"China and Climate Change: Getting Real About Renewable Energy"

Happy New Year China新年快乐！

The Lord Mayor’s Lecture, Mansion House (Dublin)February 15, 2016

“China and Climate Change:Getting Real About Renewable Energy”

Dr Eddie O’ConnorChief Executive, Mainstream Renewable Power

China – an island population

Han people arrived 5,000-10,000 years ago to highly productive land

Chinese civilization

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‘the Class

system is absent from the classroom’Confucius, 551 – 479 BC

Population growth

2nd century:58 million

14th century:200 million

18th century:400 million

21st century:1.4 billion

Interdependence permeates Chinese society

Homogeneous -Chinese population: 91.5% Han people

Meritocracy - a society governed by people selected according to merit

‘to manage to cross the river by feeling the stones’ - Deng Xiaoping

The Chinese way of learning is by doing

CO2 increase

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42% between 1990 - 2010

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Greenhouse gas increase: 36% between 1990 and 2014

The Paris Agreement: Keep rise in global temperature below 2° vs pre-industrial levels

CO2 concentrations

Global carbon emissions from fossil fuels

1900 1990 2010600MMT 9,000MMT6,000MMT

Million Metric Tons (MMT)

17

195 countries

38,000representatives

Chinese growth

• Economy increased by a factor of 2 in last 6 years. • Largest economy in the world when measured in

Purchasing Power Parity.

China’s landmass

• 60% semi-desert

• Three great rivers

Yellow Yangtze Pearl

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Temperature rise in mountains:

6 times higher than plains below

Glaciers melting and retreating

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Global warming will effect irrigation

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Vegetables account for 39% of people’s food consumption

Threat of drought

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China’s temperature has already increased by 1.5°

Chinese pledge prior to COP21

Peak emission by 2030.

Curb carbon intensity between 60 and 65% below 2005 levels.

Carbon trading pilot schemes

Emissions Trading Scheme- launch date:

2017

$20 per tonne

Renewable energy plans:

15% by 202020% by 2025

China: World’s largest installer of wind and solar

120GW

1/3 of the world’s installed wind capacity

43GW solar

320GW hydro

Renewable energy predicted installations for China in 2016

1/3 of the world’s installed wind capacitypredicts installations for China in 2016:

20,000MW of wind15,000MW of solar

Ireland

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Total Installed capacity:

8,500MW

2015:Added 224MW / wind

Electric vehicles (EV’s)

Projected sales: 2016

China: 220,000 units

US: 180,000 units

Worldwide: 600,000 units

Cost effective storage systems

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Questions and Answers