The Climate Convention promoted last December by the UN in Copenhagen – called COP-15 – brought together a high number of heads of state. On them were the hopes of an agreement that could lead to an international regime on the subject.  The principal preoccupation was on the thickening of the greenhouse gas layer. One of the villains is carbon dioxide (CO2) set into the atmosphere by the burning of fossil fuels. It is known that they are widely used in energy and transport. Regarding details of CO2 emissions in energy, of 2004, the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Cente - CDIAC indicates that countries of the world issued 29 gigatons (Gt) equivalents of CO2. Of this total, China may be responsible for 5 Gt, while the USA for 6Gt. They were the two largest. The International  Energy Agency - IEA report of 2006, indicates that the curves of CO2 emissions of China and the EUA will be equal to about 6,5 Gt this year. Not to be ignored.

But there are other gases contributing to the density of greenhouse gases. The important thing is to identify what are the variables that may influence the relationship of Chinese growth with environmental security where climate is present. It is understood from the depositions of Chinese authorities that their economy should not be jeopardized.  Finally, the Chinese government wants to continue to nurture the inclusion of new population contingents to better standards of consumption. China has about 20% of the world population and 16% of the planet´s energy consumption. This growth depends on energy availability. The USA, with 4,8% of the world population uses about 20% of global energy. The diferential of China is in the distribution of the use of energy sources. As it has the third largest reserves of coal, after the USA and Russia, it is very dependent on this source. Coal production doubled from 1989 to 2005, reaching 2 billion tons. Its reserves are mainly in the north and northeast of the country: its transport occupies about 60% of railroad capacity. In the same period, petroleum production remained stable at about 200 million tons (4 million barrels/day). In the search for greater energy efficiency, China tries to switch coal for petroleum. Thus we see the dramatic search for foreign suppliers. 

The environmental problems from the use of fossil fuels in China can be seen in the use of coal in energy production. This because the residential use in big cities has been falling, as domestic gas reach already 75% of homes. However, in electricity production, sulfur dioxide release in already a polluting component.  However, in rural areas, SO2 pollution and nitrogen oxide from burning coal in homes in winter has caused respiratory problems. It is the greatest cause of rural deaths and even the third in urban peripheries. Not just that. The greatest negative impact on air quality comes from fossil use in transport. The growing number of national fleet vehicles and the investment in highway construction has done its part in increasing pollution. Chinese statistics show that there are 50 million cars, trucks, motorbikes and trikes running around in the country. The north and northeast are the most affected by this fossil fuel consumption.

However, there is also an effort for hydroelectric and nucleoelectric construction, to take advantage of the potential in the country. In the first case, the Three Gorges dam, with an installed potential of 18 giga watts (GW) and a cost of between US$ 20 and US$ 25 billion, is an important example. In the case of nuclear stations, they are less than 2% of total installed capacity. The government of Beijing plans to construct many of these. According to Professor Jean-Marie Chevalier, of the University of Paris-Dauphine, who runs the Centre de Géopolitique de l'Energie et des Matières Premières, China will be responsible for the construction of 80% of all nucleoelectric plants in the planet by 2015. There is still a joint development with South Africa to construct Pebble Bed reactors of 200 MW.

But Chinese hydro resources also have their problems. A country whose lands must feed 1.3 billion needs strong agricultural production. And this uses superficial and underground water reserves on a grand scale. The total water consumption to produce one kilo of rice is 2,300 liters; wheat, 100 liters.  Therefore, the use of nitrogen fertilizers has been a nightmare for technicians the world over. This is no different in China. The consequence is ecological imbalance, which affects local fauna species, contaminates water layers and reduces so-called biological demand for oxygen of superficial layers. The amount is so low that only bacteria can live. Add to that the emission of metals by factories, like lead chrome and mercury. These excesses become more costly in water treatment to be offered to the population. The disaster in the Huai River in 1994, with a massive death of fish by contamination made the managers then stop the water supply for the population. The cost of cleaning up the river was estimated at about US$ 8 billion over nine years. Added to that, are the corrective procedures in factories. The costs inherent unite sometimes local public administrators and factory managers in palliative solutions. Apart from this, there is pollution and contamination by domestic sewers thrown into the rivers which cut urban regions. The World Bank estimated pollution costs at US$ 54 billion, or 8% of the then Chinese GNP. The costs incorporate work absenteeism, hospital costs, premature infant deaths, and agricultural damage. In 2003, Chinese data indicated that 1.4% of GNP was spent on pollution control. 

The verification of Chinese food production shows that only 1/3 comes from the south of the country where hydro resources are more plenty, with about 80% of the total available in the land. 2/3 of Chinese agricultural production is irrigated with part of the 15% of hydro layers, which are in the north.  The remainder for each Beijing inhabitant and Tianjin, for example, are 500 cubic meters (m³) of water per year. This amount is already considered hydro stress and is the upper limit of scarcity, according to the World Health Organization. The Geopolitical Observatory for Central Asia, in relation to China, says that about 400 villas and Chinese villages undergo shortages. In the north/northeast, a recharging of the hydro layers already would not balance consumption. And  China already knows the losses of droughts. In 1972, the drought pratically interrupted the course of the second largest river in the country, the Yellow, which is born in the Himalayas; its water hardly manages to run into the Bohai Sea. But the problem is recurring every year with various intensities. What is projected is a transposition of waters from the Yangtze to the Yellow by way of two canals, one on a medium and the other on a low course. Such works would complement the network of artificial canals which have been there for centuries. Note that in the rainy season there are floods which overflow the banks. 

Another matter to worry the authorities is soil erosion and desertification. Erosion is concentrated in the western region because of the severe concentration of rain at the time. And exactly where there is hydro scarcity. The heavy rains erode the soil partly without the original vegetation. Organic material is dragged by the current with the consequent flooding of the banks. The use of wood over centuries brought desertification. The Forest Administration of China appraises that the desertification grew 52.000 km² between 1994 and 1999. With the soil exposed, sand storms are today a serious environmental problem, which even affects the capital. But not just that: wind currents take the sand to the Korean peninsula and the Japanese archipelago. Then there is a transnational problem. The solution found to reduce the matter was to replant the species in the degraded areas, to form a protective belt. Between 1994 and 1999, 5.700 km² were reforested, according to that official organ.

In fact, the challenges are gigantic, equivalent to the land extension and the population of China. The position of the authorities in relation to climate change is to take 2005 as the base date.  It is proposed to reduce, by 2020, CO2 emissions between 40% e 45%; increase the participation of renewable energy to 15%; and add 40 million reforested hectares to incorporate 1.3 billion m³ of wood. According to the resolution approved on August 27, 2009 by the Permanent Committee of the People´s National Congress. However, it must be noted that the Committee reiterated at the same time that development comes first since climate change is the historic responsibility of the developed states.