| Latest
News
�� |
Energy structure to improve FACING increased pressures regarding the protection of its environment, China must seek sustained economic growth through improving energy consumption structure and technology, business leaders asserted at a panel held at the Fortune Global Forum yesterday in Shanghai. The speakers who attended the panel discussion were Friends of Nature (China) President Liang Chengjie; Goran Lindahl, president and CEO of ABB Ltd; Michael Bonsignore, chairman and CEO of Honeywell Inc and Brian Dumaine, assistant managing director of Fortune magazine. The panel members exchanged views on key energy industries and environmental trends, paying special attention to their implications for China. China is a heavy user of coal resources, which are widely applied in generating power, producing chemical fertilizers and in residential heating systems. The source of nearly 80 per cent of China's energy consumption comes from coal. "The application of advanced technology in coal burning, the availability of more hydropower and an increased use of natural gas will reduce the impact of pollution on the environment," Bonsignore said. Because China has abundant reserves of natural gas, cities such as Beijing and Shanghai have taken significant steps to convert their primary energy sources from coal to natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas. Along with the business expansion of China National Petroleum Co and China Petrochemical Co, many big cities have also established compressed natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas stations to supply canned gas to enable their residents to cook. "But advanced thermal power transmission and distribution networks need to be built to improve the efficiency of energy consumption and to reduce costs," Bonsignore said. The participants also agreed that an increased demand for commodities will be driven by the tremendous growth in the number of cars in use in China, and emissions control has increasingly become an momentous issue for the emerging economy. "So China's environmental issue is a global issue," Dumaine said. "China has shut down many paper-making plants and other polluting facilities, but financing is still a problem." Lindahl said developed nations and some Western companies should continue to transfer technology and know-how to China. "But the key is that they have
to solve the problem of unemployment resulting from the move," Liang Congjie said. |
�� Copyright by People's Daily
Online |
|