ADB backing green initiatives in China

CHANGSHA, China, Sept. 23 (UPI) -- The Asian Development Bank said it was supporting China's economic and energy transformation as Beijing embarks on comprehensive reforms.

Asian Development Bank President Takehiko Nakao met in China's Hunan province with national economic development leaders and Lie Hu, vice Chinese minister for finance, to discuss continued support for transformations in the People's Republic of China

"The PRC is in transition from an investment and export-driven economy to one that is driven by consumption and services," Nakao said in a statement. "As the PRC is undertaking comprehensive reforms in many areas of the economy to support this transition, the PRC can continue to grow at a solid pace, tapping its potential."

The ADB since 2011 has approved $2 billion in loans to China to help fund energy efficiency and other low-carbon programs.

Research group Wood Mackenzie said in an August report that while China may be working to advance a low-carbon economy, the economy itself may need to slow to match ambitions.

Wood Mackenzie said China is on pace to meet its carbon reduction goals for 2030 as of now, but targets for lowered coal and higher natural gas use are ambitious. For China to cut its emissions as planned, the country would have to slow its economic growth to about 4.5 percent annually, the report found.

The Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development said last week China is expected to grow by 6.7 percent in 2015 and 6.5 percent in 2016.

China, which leads the world in carbon emissions, set a goal of reducing emissions to about 60 or 65 percent of current levels by 2030. China in 2009 set a goal of reducing emissions by as much as 45 percent below a 2005 baseline by 2029 and in June said it had already dropped 33.8 percent.

"We have the means, the imagination, and the human ingenuity to solve the climate change problem and avoid further irreparable harm as long as we act now and together," Nakao said.