China’s Investment in Renewable Energy Increasing

In China’s 12th five-year plan for 2011-15 the renewable energy industry was highlighted as a priority sector for growth and investment. Overall investment in the renewable energy industry in China is expected t be worth over $ 295 billion USD over the 2011-15 with additional investment of $ 375 billion USD being spent on technology for reduction of emissions and energy saving technology.  

"China has carried out a series of policies to cope with climate change and we have achieved some success after several years of effort," said Xie Zhenhua, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission, during the Caring for Climate China Summit held by Global Compact Network China in Beijing on Tuesday the 30th July.

China managed to remove 1.8 million metric tons of carbon emissions during a six year period between 2006-12 by reducing its energy consumption per unit of GDP by 23.7%. With China being the world’s largest exporter, it relies heavily on energy intensive manufacturing which therefore producers higher levels of emissions above the global average.
China’s commitment to the world is to reduce its emissions per unit of GDP by 40 to 45% by 2020 from the levels recorded in 2005 and increase its Non fossil energy production by 15%, China will be increasing its investments to meet its ambitious targets.

Sinopec Group, Asia's largest refiner, announced during the conference that it will invest about 22.6 billion yuan to upgrade its current production equipment and operations to protect the environment in an effort to realize green development and cope with climate change.
 
Fu Chengyu, president of the company, said enterprises should pay increasing attention to social and environmental benefits and not concentrate solely on gaining profits.
"Companies can make profits and protect the environment at the same time through responsible investments and production," he said.
As a high energy-consumption company, Sinopec has been working toward greener development in the past decade.

Its biofuel research for aircraft and carbon capture and utilization has been put into many applications, which has promoted clean energy use and emissions reduction.
The company published an environmental protection report on Nov 29 last year, the first time a Chinese company had done such a thing.

"Enterprises are the major players in solving global environmental issues," said Georg Kell, executive director of the UN Global Compact Office. "Companies can improve green technology and promote its application."