China's Green Revolution

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:00:07. > :00:12.Riding a bicycle in Beijing is and what it used to be. Three decades

:00:12. > :00:18.of unbroken economic growth has transformed an agricultural

:00:18. > :00:24.backwater into the world paramount industrial power. But this

:00:24. > :00:28.extraordinary growth has come at a price. China has become the biggest

:00:28. > :00:36.emitter of carbon dioxide on the planet. And I have got something of

:00:36. > :00:41.a personal interest in China's CO2 emissions. Because five years ago,

:00:41. > :00:47.my family and I were ordered by my bosses at the BBC to undertake an

:00:47. > :00:53.extraordinary experiment. We were told to spend an entire year doing

:00:53. > :00:57.everything we could to try and cut our carbon emissions. I became the

:00:57. > :01:05.BBC's Ethical Man. We changed the way we heated and powered our home

:01:05. > :01:09.and we got rid of our car. They was difficult at first. Stop it, Justin.

:01:09. > :01:17.But we got used to it. We stopped flying and we took the train

:01:17. > :01:22.instead. But whatever we did, people said the same thing. "Don't

:01:22. > :01:32.bother because China's emissions are rising so quickly". But now

:01:32. > :01:53.

:01:53. > :02:01.I have come to China to find out whether the world's most polluting

:02:01. > :02:09.nation can clean up its act. First off, I have got a meeting

:02:09. > :02:13.with one of the architects of China's economic policy.

:02:13. > :02:17.TRANSLATION: When China's leader, Deng Xiaoping, was reforming the

:02:17. > :02:22.economy 30 years ago he said it doesn't matter what colour the cat

:02:23. > :02:27.is, as long as it catches mice, and China is becoming a black cat. It

:02:27. > :02:31.is the world's biggest energy producer, the second-biggest energy

:02:31. > :02:35.consumer and the biggest emitter of CO2. China is the biggest victim of

:02:35. > :02:41.this pollution so the big challenge for China is to change from being

:02:41. > :02:46.the world's biggest black cat to the world's biggest green cat.

:02:46. > :02:52.Professor Hu Angang says China aims to be nothing less than the world's

:02:52. > :02:56.first green superpower. TRANSLATION: China should not just

:02:56. > :03:00.participate in the global green revolution. China needs to lead the

:03:00. > :03:03.revolution. How do we do that? The answer is to transform our

:03:03. > :03:09.development model and become an innovator and that is what the

:03:09. > :03:14.Chinese government plans to. We will witness a new green revolution

:03:14. > :03:20.under the leadership of China. is the unjust and aspirations.

:03:20. > :03:25.Transforming China from a black to a green cat is now official

:03:25. > :03:30.government policy -- isms just an aspiration. I have come to

:03:30. > :03:37.Tiananmen Square for the biggest event in the Chinese political

:03:37. > :03:41.calendar. The National People's Congress. Delegates from across the

:03:41. > :03:47.country come to Beijing... many decked out in their traditional

:03:48. > :03:51.costumes. Have they come here to the Great Hall of the people for

:03:51. > :03:57.approving the Government's plan for this entire country's economy for

:03:57. > :04:07.the next five years. This is, of course, political theatre. The plan

:04:07. > :04:17.will be approved. Nevertheless, this is an important event. This is

:04:17. > :04:24.

:04:24. > :04:28.when China's leaders make their He is saying that the growing

:04:28. > :04:32.prosperity remains at the heart of China's plans over the next five

:04:32. > :04:36.years but he says growth must be sustainable, he is talking about

:04:36. > :04:45.cutting pollution and protecting the environment. He is talking

:04:45. > :04:54.about a five-year plan for China's Energy consumption and CO2

:04:54. > :04:57.emissions should the reduced by 16- We will effectively conserve

:04:57. > :05:06.resources and protect the environment. We will actively

:05:06. > :05:10.Not the sort of thing you would expect to hear from the Chinese

:05:10. > :05:20.Premier. But one of China's strengths is its ability to plan

:05:20. > :05:21.

:05:21. > :05:25.Its leaders know that in the future, securing the energy China needs

:05:25. > :05:33.from fossil fuels is going to become increasingly difficult and

:05:33. > :05:43.The problem is, the Chinese government has other even more

:05:43. > :05:47.

:05:47. > :05:51.These are the remains of break a wall even more ancient than the

:05:51. > :05:56.Great Wall of China and one thing has remained constant in the three

:05:56. > :06:04.millennia since this wall was built and that is the enduring poverty of

:06:04. > :06:08.China's leaders know that they need to continue to improve living

:06:08. > :06:13.standards across the country if they are to hold on to power so the

:06:13. > :06:20.key question is... whether it is possible to do this and to clean up

:06:20. > :06:28.They are quite a few people who believe it is and they are willing

:06:28. > :06:31.to back up that belief with their I have come here to one of the

:06:31. > :06:39.smartest hotels in Beijing to meet a group of businessmen who believe

:06:39. > :06:49.that China offers unique opportunities for cream businesses.

:06:49. > :07:01.

:07:01. > :07:05.So, I have been invited out to the A it shouldn't be a story of

:07:05. > :07:15.suffering and sacrifice, it should be a story of success, love,

:07:15. > :07:21.

:07:21. > :07:28.We have chose to be here because we see this as a place where the

:07:28. > :07:38.challenge and the opportunity is. China has emissions standards that

:07:38. > :07:38.

:07:38. > :07:48.are higher than in the United It is going to be the biggest

:07:48. > :07:51.

:07:51. > :07:55.You go to a conference in China, maybe 5% of the content is icebergs

:07:55. > :08:00.melting, yes, yes, but then they go, what are we going to do, how much

:08:00. > :08:04.have you got, how are we going to sell it? But in the West, 90% of

:08:04. > :08:13.the conference is about melting ice caps and did it not more than last

:08:13. > :08:16.year, it is not even part of the debate. It is all about necessity,

:08:16. > :08:26.they are not blessed with large energy resources to keep going in

:08:26. > :08:30.the future. It is all a question about sustained development. Of the

:08:30. > :08:39.crucial question is for you, can you make money during Green

:08:39. > :08:46.business in China? The estimate for China will be about $2 billion per

:08:46. > :08:49.year. Within that, we have a deal where we will take a 5% cut, that

:08:49. > :08:53.is $10 million per year for us potentially. There is definitely

:08:53. > :09:03.money to be made here and definitely making money is the only

:09:03. > :09:08.

:09:08. > :09:18.I have come here to China to find out if this could become the

:09:18. > :09:25.

:09:25. > :09:31.Hundreds of millions of people in China struggled just to make enough

:09:31. > :09:35.money to survive. They have left villages to work in China's vast

:09:35. > :09:45.energy intensive manufacturing centres making goods, most of which

:09:45. > :09:48.

:09:48. > :09:52.So one of Daniel's projects involves lending money to some of

:09:52. > :09:57.the poorest people in Chinese society because there are ways in

:09:57. > :10:05.which places like rural China can be lifted out of poverty without

:10:05. > :10:10.damaging the environment, one of which involves these things. Now

:10:10. > :10:20.the key to this process is how shall I put it... pig waste and I

:10:20. > :10:24.

:10:24. > :10:29.have got a bit of experience with The farmer, Mr Ram, has got me

:10:30. > :10:39.mucking out his pigs. It's a new venture for him. Before this, he

:10:40. > :10:42.

:10:42. > :10:48.just grew crops. So this stuff... This is pretty much like human poo.

:10:48. > :10:58.And they collect it all in a big chamber underneath the pen and when

:10:58. > :11:00.

:11:00. > :11:07.it rots down, they collect the methane gas. That's how it works.

:11:07. > :11:17.(gags) Oh, it's not very nice work, is it!

:11:17. > :11:18.

:11:19. > :11:25.More? I think I've got it all! Thank you very much. And so, the

:11:25. > :11:29.grass comes down through this pipe and down to the stove. Look at that.

:11:29. > :11:39.Good and clean gas. He doesn't just get free gas,

:11:39. > :11:39.

:11:39. > :11:43.though. He also gets to sell the pigs. TRANSLATION: Before, I earned

:11:43. > :11:49.a little more than $300 a year. Since I started raising pigs, I now

:11:49. > :11:58.earn close to $3,000. And I'm going to be able to knock down this old

:11:58. > :12:04.house and build myself a new one. And it isn't just the pigs. Mr Ram

:12:04. > :12:08.also gets paid to cut his carbon emissions. Now, because he isn't

:12:08. > :12:14.burning this stuff, coal, any more, he's saving a lot of carbon. And

:12:14. > :12:18.the idea is that projects like this will be able to earn an income from

:12:18. > :12:23.the carbon they've saved. They will get what are known as carbon

:12:23. > :12:26.credits that can be sold on the world carbon market. In fact, the

:12:26. > :12:32.income he gets from cutting his carbon dioxide emissions helps to

:12:32. > :12:39.pay off the loan he took to build the pen. Now, he earns as much as

:12:40. > :12:44.his son who works in a factory. The Chinese government has supported

:12:44. > :12:50.low carbon projects in many villages in China. But by Chinese

:12:50. > :13:00.standards, these projects are small beer. China already has the world's

:13:00. > :13:01.

:13:01. > :13:07.largest market for these things - electric bikes. And is a world

:13:07. > :13:12.leader in solar power. Seven of the world's top ten solar companies are

:13:12. > :13:18.Chinese. Last year, China overtook America to become the world's

:13:18. > :13:23.biggest generator of wind energy. It's been installing a new wind

:13:23. > :13:28.turbine every hour. In short, green technology is already big business

:13:28. > :13:34.in China. These are effectively the biggest solar panels in the world.

:13:34. > :13:44.They form the entire outer wall of the headquarters of the world's

:13:44. > :13:45.

:13:45. > :13:50.leading solar panel manufacturer, Sun Tech. Look at this place. Sun

:13:50. > :13:55.Tech started ten years ago and is already $2 million. It made me

:13:55. > :14:00.realise that when I was trying to be ethical, I should have thought

:14:00. > :14:10.of a bigger scale. What do you put the success down to? Big production

:14:10. > :14:10.

:14:11. > :14:15.and you know, with design, a Re liable and high-performance product.

:14:15. > :14:23.And, like China's other manufacturing businesses, he also

:14:23. > :14:26.benefits from low labour costs. But if incomes are going to rise, as

:14:26. > :14:33.China's leaders hope, then just making things very cheaply won't be

:14:33. > :14:36.enough. It will have to develop genuinely new products. 5% of Sun

:14:36. > :14:45.Tech's total revenue goes on research and development, but most

:14:45. > :14:52.of it is spent outside of China. Well, we have four centres around

:14:52. > :14:59.the world. One in Australia and we also have a research centre in

:14:59. > :15:07.Germany and one in Japan and also one in China. But the weight of

:15:07. > :15:11.your innovation comes from abrord. Three of your -- abroad. Throw of

:15:11. > :15:16.your four innovation centres comes from outside of China? Yes.

:15:16. > :15:26.China really is going to lead the world in green technology, it

:15:26. > :15:39.

:15:39. > :15:44.These toilets right in the shadow of the Imperial Palace are pretty

:15:45. > :15:49.innovative. They done use any water. They use the fluids that they

:15:49. > :15:54.receive to clear the bowl. Now, the company that backed these says that

:15:54. > :15:58.this is an original idea. But dig a little bit deeper and you discover

:15:58. > :16:05.that the first waterless toilets were developed in Canada. But

:16:05. > :16:14.according to a leading academic, China has a problem. It lacks a key

:16:14. > :16:24.ingredient of an innovative society, deviance. Professor Pi is a

:16:24. > :16:24.

:16:24. > :16:29.Professor of deviance. So what is a professor of deviance? Deviance is

:16:29. > :16:32.about breaking rules. TRANSLATION: Traditional Chinese society

:16:32. > :16:37.emphasises rules. There is relatively little space for

:16:37. > :16:42.innovation. That's because the Chinese education system is

:16:42. > :16:47.examine-or yenated and leaves little chance for Chinese --

:16:48. > :16:51.orientated and leaves little chance for Chinese students to have

:16:51. > :16:56.innovation. They spend most of their time reciting lessons. This

:16:56. > :16:59.is an important issue. For our economic development, we need

:17:00. > :17:04.innovation. But our traditional culture and our political structure

:17:04. > :17:10.absolutely don't encourage innovation. If this system doesn't

:17:10. > :17:15.reform, then our economy will not breakthrough the next barrier. --

:17:15. > :17:18.break through the next barrier. Though, there are increasingly

:17:18. > :17:24.large numbers of people within Chinese society who are breaking

:17:24. > :17:28.the rules. Aggie was a pop singer but she gave up her singing career

:17:28. > :17:31.to become a full time vegan campaigner. For the people in the

:17:31. > :17:41.West, it's easier to give them information because you can do a

:17:41. > :17:45.

:17:45. > :17:48.lot of things. You don't have a lot of restrictions. In China, it's

:17:48. > :17:52.like, more difficult to give them the information and they have less

:17:52. > :17:57.access to the information. Officials have repeatedly refused

:17:57. > :18:01.her permission to hold vegan campaigning events. Independent

:18:01. > :18:08.campaigning is not allowed in China. Gagging the revolutionaries seems

:18:08. > :18:17.an unusual way to lead a revolution. And the truth is that people who go

:18:17. > :18:20.against the grain, like Agi, are still the excemention in China.

:18:20. > :18:25.China's government has already unleashed a different kind of

:18:25. > :18:34.revolution, a consumer revolution. And it is encouraging people to

:18:34. > :18:40.pursue the kind of freedoms that Jason Yi enjoys. Jason is taking me

:18:40. > :18:44.for a spin around his dad's Formula 3 track in Beijing. This is where

:18:44. > :18:54.the petrol heads of the city come to put their prized cars through

:18:54. > :18:55.

:18:55. > :19:02.their paces. Jason drives a turbo charged Suburu with 410 horsepower,

:19:02. > :19:09.and he's just 15. Don't worry about me, though. Jason has been driving

:19:09. > :19:17.since he was eight. So, Jason, would you ever consider getting rid

:19:17. > :19:21.of your petrol car and getting an electric car? I will, but they're

:19:21. > :19:25.not making them good enough yet. I love my car. We've been together

:19:25. > :19:32.for seven years already. Jason's dad is, as you might have guessed,

:19:32. > :19:38.one of the new social class in China, the super rich. This isn't

:19:38. > :19:43.consist an. The government is now talking about green growth,

:19:43. > :19:48.sustainable growth. The vast industry is not consistent with

:19:48. > :19:55.sustainable growth, is it? GDP is still so important in China. 8% of

:19:55. > :20:01.the GDP growth per year. It is a top priority to maintain the

:20:01. > :20:05.stabilities in the economies. But in the design market, the pressure

:20:05. > :20:12.will go beyond this because everybody is looking for a better

:20:12. > :20:19.life with bigger cars and expensive cars and there's no consciousness

:20:19. > :20:24.of the fumes. China may sincerely want to be a green rather than a

:20:24. > :20:28.black cat. But it isn't actually proposing to cut its emissions. Its

:20:28. > :20:34.targets are about making industry more carbon and energy efficient.

:20:34. > :20:39.And if you look at China's forecasts, you see that despite the

:20:39. > :20:43.new targets, experts like Professor Hu estimate that emissions are set

:20:44. > :20:49.to double before they finally begin to fall away after 2030. China may