Energy Policy in China, the United States and France:

A Case for Government Intervention

Byung Kim, Sean Wang, Dustin Lang, Jean-Baptiste Leger, Ross Perez

The WorldProblems & Solutions

Fossil Fuel History

Oil= 347CE China, drilled the first oil well, burned to produce salt.

Coal= 206 BC–220 AD Han Dynasty, China first used Coal as fuel and ornamentations.

Natural Gas= 500BC China, discovered natural gas, burned it to remove salt from sea water to make it drinkable.

Usage Trend

Demand

Source: http://EarthTrends.org , 2008

Problems

Extraction and production process disturb wild life. (i.e. Removal of geologic material, cutting trees, Oil leaks, and etc.)

Global Warming due to burning of fossil fuels.Rise of Sea Level.Frequent/Strong Storms.Loss of bio-diversity.

Current Solution

Kyoto Protocol.1997 in Kyoto, Japan.A Treaty to reduce green house gases.As of 2008, 128 countries ratified the

treaty. (Including China, and France)2004, France shut down all coal mines.2007, China revealed its climate change

planUS, ratified nor withdrawn from protocol,

due to potential harm to its economy.

Possible Solutions?

10/27/2007 Reuters News.The European Renewable Energy Council

(EREC) and environmental group Greenpeace said: The world could eliminate use of all fossil fuels by 2090 with trillions of dollars investment on renewable resources.

ChinaEnvironmental Damages & Energy Policy

Development History

Deng Xiaoping began the rapid industrial development in 1978, the end of the Cultural Revolution.

Government prioritizes exports-led growth economy, which brought down the poverty rate from 53% pre-1978 to 12% by 1981.

Development led to extreme pollution: the top-10 most polluted cities worldwide are all in China (Forbes, 2006).

Environmental Damages

Soil problems and river cessationWater pollutionAir pollution

All three are direct results of rapid development in China

Soil Problems and River Cessation

Approx. 30% of surface area is desertDesertification is the most severe in the

northern plains, a main agricultural areaIncreased demands for water from

industry and agriculture led to river cessation

In 1997, the lower Yellow River stopped flowing for 230 days out of the year

Water Pollution

Approx. 300 million Chinese people have no access to clean water, and more than 700 million drink water below WHO standards

90% of underground water in urban areas and 80% of the rivers are polluted

Bureaucracy makes water management extremely difficult

Air Pollution

Two thirds of the cities are considered polluted according to the Chinese government

Acid rain falls on 30% of the countryRespiratory and heart diseases related to

air pollution are the leading cause of deathWHO estimates 750,000 Chinese die

prematurely each year due to air pollution

Beijing air on a day after rain (left) and a sunny but smoky day (right)

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 License <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Beijing_smog_comparison_August_2005.png>

Energy Resources

Six industries – electricity generation, steel, non-ferrous metals, construction materials, oil processing and chemicals – account for 70% of the energy use, and they produce the most pollution as well

China exceeded the US as the largest greenhouse gas emitter in 2006

Greenhouse gas emissions by country, 2000

Electricity Generation

Coal, hydropower, other renewables, and nuclear are the top-4 means of generation

Coal-fired power station generate two thirds of the electricity, which contributes to the air pollution

Tremendous hydropower output (e.g. Three Gorges Dam)

“Thermal” refers to coal-fired power stations, and “renewables” excludes hydropower

Hydro and Renewable Energy

China is expected to be the largest renewable energy producer by the end of 2009, surpassing Germany

Highest hydro capacity – 416 billion kWhNo.2 solar producer after Japan, No.1

solar consumerWind power has a 95% annual growth

rate in 2008

Environment Protection

March 1998: State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) became a ministry-level agency

Regulations such as “No Car Day” and “Great Green Wall Project” are largely ignored

June 2007: National Action Plan on Climate Change – reduce 30% of 2004 emission level by 2010 if fully implemented

Renewable Energy Benchmarks

“Wind Three Gorges” – 10GW total wind power capacity by 2010; new estimation shows that it could reach 20GW by then

Increase nuclear production to 40GW & 4% by 2020, 250GW & 16% by 2030

Cut energy intensity by 20% by 2010

United States

Energy History, Use and Issues

The Beginning

United States was the land of opportunityLarge tracts of land handed out to

promote settlementIn turn also yielded very low density land,

making demands for new types of transport

Coal powered trainsGasoline powered vehicles and the

interstate highway

Oil Crisis

1970s oil embargos were mostly overlooked due to the United State’s ability to produce a larger amount of oil at the time, along with other political issues.

Some mandates were made in reference to efficiency

MPG / 55mph

Oil Imports by the US

Oil Galore

After the 1970s, oil prices dropped substantially, making it possible for the public and government to forget the 1970s

Coal and petroleum usage rise higherMPH standards are lifted while car

manufacturers seem to not care much at all about MPG

Rude Awakening

The United States has been able to enjoy relative ease with energy up until recently with issues of cost and side effects coming into play

Historic highsEnvironmental focusEnergy resilience

The Future?

Oil prices have dropped considerably since their highs

Will the 1970s amnesia repeat?Alternative energy solutions will most

likely come about in electricity production first, while development will follow suit in transportation

US Energy Consumption

Fossil Fuels accumulate 85% of the US Energy

Transportation is the largest consumer of petroleum

US Energy Consumption by Sector

Energy Consumption Timeline

Fossil fuels have been the main sources of energy since the late 19th century

Nuclear has increased a bit in a short time, but is limited due to policies

US Electricity Demands

The US currently demands around 500GW of electricity

Approximately 70% of this is made up with fossil fuels, coal is 52% of the total with petroleum and natural gas making up the other 18%

30% of the US electricity comes from non fossil fuel sources

US Nuclear Electricity

A little over 100 nuclear reactors currently licensed in the United States, making the most commercial nuclear energy in the world

20% of the US electricity comes from nuclear reactors 100GW

Development into new means to make nuclear reactors more efficient

Hydrogen

Renewable Electricity

Approximately 10% of the US electricity comes from renewable sources

Hydro power is the largest producer in this sector 80GW

Wind power currently makes about 18GWGeothermal power currently makes

roughly 3GW but could rise to 15GW by 2025

New Policies

With the recent spikes in energy costs, the US government has taken serious ventures into making it rewarding for developers to find new ways to create energy, either by improving efficiency or by making it have less of an environmental impact

20 in 10Energy Independence and Security Act

France

L’exception française

The choice of nuclear power

The geopolitical argument : national military independency (atomic bomb in 1960)

The energetic argument: national energy independency and supply security since 1973

French energy packages in 1973 and 2004

France’s energetic independency rate since 1970

Rate of CO2 production for European countries (2004)

How to Solve the Energy Puzzle

China, France and the US have different situations but all can implement renewable and environmentally sound strategies

The government will be the main driver of this change and will need to foster it from the “top down”

Three(.5) Pronged Strategy

1. Cut petroleum use

2. Increase renewable fuels

3. Establish efficiencies throughout energy system

(.5) STOP COAL USE

Cut Petroleum Use

China using 15.6 MBD by 2030 (BP)US still using worlds largest share of

petroleumCAFE will play a large partHopefully, high gas prices reduce demandSmall cars encouraged by government

(use less gas than normal sized cars and are cheaper than hybrids)

Cut Petroleum Use (Cont.)

Increase Use of Renewables

Governments need to sponsor research into renewables likeEthanolHydrogen (despite entropy issues)Bio-diesel

While we have cheap resources we should use them to break our dependency instead of increase it

Increase Efficiency

By increasing the efficiency of the homes, cars, power plants, etc. that we already have, we maintain a high standard of living but at a smaller footprint

IdeasFluorescent bulbs only

30-60% decrease in lighting electricity usage (Harper)

Improved insulation40-60% decrease in space heating (Harper)

Decreasing Coal

If all of these strategies are implemented, and hydropower increased, a decrease in coal can be afforded

Coal is the most destructive energy producer, environmentally

No viable long term strategy can work, environmentally that is, with the coal use habits of China and the US

Conclusions

Together, this 3(.5) pronged strategy can help China, France and the US be energy efficient and environmentally sound

Government will need to take the leadCost of not doing so will be

Environmental problems (global warming)Economic problems lack of energy resources)Social Problems Pollution in cities, NIMBYism)