Session 2-1
	Driving-Force for Making Efforts in Sustainable Development 　Mr. Chen Qing / South-North Institute for Sustainable Development, China

Renewable Energy Promotion by an NGO

　The SNISD is an internationally recognized research institute, which was founded in 1998 as a non-profit making, non-governmental organization. It conducts a wide range of research, proposes policy options to the administration, and supports measures to promote the concrete application of advanced technology to production. In partnership with broadcasting stations, it also produces publicity programs on environmental conservation. There are 10 staff members, including 4 with a doctoral degree, and 3 with a master’s degree.


Natural Energy Promotion and Respect in People’s Free Will

　 In the field of renewable energy, SNISD especially focuses on methane gas and its use for practical purposes in rural areas in China. Until now methane use in the countryside has heavily depended on the government subsidies. This discouraged local people from taking initiatives themselves to increase methane use, and although the necessary technology had been developed and promoted, the management system did not make commensurate progress.

As an example of a breakthrough made by the SNISD, let me introduce a project which has been implemented in Bai Ma Xue Shan Di Qu, Yun Nan Province. The headwaters of the Mekong River, the Chang Jiang (Yangtze) and the Salween River (which flows to Myanmar) all run through this area, which therefore has a unique and precious ecosystem. In 2003, it was designated as a Natural World Heritage site, and cutting down trees from the primeval forests was forbidden. This unfortunately meant that the local residents were deprived of their livelihood. Until then, an average household annually consumed enough firewood to fill two trucks. With the ban, they also lost their main energy source.

In order to solve the resultant poverty, and also to conserve the environment, a low-interest loan system was created so that people can borrow money from local banks to provide themselves with methane gas. Under one of our institute’s programs, two pigs were bred in a greenhouse where some vegetables were also grown. The pigs and the vegetables brought in 2,000 yuan and 1,000 yuan respectively, and so an extra annual income of 3,000 yuan was gained. Timber consumption for fuel has been successfully reduced by 75%.


　Biogas and International Environmental Cooperation

　Transnational cooperation is also one of our missions. We support a project in North Korea where pig farming and methane gas use are combined in a greenhouse. Why a greenhouse? Because there, a tank in which methane gas is fermented can be kept warm even in winter, and this helps generate gas. A pigpen can also maintain a CO₂ concentration level in the greenhouse appropriate for the vegetables and flowers which are grown there. The residue from methane gas generation is also a good fertilizer.

In the opium poppy-growing area of Myanmar, rice-growing has been vigorously promoted to replace poppies. But since rice had not been grown there for two centuries, this policy was not successful. Our institute provided students and farmers with training courses so that they can learn about biogas use and rice cultivation. After a year of training, their technical skills were improved, and the harvest increased from 50kg/a to 500kg/a. Now technical guidance is given by the engineers hired in the local area. As a result, poppy-growing has gradually been disappearing, and in 2003, it was reduced by two-thirds.


Development of Fuel Cell-Powered Cars and Green Electricity

In China both the production and sales of cars are constantly increasing. However no domestic automobile company was trying to develop ‘clean cars’. As air pollution has become a major problem, we considered the development and promotion of fuel cell technology.

To begin with, we collected information on current conditions outside China, and then explored the possibility of developing fuel cell-powered cars in China. It did not look hopeful in the beginning. It took a whole year to persuade Shanghai City and a car company based in Shanghai to manufacture cars with fuel cell (this included organizing study tours to the US), but finally a ‘clean car development project’ took place in Shanghai. A 10-Year Development Plan was drawn up, and the project was inaugurated with a budget of 10 billion yuan (3 billion yuan from the central government, another 3 billion yuan from Shanghai, and the rest from the car manufacturers in the city).

Another project we have focused upon is the ‘Green Electricity Market’ program. Under this program, citizens and companies in Beijing will buy electricity which is generated by wind power in Nei Meng Gu Di Qu. One of the problems is the high installation cost for the facilities necessary for wind power generation, which makes the product less competitive in the market. However the results of our survey on green electricity premium charge reveal that the majority of Beijing citizens are willing to pay more for clean energy. Therefore we will continue to explore the possibility of introducing this new electricity charge system to relatively wealthy citizens and companies in Beijing.