Philip Lim Yahoo News 14 Nov 09;
SINGAPORE (AFP) – China can become the world's top exporter of "green technology" if it carries out crucial energy and ecological reforms, leading environmental campaigners said here Saturday.
"For China, I am absolutely convinced that it will become the world leader in green tech," Tim Flannery, chairman of the Copenhagen Climate Council, told a business forum on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific summit.
"I think that China is in a position where, as manufacturer to the world, if it goes down that green energy route, it will open up enormous new markets," Flannery said.
The Copenhagen Climate Council is a global collaboration between businesses and scientists which promotes solutions to climate change that would be acceptable to governments and companies alike.
Flannery, regarded as one of the world's most influential explorers and conservationists, said China's green energy industry would also be "critically important" for domestic security.
"It will also secure its own internal stability because the environment problems in China today threaten to overwhelm parts of the country," he said.
Dorjee Sun, chief executive officer of the Carbon Credit Trading Group, said the "Green Wall of China" project could boost the country's chances to become the top green technology player.
The project can spur massive reforestation, energy efficiency and renewable energy development in China, he said.
Carbon credits are derived from the amount of carbon dioxide that will not be emitted through environmentally friendly practices, such as the preservation of forests.
Sun's group serves as a broker between landowners and businesses that want to invest in sustainable development.
The Green Wall of China is the communist state's effort to hold back desertification caused by the neighbouring Gobi Desert by planting forest strips along the borders, and will stretch 2,800 miles when completed in 2074.
US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke also lauded China for recognising the economic opportunities presented by green energy.
"They realise that this is really an economic opportunity that will provide millions of jobs for its people," Locke said at a separate session.
China in May announced that it was planning a stimulus package worth 440 billion dollars to expand its renewable energy use as the country aimed to rely more on cleaner ways to power its growth.
The country has also set a goal to cut energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product by 20 percent and pollution by 10 percent by 2010 from 2005 levels.
