Oslo, 15 September 2009 

China’s clean technology market could be worth $1 trillion in 2013, a new report said. 

The drive for technology to cut carbon emissions, improve energy efficiency and better environmental conditions is set to create a massive market in China over the next five years, according to the China Greentech Report 2009.

The green market could account for 15 per cent of China’s GDP in 2013, according to the report released by the China Greentech Initiative, an organisation backed by 80 major technology providers.

The report based its best-case assumptions on certain regulatory changes in China necessary to optimise market conditions, but argued the environmental costs of China’s strong economic growth will spur the cleantech market to grow at a rapid pace.

China currently emits around 20 per cent of the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions, but its share will grow to 30 per cent by 2030 without large investments, the report said. Improvement of conventional energy sources, new renewable energy, green buildings, cleaner industry and cleaner transportation are areas where the report’s authors see potential for massive investments the next few years.

The potential is seen both within and outside of the Kyoto protocol’s clean development mechanism ( CDM). The Chinese wind power sector, for instance, has seen its installed capacity grow to 12.2 GW in 2008 from 0.5 GW in 2002, and the Chinese government targets 100 GW of wind power in 2030. China aims to boost its capacity of hydropower to 300 GW in 2030 from 117 GW in 2005.

While China remains a modest emitter of carbon on a per capita basis, there is a huge potential for the country to improve its emission intensity, according to the report. The country is among the least energy efficient in the world, and consumes 455 tonnes of oil equivalent per $1 million of GDP, the report said.

In comparison, the US consumes 161 tonnes of oil equivalent, Japan 103 tonnes and the UK 79 tonnes.

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