China’s war on air pollution could slow green transition

• 9 years ago (2015-03-05)
• Junior Isles

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A recent study conducted by both the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Tsinghua University in Beijing has found that the employed strategies to date may not actually lead to a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. In fact, the Chinese government’s measures could actually contribute to renewable energy slow-down, the report concluded.

It stated: “The urgency with which Beijing is tackling air pollution is certainly positive, and these efforts will also have related benefits in curtailing carbon dioxide emissions – to a certain extent.” However, it went on to say “it would be a mistake to view the current initiatives on air pollution, which are primarily aimed at scrubbing coal-related pollutants or reducing coal use, as perfectly aligned with carbon reduction”.

This is because when low-cost opportunities to reduce coal are exhausted, the continued dislocation of coal from the energy mix will become more expensive. Thereby, if the focus remains solely on air quality, Chinese power producers will likely stick with end-of-pipe solutions rather than switching to more renewable energy.

This will slow down China’s green transition, and perhaps even lead to further carbon emissions if cleaning processes are powered by coal. The researchers say that a emission tax would be a much more efficient way of dealing with the problem of pollution.