Other renewable energy 0.5 0.1
INDIA
Carbon Emission per Capita:
b) Over the recent years, China and India’s energy usage has risen a significant amount because of their growth. Twenty years ago, India and China only consumed less than 10% of the world’s energy even though they had populations near 2 billion; and now they consume over 20% of the worlds energy (more than double the past). It is hard to say that both these countries can be efficient users of energy at the moment because the success of their economies depends on the increased amounts of energy they use. The efficiency of their energy is not of major concern and the type of energy they use (mostly coal) is not exactly the cleanest, but it is the cheapest and most abundant which is why they use it. The rural areas of China and India mostly use wood and charcoal for cooking and heating which can be described as an efficient measure to energy usage because wood is cheap as well as renewable and clean (over 50% of the rural populations in both countries use biomass as main energy supplies which proves to be very efficient for their lifestyles. China and India’s energy consumption rates are slightly different but the methods and types of energy they use puts them on the same scale efficiency wise, although India does have an edge in efficiency because of its larger rural population that uses natural cleaner methods of consumption whereas China is more industrialized but is working quickly on determining cleaner more efficient methods to produce energy. Canada is the most efficient user of energy, in terms of energy consumption per $ of output out of all three countries. The reason Canada is more efficient is because they are a developed country and have the means and utilities to create programs that instill efficiency. There is pressure on Canada from many countries to increase its efficiency because it is a developed country and should become more responsible for the environment. Canada has a large department strictly placed to work on the energy efficiency of the country alone and in 2006 energy-efficiency budgets totaled $582.1 million. Electric energy programs represented 90% of the budget and gas programs represented 10%. Canada offers incentives and benefits for reducing energy consumption, in the seven provinces with Canadian energy efficiency electric programs, per capita spending in Canada was $19.81. Because Canada is a developed and mature country, the responsibility they have to create efficient energy plans is greater than that of China and India, and recently Canada has been working hard on new efficient strategies for energy such as renewable ideas. *(http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/corporate/programs.cfm?attr=0)
c) Canada is one of the largest polluters on the planet and ranks in one of the lowest spots for greenhouse gas emitters. The country produces almost 50% more pollutants then the average developed country which is embarrassing and unsatisfactory for such a nation. The GHG emissions are still rising even though the government has offered many incentives such as tax breaks and savings. The average Canadian citizen produces almost 17 tons of CO2 which is four times more than the average international citizen and emissions have increased dramatically in the past decades. Despite all the negative statistics on Canada’s emissions, there has been huge efforts to reduce and reverse the effects we have created by switching to more nuclear energy and cleaner smaller amounts of coal. The country is required to update the international society on its standings as part of the Kyoto protocol and because Canada is a strong nation, they have the tools and power to change and lower GHG emissions in order to meet standards. Canada has the lowest greenhouse gasses compared to China and India because it is already a developed country and therefore its expansion has slowed down compared to that of China and India which means it requires less energy and can use cleaner solutions. If Canada is compared to other developed countries it has one of the highest greenhouse gas emissions out of the list. A recent article concerning Canada’s pollution state talks about Canada not wanting to correspond with the Kyoto Protocol in reducing emissions primarily because we have already set in place many targets and restrictions on energy usage that they simply cannot keep asking its citizens to continue on reducing their energy consumption. China and India are two of the largest greenhouse gas emitters of the developing countries because of their rapidly expanding economies; they are less enthusiastic to reduce emissions due to its costly measures and the fact that coal is their number one energy source which helps drive the industries. If one of those two countries had to be chosen for which has lowest GHG per capita, India would take home the prize because they are slightly smaller on the scale of development compared to China and their larger rural populations use more natural methods of energy consumption despite the lack of efficiency it entails.
d) India and China are two of the largest producers on the planet and their growth is booming because of the large demand from the international community. The main source of energy to fuel all this production is from coal, the most available energy resource in both countries. The advantage to using coal is that they both have large amounts, and it is fairly inexpensive to use. The disadvantage to using coal is that it is a very dirty energy source which creates large amounts of greenhouse gases and can cause many other problems to the environment because it discharges carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. China and India won’t stop using coal anytime soon because of the great benefits it offers their economies even though it’s hurting their environment because of toxic outcomes. We can’t blame China and India for using coal as a primary method of energy distribution because they are developing, and most of the developing nations historically did the same thing (such as the United States). A solution to high usage of coal for these two countries would be to invest in technology that can help create a cleaner purified version of the coal which is used in many developed countries. The only negative affect this idea contains is the fact that the process is lengthy and costly, two measures China and India don’t necessarily want to give up at the moment. Canada has the cleanest energy mix out of all three countries, and the reason for this is obvious; because they have been developed and must provide dependable clean sources of energy to its citizens to uphold its environmental responsibilities. Canada has some of the largest amounts of natural resources in the world, which gives it large opportunities to focus on new alternative methods of energy production such as renewable energy from water. The opportunities for private companies to invest in the countries resources and create cleaner energy are extremely abundant, and Canada has become a primary director for renewable resources. It has been reported that Canada invested billions of dollars into its renewable energy programs for solar, wind and hydro energy (one of the largest investments from any country). As an effort to aid their international reputation, Canada has set laws which provide funding for the enhancement, research and implementation of renewable energies. Therefore it is safe to say that Canada has the cleanest energy mix compared to China and India, but this may not be the fact in the near future as China is quickly expanding its clean energy resources to improve their environment and show the international community their potential. China only uses about 10% of its energy consumption from renewable energy at the moment and they have mentioned that the amount of renewable energy they use will increase twofold by the year 2020. China has already doubled its wind power production even though it’s more costly then the coal they depend on; wind power provides much cleaner benefits for the country and China has realized that a balance of clean alternative methods is necessary as their country expands. Begins of the extremely large population found in China, there are many private companies that are interested in creating and establishing clean renewable energies such as solar power, and China only needs to approve these ideas and inspire them by providing benefits such as tax breaks or funding. The reason it is vital for China encourage private countries to research cleaner energy technology is so companies will compete and eventually determine inexpensive ways to produce the energy (seems to be about 10 years away before the country produces renewable at low costs on a large scale). It is estimated that China will be a major leader in clean technology within the future after it has established itself as a developed country and has time to make the environment its primary focus. India is slightly behind on the technology front that China displays, even though biomass power in India is a major benefit to the country even though it is inefficient and time consuming to obtain (ex: from wood, waste, rice or wheat fields and other farmable resources). India should focus on improving their renewable resource technology, but it seems as though they do not yet have the desire or the capabilities. The amount of coal available in India ensures the country that they will be well supported for energy in the future even if this type of energy is not clean. China has also focused on using biomass for energy production such as the use of animal waste and ethanol from corn. The country plans to increase bio-fuel production by using different types of crops, but the major problem with this plan is that the amount of food farmed will be sold as fuel instead of as food, and the price for essential food such as corn will rise because of the new demand. Ceetol is the only solution, as it extracts material from the non-useable parts of plants and trees to use in the creation of fuel and China seems to be very interested in using this type of technology and setting a new standard in the future. China has displayed valiant efforts in increasing renewable energies and it seems as though it will meet and exceed all of its targets set by international standards. I believe China will be a leader in clean energy within the future due to its strong efforts. As an example to support my hypothesis, during the 2008 Summer Olympic Games hosted in Beijing, drastic measures were made to reduce air pollution and clean up the environment before the games begun. They shut down 144 gas stations, restricted cars on the road, closed polluting factories and limited construction all to reduce air pollution. The gaps and barriers of supporting a clean environment have to do with the countries desire to build and grow while having a population of over 1 billion along with foreign countries large demands and investments for their products. We’ve seen how hard they worked to clean up the city before the Olympics in Beijing, and the city was cleaner than it had ever been for that small period of time. This proves to the world that China has the capabilities to clean up their environment and to become a world director.
e) Recommendations to the government of China on how to manage its resources include an increase in the support and incentives for new technology which can be very important for creation of cleaner renewable energy. The progress in technology is vital to a countries growth and leadership in the world; it can help China increase energy savings and improve its environment. In order to enforce an energy saving regime, China should implement a carbon tax (such as the one proposed in Canada) and other restrictions, for instance, taxing countries that want to purchase items from China because it is costing the country environmentally. They should also enforce regulations that require certain responsibilities from its citizens and corporations to reduce energy usage. China must also ascertain a system in which it can store large amounts of energy in case of an emergency or supply cut-off (the United States maintains a large buffer of oil supplies in case of emergencies). China should focus on diversifying its energy supply and stay away from the usage of coal as much as possible by using more renewable energy. Because of the abundance of coal China has, I recommend that they improve and establish clean-coal technology in order to capitalize on the wealth of coal the country has. The country has depended on coal for decades and its economy has been developed by the usage of coal energy, hence a cleaner version of coal would be essential for the future of China and a strategy to execute this plan is necessary. China’s low cost products tempt nations to purchase from them, and the usage of clean energies will become increasingly important to the country in order to preserve their environment and sustain a healthy economy. Recommendations to the government of Canada on how to manage its resources include the numerous opportunities accessible for Canada in the renewable energy sector. Canada has many natural resources and can use them to their advantage by exploring technologies that enhance the efficiency and desire to use renewable energies (solar, wind, water, land). Canada almost enacted a carbon tax which would push its citizens to reduce the amount of emissions they produce. Because this tax was not popular with the citizens, I recommend that the country look at alternative methods by inspiring and encouraging its citizens to reduce energy consumption (maybe even providing more benefits to do so). Incentives and private company competition can help our country realize new ways to reduce greenhouse gasses. Canada has already invested large amounts of resources into the renewable energy program and I believe the country should focus on encouraging its citizens and corporations to begin using those new forms of energy. Green energy should be the definitive plan for the country to lose its horrible standing in the world (one of the highest carbon emitting countries in the world). Pressure must be placed in the industrial sector to eventually eliminate all dependence on fossil fuels, and if this can be accomplished, the residents will follow suit. Political conformity must be accomplished in order to get anything done in Canada, and due to the divide in political parties and the minority government, creating policies is very difficult. Canada must meet its targets for improving energy efficiency and cleanliness in the next few years and a united country is critical to meet international objectives. Recommendations to the government of India on how to manage its resources include reducing its dependence on coal. India’s industrial sector is not as large as China’s and they lack the same amount of technology. India has jump started its economy using coal as its basic energy supply, and reports have stated that their supply of coal will last the country hundreds of years. I believe India does not have the same desire or pressure to change their energy production methods as China. Overall India produces less carbon emissions per capita then China, and the country has a large rural population which uses more natural forms of energy supply. In the future, India will have no choice but to seek alternative methods for energy, and their best bet is to begin investing in technology and strategies that will ensure them a clean dependable supply of energy at low costs. Because India has such a large dependence on coal as does China, I believe India should focus on using clean coal technology in order to improve their environment and continue to produce at low costs. The more they invest in clean coal technology they faster they will be able to discover new methods of producing that type of energy, therefore lowering its implementation and production costs. If clean coal is not an option, natural gas and nuclear energy can be a potential alternative, as well as using biomass to create fuel. I recommend India begin investing in research and exploitation of new cleaner alternatives to coal if they want to develop a sustainable environment/economy.
f) India, China and Canada are large polluters in the world, and the international unions have put heavy pressure on both countries to reduce their carbon emissions. Even though India and China are being monitored and demanded to lower their emissions, it does not seem as though they are ready to abide just yet. The reason for this is because of their expanding economies and the need for a cheap available energy supply to help them grow. I believe once these two countries have achieved their goals of development at a satisfactory level, then they will focus on reducing emissions willingly. The international community knows that these countries are going to get wealthier and will encounter the same problems the U.S and other countries did as they were developing. China has set its own target to reduce emissions in the next few years and it seems as though they have already begun using their technology and innovative powers to look for alternative cleaner methods. India has targets set by international standards but does not seem to want to comply according to many articles. Canada had a set target to reduce GHG emissions but also does not seem to follow the plans stated in the Kyoto Protocol of which they are a member. The Canadian government even rejected court cases against them stating that they have broken international rules on reducing emissions. All three of these countries have their own reasons as to the amount of greenhouse gasses they believe is acceptable and all three of them do have targets to reduce GHG but do not seem to be fully cooperative in meeting these targets. On another note, China has displayed to the world that it will be focusing on using new sources of cleaner energy in the future and that it will lead the international community in about a decade or so. Canada has also set its own standards for developing renewable energies; it has focused on the renewable energy program heavily and large sums of money have been contributed to the strategy which puts a spotlight on using the country’s vast amount of natural resources. In my opinion, after researching many topics on energy consumption and production, nuclear energy seems to be revived and taken on by developed countries such as the United States and Canada. In the near future, nuclear energy will once again take over the energy sector, with new and improved technology and ways to go about producing it. In order for India to achieve its own targets of reducing GHG, they have been increasing investments in renewable energies because they plan to bring power to large amounts of rural areas which have been lacking a reliable energy source since the beginning. Canada has put into operation many incentives for energy efficiency for decades now, and they continue to provide awareness for reduction of emissions.
Canada has established voluntary programs to help consumers and corporations save energy and programs such as the drive-clean program have helped decrease carbon emissions from vehicles. Canada, China and India are all active in reducing emissions and attempting to meet targets, and they need to continue on investing in technology and implementing cleaner solutions to energy consumption if they want to surprise the international community and prove they can establish a clean healthy environment.
To Conclude:
China aspires to soon be a world power and India would like to follow; their economies and countries overall have developed so rapidly that I believe there won’t be any noticeable environmental cleanup during the foreseeable future. As a country develops, they don’t usually focus on their environment as much as they focus on the growth of their economy. In the past, many countries had large amounts of pollution due to their industrialization, and once they became fully developed and were satisfied with their standing in the world, they then focused on cleaning up the country and reducing pollution. Canada has many resources available to them as a developed country and they need to focus on stricter enforcement of standards to follow the international ways. The reason there is such a large focus on the environment in China and India is because it comprises over 2 billion people. The effects of such a large population are easily noticeable throughout the world, along with the fact that we live in times that revolve around finding cleaner ways to live and ‘going green’.
References
