Boao Forum for AsiaAnnual Conference 2014

Session Summary

Session 5 April 9, 2014

New Findings on Climate Change

Co-Moderators

  • Stephen GROFF, Vice President, Asian Development Bank
  • RUI Chenggang, Director & Anchor, China Central Television

Panelists

  • Olof PERSSON, President & CEO, Volvo Group
  • Thomas PIQUEMAL, CFO, EDF
  • QIN Dahe, Former Chairman, China Meterology Administration, Academic, Chinese Academy of Science
  • Ernest Ulrich von WEIZSACKER, co-President, the Club of Rome
  • ZHANG Yue, Chairman & President, BROAD Group: leading AC companies in China.

Key Points

  • The global climate is changing and the issue has become increasingly pressing to human health, social living, and economic growth.
  • Efforts must continue to eliminate greenhouse gas, explore renewable energy, and increase energy efficiency.
  • However, complicationssuch as the ambiguity of jurisdiction among policy makers, the urgency for treatment, and the priority challenge over economic results still exist.
  • In the future, actions such as school education and effective communication may be considered for regulators, private sector, and the general public to proactively seek solutions to climate change.

Synopsis

The changing global climate

Climate, different from the concept of weather, consists of five separate, yet interactive parts: the atmosphere, the hydrosphere, the cryosphere, the land surface and the biosphere. These five parts are influenced by the sun and human interventions among other factors. Over the past few decades, scientists from various schools of thoughts have studied the change in climate and now, we are facing an undeniable statement: climate change is happening, and it is getting worse.

Global climate change, mainly due to the emission of greenhouse gas caused by coal, has become an increasingly pressing issue for human health, social living and economic growth. According to Mr. QIN, Former Chairman, China Meterology Administration, Academic, Chinese Academy of Science, China is the world's largest consumer of coal and hasemitted 8 billion tons of carbon dioxide in the past year from 3 billion tons of coal consumption, which has resulted in the smog of Q4 2013.

Fortunately, many pioneers in the private sector have started the exploration of renewable energy. EDF, the largest renewable energy producer in Europe, is generating low-carbon electricity through nuclear. Moreover, the company took the initiative in 2013 and issued corporate bonds and raised 1.4 billion euros ready for environmentally and Socially Green (ESG) projects, signalling the arrival of a new era for strong financial commitment in decarbonisation. Through innovation in car engines and fuel selection, Volvo's CEO Mr. PERSSON now is proud to allow citizens to travel "smarter" via the well-designed electric public transportation system.

Green vs. Green: a long-lastingprioritization debate

However, complications such as the ambiguity of jurisdiction among policy makers, the urgency for treatment, and the priority challenge over economic results still exist.

RUI Chenggang, the co-monitor for the panel discussion, explains the frustration regarding the promotion of climate control. "As a global problem, climate change, however, needs to be monitored and controlledlocally, which increases the ambiguity of roles and responsibilities between jurisdictions. Also, because climate change has a long-term effect, there is seemingly a lack of urgency for policymakers to prioritize climate control over short-term economic growth".

Future considerations

Government, private sector, general public, and the science community need to work together to proactively seek solutions to climate change. In the panel discussion, Mr. Zhang from BROAD Group suggests improvements in construction; for example if the walls are thicker, there is less coal to be consumed for warmth in winter. This strategy has proven to be useful in Berlin, where the government uses the funds from solar energy investments to subsidize the heat protection program in order to minimize energy consumption.

In addition, according to Mr. QIN, education is also important in the long battle of climate change mitigation. The government must educate the younger generations by integrating science research into textbooks and facilitating communication to update the public with recent progress.