Tracking the emerging technological, commercial, political and social revolution to green China’s red-hot economy.
Posted in green hops, transportation on Jul 4th, 2008
Happy Fourth of July to our American readers. As Thomas Friedman, renown New York Times columnist and cleantech convert, likes to say, “Green is the new Red, White and Blue.” US energy security and indeed economic development through the creation of green collar jobs depend on a thriving cleantech industry. In the international [...]
Posted in water on Jul 2nd, 2008
Last week, Singapore International Water Week was held together with two other high profile conferences—the World Cities Summit and the East Asia Summit Conference on Livable Cities—in Singapore. With the focus on Asia and water, China water issues naturally took center stage. The Green Leap Forward takes a look at China’s unique water challenges, and [...]
Posted in CDM, automotive, capital and finance, energy efficiency, information strategies, policy, wind on Jun 25th, 2008
Peggy Liu, founder and Chairperson of Joint US-China Cooperation on Clean Energy (JUCCCE) , an innovative bilateral public-private partnership based in Shanghai, speaks to The Green Leap Forward.
Energy cooperation was one of the key issues that underpinned the fourth US-China Strategic Economic Dialogue held last week. Vice-Premier Wang Qishan, the head of the Chinese delegation [...]
Posted in coal, energy efficiency, policy on Jun 20th, 2008
China will raise the prices of gasoline and diesel prices at the pump by 17 to 18% and aviation kerosene by 25% starting today (June 20), and of electricity by some 4.7% starting July 1, according to the website (Chinese only) of the National Reform and Development Commission (NDRC). See also the news report by [...]
I attended the inaugural Western China Photovoltaic Industry & New Energy Development Forum which was held in the city of Chengdu, Sichuan province earlier this month (June 5-7).
A full transcript in Chinese of the proceedings is available here.
A recurring theme was the need to develop China’s domestic PV market. Although China is among the [...]
Posted in CDM, Uncategorized, capital and finance, energy efficiency, policy on Jun 12th, 2008
If China’s Green Leap Forward fails for whatever reason, it won’t be because of the lack of cash. Generally speaking, it has never been better to be a clean tech entrepreneur or project developer. Investment dollars are pouring in globally from hedge funds, private equity and venture capital funds, multinational corporations and development banks. [...]
Posted in CDM, climate change, urban planning on May 31st, 2008
I am really excited.
On May 10 (incidentally, but fittingly, Pangea Day) at the Xiamen Climate Change Symposium held at Xiamen University in Xiamen City, Fujian, I was introduced to an exciting opportunity for Xiamen City to undertake what has potential to be a truly groundbreaking project.
A consortium comprised by CHORA (an urban planning, architectural and [...]
Posted in capital and finance, policy, wind on May 25th, 2008
The Chinese wind sector is booming and should continue to in the long run, but some discussions at the recent Renewable Energy Finance Forum-China 2008 in Beijing suggest some challenges ahead in the short to medium term.
Posted in automotive on Apr 28th, 2008
After writing my post on China car culture, I just had to check out the Beijing Auto Show show for myself. Green was the theme, and nearly every car maker had a “green car” to boast about, whether it was a hybrid car, plug-in electric, or simple more fuel efficient variety. In [...]
Posted in Uncategorized, biofuels on Apr 15th, 2008
In the wake of the looming food crisis, biofuels are becoming more and more suspect as a sustainable long term substitute for oil, and in fact, are viewed as one of the chief culprits in the soaring prices of corn, soybean and other agricultural commodities that are feedstock to biofuels production. The diverted demand of [...]
