Cover story The developing world
tion and to map out the steps needed to unify public policy covering climate change – and the domestic and international risks associat- ed with it.
At the COP 15 meeting, Medvedev prom- ised emissions cuts of 25% by 2020, a target that has since been criticised as being insuffi- cient. Energy intensity in Russia per unit of GDP is still one of the highest compared with other OECD countries. But a major piece of energy efficiency legislation – the Law on Energy Efficiency – came into force last November to regulate the energy per- formance of both commercial and domestic buildings. Government buildings will have to set an example by ensuring that water, electricity and gas meters are installed by 1 January 2011. And the rolling out of meters to the rest of the building stock will take place in two further phases during 2011 and 2012.
While energy supply in Russia is not an immediate concern, the prospect of short- ages in a few decades is a distinct possibility. The Russian 2030 Energy Strategy, adopted last August, hints at an increased proportion of renewables being used in energy genera- tion with a particular focus on hydropower, already commonly used throughout Russia. Speaking in May, Medvedev said that there wouldn’t be a legal frame- work in place to increase the contribution of renewables to the energy supply yet and renewables, while not widely exploited now, remain an untapped potential in Russia. In fact, the topography of the country could lend itself very well to generating renewable energy from rivers and wind. The government-owned nanotechnology company, Rosnano, has started a large scale investment project in the area of alternative energy, focusing on solar panel manufacturing. Hosting the Winter Olympics in 2014 will also drive change in Russia, with the International Olympic Committee demanding Olympic facilities be built in accordance with best practice green building standards. The state-run Olympstroy has pledged to not only develop and apply its own corporate green building standards to all Olympic buildings, but also to ensure that ten major Olympic facilities achieve BREEAM or LEED certification.
India
Over in India, green building has grown considerably during the past six years. The country currently has two major rating systems: LEED India, run by the Indian Green Building Council, and the Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA), a system developed by TERI and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. LEED-certified build- ings have grown from 20,000 square feet in 2004 to 23 million square feet last year, with corporates such as Microsoft, ABN Amro and Infosys moving into the region demanding greener offices.
Both central and state authorities in India are supporting the drive to minimise environmental impacts. The state governments of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka are developing their own green building byelaws, the Bureau of Indian Standards has developed the Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) to drive energy efficiency and the prime minister of India has released the NAPCC (National Action Plan on Climate Change), which reinforces the objectives of sus-
26 | Sustainable Business | August/September 2010
tainable development that will shape India’s future development policy.
In Copenhagen, India was hailed as the deal-maker after it insisted carbon commit- ment pledges remain voluntary instead of being subjected to international enforce- ment. Its Ministry of Environment and Forestry is confident that India can not only meet its pledge of cutting emissions by 25 % by 2020, it can improve upon it.
China
China has a long way to go before it is crowned sustainable development champi- on. But that’s exactly what it wants to achieve.
China’s government plans to enforce green protection via national programmes administered out of Beijing
In a country with 20% of the world’s population, but only 5% of its arable land, 5% of its potable water and even smaller proportions of other important resources like oil, sustainable development is much more than a ‘nice-to-have’. Unlike its Western neighbours, China’s green shift is not being led by public awareness or CSR. In China, this comprehensive industrial reform has been uniformly driven across all relevant industries by an ambitious govern- mental goal for stable, long-term and sus- tainable growth. But, faced with unprece-
dented urbanization, it’s not going to be easy.
China has made sustainable development the second most important governmental priority, just behind creating jobs. After ambitious edicts in the 11th (2006-2010) and 12th (2011-2015) five-year plans, which respec-
tively mandate reductions in energy intensity and CO2 intensity per unit of GDP, Chinese central government has handed much of the responsi- bility for execution on to its city and provincial leaders. Beijing has also handed these leaders substantial resources, in the form of technology, budgets, and authority. And it is this approach that has seen Chinese cities position themselves as candidates for the global cleantech revolution. As of 2009, city-scale pioneering initiatives included: four smart grid pilot cities; 13 electric vehicle pilot cities; 21 LED lighting pilot cities; 40 mas- ter planned eco-cities; a voluntary carbon-trading scheme; and a volun- tary green building certification programme. China’s pace of urbanization continues to generate deep debate about the future of its cities. Whether the country further ‘densifies’ its already heavily-loaded coastal cities, builds a new set of hierarchical urban cen- tres, or creates an entirely new model of city living, has become perhaps the biggest challenge to current urban thinking. China sees a big part of its urban future to be in the creation of eco cities. While the movement has had a shaky start with well publicised problems of Dongtan, the Tianjin Eco City is setting new standards, and is already under construction. The central government plans to enforce environmental protection via national programmes administered out of Beijing by new or newly- empowered ministries such as the Ministry of Environmental Protection, National Energy Commission, and the National Energy Agency. In the race to save the planet, the pressure will be on the developed world to cut emissions and transform the way in which it lives, works and plays. But with lower levels of industrialisation, developing nations could find it easier to make the low-carbon transition – and gain a competitive edge in the process. And it looks as though the transition has begun.
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