The New Green Dragon: Why Beijing Will Lead The Green Revolution in 2011

Asian Green Technology Holdings, Ltd. Report: China's rapid economic expansion has, in the last several decades, come at the cost of vast environmental damages. But that has changed over the last several years, and China is on track to become "The New Green Dragon." End Quote

(1888PressRelease) March 01, 2011 - China's recent triumph over Japan as the second largest economy in the world was no shock to Asia watchers. Rapid industrialization and blatant defiance of the Kyoto protocols have left the Yangtze River less than pristine, and the streets of Shenzen lined with electronic waste and the spoils of a one track platform throughout the last decade; economic growth at whatever cost is necessary. So why are the tides turning in 2011?

Setting aside pressures from multinational groups, one of the biggest motivating factors is simply the sacristy of traditional fuels. China's coal mines are running barren and projects to secure oil pipelines in places like Sudan are forever in limbo due to political unrest and other uncertainties on the ground. 2008 saw the beginning of China's rise on the global "Go Green" scene when they ranked fourth in global clean energy sales, according to the WWF (The USA ranked second, behind Germany).

In 2009 China manufactured more wind turbines than any other country, and ranked third in aggregate capacity at 25GW. When calculating what percentage of GDP stems from clean energy sales, the numbers continue to swing in China's favor; China ranked sixth in the world in terms of percentage of GDP stemming from green energy sales, while the USA finished at nineteenth.

In 2010 China finished first in the sprint to claim the title of the world's leader in solar panel production; currently of the top ten companies (based on number of units sold) Chinese companies account for six, where as Silicon Valley innovators only claim four of the spots.

What's in store for the Green Dragon in 2011? China plans to build more new nuclear power plants (twenty-three) than any other country in the world. They also plan to expand their fleet of hydro power stations, which is already the largest in the world. The completion of the planned electronic high-speed passenger rail system will sharply decrease not only the terrible traffic and congestion in cities like Shanghai and Guangzhou, but radically cut carbon emissions and improve the quality of breathable air as well.

So are these radical shifts in the way China's policy makers view industrialization, or just a facade to get Western tree hugging NGOs off their back? Quite frankly, the driving ideology is irrelevant as at the end of the day, the figures show that China has an invested, long-term strategy when it comes to producing alternative energy. Their sights are set on not only domestic consumption, but also sales abroad. Despite questions regarding the authenticity of their motives and their less-than-stellar long term environmental record, the great industrial dragon will be Going Green in 2011.

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