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Energy and Environment

China will vigorously promote energy conservation and emissions reduction to tackle climate change and promote sustainable development, Vice-Premier Zeng Peiyan said on September 11 in the Great Hall of the People.

Zeng was addressing the Opening Ceremony of the Nobel Laureates Beijing Forum 2007.

Nine Nobel laureates and five world-renowned scientists attended the forum along with 600 Chinese scientists and officials. The Nobel Laureates were: Robert Mundell (1999, economics), Edmund Phelps (2006, economics) Richard Schrock (2005, chemistry), Thomas Schelling (2005, economics), Carlo Rubbia (1984, physics), Walter Kohn (1998, chemistry), Douglas Osheroff (1996, physics), Rudolph Marcus (1992, chemistry), Sir Harold Kroto (1996, chemistry).

They gave more than 50 lectures on topics such as solar energy and its market development, global warming and the reduction of greenhouse gases.

Zeng said, “To ease the conflict between economic development and environmental protection, China will stick to the concept of human-oriented and scientific development, pay more attention to the expansion of domestic demand, the development of primary and tertiary industries, innovation and technological progress.”

The government will adjust its development mode mainly through energy conservation and emissions reduction, Zeng said, adding it would promote the use of renewable energy sources such as hydropower, wind energy, biomass and solar energy and the development of nuclear power.

“The proportion of renewable energy in overall energy consumption should rise from the current 8 percent to 15 percent by 2020," he said.

Thermal power and iron and steel enterprises with excessively high energy consumption and pollution will be eliminated at a faster speed, while energy-efficient buildings and environmentally friendly lighting systems will become dominant, Zeng said as he called for improvements in China’s recycling economy and the more efficient use of energy resources.

Forest coverage will be increased from 18.2 percent in 2005 to 20 percent by 2010, he said, adding that cutting-edge technologies such as hydrogen fuel cells and carbon absorption would be developed to support environmental protection.

During the four-day event the Nobel laureates took part in various activities, to share with Chinese scientists and students their thoughts and ideas on how China can dedicate itself more to world energy problems and environmental development.

Laureates Together with Beijing Students

If you were lucky enough to attend the lecture given by Nobel laureates Robert Mundell and Rodolph A. Marcus in Beijing Number Eight Middle School, you would know why they are called real masters. With two of the most brilliant minds in the world, they turned the lecture into an easy, fun but thought-provoking teatime chat with young students.

“When I was your age, I didn’t know what the economy was all about,” said Mundell, opening his lecture with a more energetic and excited air than when addressing adult audiences on previous occasions. He continued, “Economics is a science talking about how people live. Everybody who lives in the world has to learn how to make a living. It consists of four and only four elements: land, labour, capital and enterprise. And capital includes machines and money, as you might already know. Another very important capital is human beings. In economics we call it human capital and it has a close relation with education. Human capital is the added value accumulated from education, which is what you are doing right now.”