城镇化政策建议

在阐述今后15年中国城镇化面临的就业和收入差距、资源和环境、区域发展、政府管治等四大挑战之后，分析了到2020年中国城镇化水平年均增长0．6、0.8、1．0和1．2个百分点的4种态势。如按1978—2002年城镇年均提供636万人就业考虑，到2020年中国城镇化水平年均增长不宜超过0．7个百分点；如果考虑到2005年上半年城镇安排595万人就业，则城镇化水平年均增长1．2个百分点也是可行的。但是，对于所有4种态势，土地短缺都是一个棘手的问题。最后就可持续城镇化提出的政策建议包括：①引导农村富余劳动力向城镇有序转移；②贯彻落实大中小城市和小城镇协调发展的方针；③高效利用和节约资源，保护生态环境；④统筹城乡规划，加强对经济区发展的引导；⑤贯彻落实工业反哺农业，城市支持农村的方针；⑥建立多元化的城镇基础设施投资体制，大力吸引民间和国际资本；⑦全面推进城镇管理体制创新，制定公众参与政策；⑧坚持按城镇化的客观规律办事，控制地方政府的城镇化热情。     

中日韩循环经济政策比较研究

在中国经济迅猛发展的同时，投资主导型的经济模式中环境保护要素的缺失导致我国工业化发展旱、中期的资源、能源约束、效率低下和浪费严重。在我国实施循环经济刻不容缓。循环经济政策是依据不同的社会、经济和环境条件而制定的。由于历史的原因，中日韩三国在地缘关系、政治传统、风俗习惯、文化教育等内在制度和外在制度彼此趋同，反映在循环经济政策的制定、执行上也有某些相似的地方。对三国循环经济的历史和现状进行比较研究，得出有益于我国的经验，无疑具有很重大的现实意义。采用制度变迁的基本理论作为指导，运用历史研究法、调查研究法等方法进行研究，对中日韩循环经济政策演变的历程进行系统梳理和比较，深入全面地考量其指导思想和举措的选择动机，系统广泛地从多方面研究中日韩循环经济政策。并将三者加以比较，以得出对我国循环经济的发展具有较强借鉴意义的经验，更好地推进循环经济在我国的发展。     

日本国土开发利用及对我国的启示

日本在战后经历了经济高速增长，工业化和城市化快速推进的发展历程，其间土地利用在结构、规模、价格、集约利用等方面发生了巨大变动。本文全面分析了二战之后，日本在经济高速增长、产业结构巨大变动、城市化迅速推进的发展过程中．农业用地、工业用地和城市用地在结构、规模、价格、集约利用程度等方面的特征；日本政府针对经济发展和土地利用的变动和影响。制订的一系列规划调整措施和政策法规体系。通过以上分析，探讨日本在有限的土地资源条件下实现经济高速增长的原因、途径和措施，以及对我国的启示。