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Barbara Finamore's Blog

Issues: Greening China

China on the Path towards Putting a Price on Carbon

May 16, 2010

Posted by Barbara Finamore in Greening China , Solving Global Warming

Tags:
carbontax, China, chinaclimate, globalwarming, lowcarbon

China is now one step closer to putting in place a carbon tax. According to several reports, the Energy Research Institute (ERI) of the powerful National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the Ministry of Finance (MOF) announced on Tuesday...

China Removes Import Duties on Wind and Hydro Equipment

May 5, 2010

Posted by Barbara Finamore in Greening China

Tags:
china, chinaclimate, cleanenergy, cleantech, globaleconomy, hydro, renewables, wind

Every day that climate change and clean energy legislation is stalled in the Senate, the US loses out on opportunities to benefit from the clean energy economy.  A new Chinese trade policy has just been announced that will give a...

A Clear-Eyed Look at China’s Climate Target

April 19, 2010

Posted by Barbara Finamore in Greening China

Tags:
11thfiveyearplan, 12thfiveyearplan, carbonintensity, china, chinaclimate, climate, climatenegotiations, copenhagen, copenhagenaccord

Here is a post by NRDC China Fellow, David Cohen-Tanugi, who is in our Washington, DC office: In the lead-up to Copenhagen, and again in its submission to the UNFCCC in January, China announced a target to lower its carbon...

Progress in Improving Transparency in Environmental Protection and Climate Change in China

April 12, 2010

Posted by Barbara Finamore in Greening China

Tags:
china, chinaclimate, climatechange, transparency

On April 1st I was invited to testify on the subject of transparency in environmental protection and climate change in China at a roundtable discussion for the Congressional Executive Commission on China. The purpose of the hearing was to provide...

China Officially Associates with the Copenhagen Accord

March 11, 2010

Posted by Barbara Finamore in Greening China

Tags:
ACES, china, climate, climatechange, copenhagen, copenhagenaccord, UNFCCC

On Tuesday, in an official letter to the UNFCCC signed by China’s climate negotiator Su Wei, China officially expressed its willingness to be associated with the Copenhagen Accord.  To be precise, the one-sentence letter confirmed that “the [UNFCCC] Secretariat can...

China's Recent Steps Towards Meeting Its Climate Commitments

March 5, 2010

Posted by Barbara Finamore in Greening China

Tags:
climate, climatechange, postcopenhagen, renewableenergylaw, renewables

Despite some recent U.S. press reports to the contrary, China is not sitting still when it comes to addressing climate change. A number of high-level statements and reports released in China over the last week have sent this message loud...

China Renews Its Commitment to Renewable Energy

February 1, 2010

Posted by Barbara Finamore in Greening China

Tags:
china, chinaclimate, renewableenergylaw, renewables

Here is a post by an NRDC visiting attorney, Sara Schuman, who is in our Beijing office: "Optical Cables Below" reads a sign outside a wind farm in Yumen, Gansu province. Photo Credit: Doug Kanter   China is currently the...

China Records Its Climate Actions By Copenhagen Accord Deadline

February 1, 2010

Posted by Barbara Finamore in Greening China , Solving Global Warming

Tags:
china, chinaclimate, climate, copenhagen, copenhagenaccord, energyandclimate, energyefficiency, obama, renewables

China's Commitment China has submitted its proposed climate mitigation actions to the UNFCCC in a letter dated January 28, ahead of the January 31, 2010 deadline in the Copenhagen Accord.  Given Premier Wen Jiabao’s hands-on role, along with President Obama...

China Transparency Pledge Moves Copenhagen Talks Forward

December 17, 2009

Posted by Barbara Finamore in Greening China , Solving Global Warming

Tags:
agreement, china, climate, clinton, COP15, copenhagen, developingcountries, heyafei, MRV, obama, reporting, transparency

China advanced hope for a global climate accord Thursday, saying it would enhance the information it makes available to other countries about its carbon emissions and submit that reporting to some form of international review. This opens the door to...

Clean Tech in Copenhagen: A Key Solution to Climate Change

December 14, 2009

Posted by Barbara Finamore in Green Enterprise , Greening China , Solving Global Warming

Tags:
buildings, china, chinasolar, cleanenergy, cleantech, climateREDI, COP15, copenhagen, DOE, energyefficiency, solar

Clean tech is very much on the radar screen here in Copenhagen as a key solution to climate change.  The U.S.-based Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) have just released a report entitled “Seizing...

NRDC hosts COP15 side event on climate solutions in China

December 9, 2009

Posted by Barbara Finamore in Greening China , Solving Global Warming

Tags:
buildings, carbonintensity, china, cop15, copenhagen, energy, globalwarming, mitigation, target

I work in China. I am no stranger to crowds. But the number of people streaming into Copenhagen for what is already an historic event in the global undertaking to curtail climate catastrophe would put even the most cosmopolitan of...

My First Day in Copenhagen

December 7, 2009

Posted by Barbara Finamore in Greening China , Solving Global Warming

Tags:
beijing, bicycles, china, climatechange, cop15, copenhagen, UNFCCC

I knew I’ve been working in China too long when I couldn’t stop comparing everything in Copenhagen to Beijing.   I couldn’t even pass for an ordinary American to the immigration officer – my passport gave me away. He took one...

China’s Carbon Intensity Target

November 27, 2009

Posted by Barbara Finamore in Greening China , Solving Global Warming

Tags:
carbonintensity, china, climate, climatechange, climatenegotiations, copenhagencountdown, globalwarming

China yesterday announced that Premier Wen Jiabao will attend the Copenhagen climate summit and that he will bring with him a target for China of reducing carbon intensity by 40 to 45 percent from 2005 levels by 2020.  Coming a...

Obama and Hu's New Clean Energy Agreements: On the Path to a Low-Carbon Future

November 17, 2009

Posted by Barbara Finamore in Greening China , Solving Global Warming

Tags:
agreement, buildingenergylabeling, CCS, china, chinanrdc, cleanenergy, cleantech, cleanvehicles, climate, climatechange, copenhagencountdown, electricvehicles, energy, energyefficiency, globalwarming, hujintao, MOU, obama, renewables, solar

Today, during President Obama's first full day here in Beijing, he and President Hu Jintao announced a package of clean energy partnership initiatives between the United States and China that adds substance to the structure of the US-China MOU on...

Clean Energy Cooperation on the Eve of the US-China Summit

November 16, 2009

Posted by Barbara Finamore in Greening China , Solving Global Warming

Tags:
china, chinanrdc, cleanenergy, cleantech, cleanvehicles, climatechange, copenhagencountdown, DOE, energyefficiency, globalwarming, obama, summit, USChina

 In conjunction with President Obama's trip to China, I had the great privilege of speaking today at a high-level Clean Energy Roundtable in Beijing with top government officials from the U.S. and China. Over 100 experts attended, including the heads...