Author Archive

Climate Change Risk and Response: Droughts as Extreme Weather Events in China

Abstract Climate change is leading to an increase in extreme weather events globally. Different communities and different ecosystems are impacted in various ways by these events. The study evaluates the effectiveness of drought response at the level of both the national climate change policy and region specific response. The paper makes use of the IPCC Special Report on Managing the Risk of Extreme Events and Disaster to Advance Climate Change Adaption’s (SREX) to create two frameworks: one for determining extreme weather event risk, and one that evaluates the effectiveness of risk mitigation strategies. This study contributes to enriching the area specific knowledge of extreme weather event risks, taking into account local conditions. China’s National Climate Change Programme (CNCCP) overall, is adequate in mitigating and adapting to climate change and thus extreme weather events. However it is also found that deficits exist with regard to health related issues, and to urban planning. Finally the paper finds that implementation of the plan appears to be a weak spot: implementation of the CNCCP in the two case studies is too incoherent to conclude that the CNCCP is actually being  followed. Future studies should research the reasons for the policy gap between mitigation plan and implementation. This study illuminates some ways in which developing countries, especially relevant in the China –Africa relationship, can learn from each other; both from successes and mistakes.
Author Harrie Esterhuyse, October 2012
Publisher
Link http://www.ccs.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Discussion-Paper_Harrie_final.pdf
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1 Energy and Climate, 1.4 Climate Change and Environment

China’s Quest for Energy Security

Abstract China’s two decades of rapid economic growth have fueled a demand for energy that has outstripped domestic sources of supply. China became a net oil importer in 1993, and the country’s dependence on energy imports is expected to continue to grow over the next 20 years, when it is likely to import some 60 percent of its oil and at least 30 percent of its natural gas. China thus is having to abandon its traditional goal of energy self-sufficiency — brought about by a fear of strategic vulnerability — and look abroad for resources. This study looks at the measures that China is taking to achieve energy security and the motivations behind those measures. It considers China’s investment in overseas oil exploration and development projects, interest in transnational oil pipelines, plans for a strategic petroleum reserve, expansion of refineries to process crude supplies from the Middle East, development of the natural gas industry, and gradual opening of onshore drilling areas to foreign oil companies. The author concludes that these activities are designed, in part, to reduce the vulnerability of China’s energy supply to U.S. power. China’s international oil and gas investments, however, are unlikely to bring China the energy security it desires. China is likely to remain reliant on U.S. protection of the sea-lanes that bring the country most of its energy imports.
Author Rand Corporation, Los Angeles; Downs, Erica, 2000
Publisher
Link http://www.rand.org/pubs/monograph_reports/MR1244.html
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1 Energy and Climate, 1.3 China and International Relations in the Energy Sector

China’s Worldwide Quest for Energy Security

Abstract The IEA and China: Partners in Energy Co-operation and Policy Dialogue. Formal contacts between the International Energy Agency and China began in 1994. The relationship has developed over the years, to the mutual benefit of both parties. Within the framework of the IEA-China Memorandum of Policy Understandings, signed on 29 October 1996 in Beijing, the IEA maintains technical contacts and pursues an active dialogue with those responsible for Chinese energy policy. China’s growing importance in the world energy market and the global environmental system require that the world pay close attention. The Agency’s expertise and the experience of its Member countries are at China’s disposal to help answer critical questions about energy policy. This study presents the IEA’s analysis of China’s growing energy linkages with major petroleum producing countries.
Author International Energy Agency (IEA)/OECD, April 2000
Publisher
Link http://www.oecdchina.org/OECDpdf/china2000.pdf
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1 Energy and Climate, 1.3 China and International Relations in the Energy Sector

“Oil for the Lamps of China”—Beijing’s 21st-Century Search for Energy

Author MCNAIR PAPER 67, The Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS)/National Defense University; Bernard Cole; 2003
Publisher
Link
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1 Energy and Climate, 1.3 China and International Relations in the Energy Sector

China’s Search for Energy Security: Implications for U.S. Policy

Abstract China is rapidly emerging as a major force in both world energy markets and global energy geopolitics, and key aspects of China’s new global energy activities are creating new challenges for U.S.-China relations. This report examines China’s global search for energy security, draws implications for U.S. global energy and security interests, and recommends policies that will allow the United States to respond more effectively to China’s expanding global energy impact.
Author The National Bureau of Asian Research; NBR Analysis Volume 17, Number 1; Kenneth Lieberthal and Mikkal E. Herberg; April 2006
Publisher
Link http://www.nbr.org/publications/nbranalysis/pdf/vol17no1.pdf
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1 Energy and Climate, 1.3 China and International Relations in the Energy Sector

Twenty-First Century Energy Superpower

Abstract If you want to know which way the global wind is blowing (or the sun shining or the coal burning), watch China.  That’s the news for our energy future and for the future of great-power politics on planet Earth.  Washington is already watching — with anxiety.Rarely has a simple press interview said more about the global power shifts taking place in our world.  On July 20th, the chief economist of the International Energy Agency (IEA), Fatih Birol, told the Wall Street Journal that China had overtaken the United States to become the world’s number one energy consumer.  One can read this development in many ways: as evidence of China’s continuing industrial prowess, of the lingering recession in the United States, of the growing popularity of automobiles in China, even of America’s superior energy efficiency as compared to that of China.  All of these observations are valid, but all miss the main point: by becoming the world’s leading energy consumer, China will also become an ever more dominant international actor and so set the pace in shaping our global future
Author Michael T. Klare, September 20th, 2010
Publisher
Link http://www.zcommunications.org/twenty-first-century-energy-superpower-by-michael-t-klare
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1 Energy and Climate, 1.3 China and International Relations in the Energy Sector

Asia’s Rising Energy and Resource Nationalism: Implications for the United States, China, and the Asia-Pacific Region

Abstract The 2011 Energy Security Report, “Asia’s Rising Energy and Resource Nationalism,” overviews the dramatic developments taking place in Asian energy markets and their geopolitical implications. The report includes an examination of the connection between energy insecurity and control of major sea lanes, the impact of Asia’s national oil companies on the global industry, and the emergence of rare earth elements as an arena for national competition.
Author The National Bureau of Asian Research; Gabe Collins, Andrew S. Erickson, Yufan Hao, Mikkal E. Herberg, Llewelyn Hughes, Weihua Liu and Jane Nakano; September, 2011
Publisher
Link The summary can be found here, http://www.nbr.org/downloads/pdfs/ETA/ES_Conf11_Report_Brief.pdf

the full report can be ordered here: http://www.nbr.org/publications/issue.aspx?id=236#.UkAuahBv5jc
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1 Energy and Climate, 1.3 China and International Relations in the Energy Sector

China and Iran: Energy and/or Geopolitics

Abstract This essay offers a Chinese perspective on the role played by Iran in China’s energy security and contemplates ways for China and the U.S. to address the associated diplomatic challenges. Iran is a factor that contributes to and risks deepening the “trust deficit” in diplomatic relations between China and the U.S. For China, access to Iranian energy resources is conditioned by an array of factors, including market-based concerns and considerations of domestic stability within China were Beijing to side with Washington in applying sanctions against Tehran. Beijing is not as forthcoming as Washington would like in dealing with Tehran, but Chinese involvement in multilateral diplomatic forums should not be overlooked. American observers are often tempted to view Chinese diplomacy toward Iran as part of an agenda to confront the U.S. and the wider West. The truth of the matter, however, is much more complex. China’s failure to heed U.S. demands to curtail oil imports and other economic ties to Iran can best be characterized as utilitarian and commensurate with the mutual anxieties that Beijing and Washington hold about each other.
Author National Bureau of Asian Research; Zha Daojiong; September 2012
Publisher
Link http://www.nbr.org/publications/specialreport/pdf/Preview/SR41_preview.pdf
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1 Energy and Climate, 1.3 China and International Relations in the Energy Sector

The Impacts of China’s Accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) on China’s Energy Sector

Abstract It was said to be a win-win game when the Minister of the China Foreign Trade Ministry and the Trade Representative of the United States toasted each other on the Sino-American bilateral agreement on China’s entry into the WTO on November 15, 1999. Half a year later, a similar  agreement was reached between the European Union and China. Climbing the two largest mountains to get to the WTO, China is approaching the endpoint of the marathon. China needs the world, and the world cannot advance without the participation of China. Facing the challenges brought about by the new technologies and global mobility of capital, no country can develop further rapidly and healthily without adapting to this globalization of economy. This is also true for China, the largest developing country in the world. It is in great need of taking in the advanced technologies, large volume of capital, and policy experiences to facilitate its economic reformation, even political reformation.
Author Development Research Academy for the 21st Century, Tsinghua University, Shi Zulin and Xu Yugao Beijing
Publisher
Link http://oldsite.nautilus.org/archives/energy/eaef/C3_final.PDF
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1 Energy and Climate, 1.3 China and International Relations in the Energy Sector

European Business in China Position Paper 2009/2010 – Energy Working Group

Abstract The Energy Working Group comprises over 35 member companies with combined revenues in 2008 exceeding EUR 17 billion, total cumulative investment in 2008 of over EUR 18 billion, and collective employment of more than 100, 000 people in China in 2008. The largest European energy and equipment manufacturing companies as well as industrial energy consumers are active members of the Working Group. The Working Group seeks to establish an effective and constructive dialogue on energy policies with appropriate Chinese authorities, in order to:1) Provide input for energy policy work in China by sharing issues and concerns as well as sharing best practices of European energy industries operating in China; 2) Create fair and transparent conditions for competition between foreign and Chinese companies; and 3)Promote the development and integration of clean and renewable energies.
Author European Chamber of Commerce, 2010
Publisher
Link http://www.frankhaugwitz.info/doks/general/2009_09_China_Energy_Position_Paper_EUCCC_EN.pdf
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1 Energy and Climate, 1.3 China and International Relations in the Energy Sector