By JOHN RICHARD SCHROCK
President Biden pledged to reduce U.S. greenhouse emissions by 50–52 percent by 2030. Alongside this press coverage are references to China being the greatest producer of greenhouse emissions and that China will need to begin cutting back too. But for every ten Americans, there are 44 Chinese. On a per capita basis, one American consumes over three times more energy than one Chinese citizen. And they are far more energy conscious than we are.
China has pulled off the greatest reduction in poverty in history and raised its population to developed country level in the last four decades—an economic miracle. This of necessity has increased the energy requirement of the general population. But for over two decades, China has been constraining its emissions as much as possible. Their conservation efforts have been long underway.
Their economic miracle is based on two revolutions: the adoption of a market economy where folks reap the benefits of their labor, and a massive expansion of education that has now moved China to the forefront of science research, patents, and innovations.
The majority rural population of the pre-1980s often lived in remote villages reminiscent of our 1930 Depression Era Appalachia. Their dramatic overnight shift to modern towns and cities has required heating, air conditioning, and a range of modern conveniences. This requires the building of more power plants, and it has barely kept up with the growing need.
They have a national “Grid.” Our utility companies have a base rate and then charge more when you exceed it. This provides us no motivation to save at low usage. In China, there is no base rate, so you do save if you scrimp at the lowest levels.
China’s high-speed rail system is all electric-powered and has been up-and-running for two decades. The U.S. will never have this.
China now has more cars than the U.S. but began moving to electric cars nearly a decade ago. To build roads and limit traffic, China charges a hefty sum for car registration. But the fee is dramatically less for an electric car. This market-driven incentive has been in place for years now and China is years ahead in shifting to electric cars. Plug-in stations were being built in cities over five years ago. Meanwhile, many run extension cords out their window.
Stay at a hotel and your electronic room key must be placed in a slot just inside the door to turn on the electricity. When you leave, you take the key with you—and all electricity to your room turns off.
Walk the streets in a residential area on a sunny day, and each window will sprout a pole with clothes hanging out to dry. Apartments have many modern conveniences but clothes dryers are an energy hog that would require several dozen more power plants.
China planned long ago to bring 25 more new nuclear power plants online by 2020. These take from 8 to 10 years to build. They haven’t reached their goal, but they have built more than any other country. They have not started further nuclear plants since 2016 because electricity from new solar arrays and wind turbines is now more economical and faster to build.
For the 2008 China Olympics, they closed down old coal plants near Beijing. Western critics snarked that they would start back up again after the Olympics were over. They did not. China has closed old inefficient coal plants and built newer coal plants for now, but with better scrubbing technology. Beijing also had new electric buses running for the 2008 Olympics; they still run today.
Ten years ago, superhighway lights were all powered by solar panels as we drove from Qufu over to Jinan. Today, far more lights are powered by solar compared to those we are only beginning to see in the U.S. China also converted to LED lights faster than the U.S.
China needs every bit of farmland for food production, so cities, towns and villages cannot expand into farmland. But across Henan and Shaanxi Province, unfarmable ridges or rock outcrops are now often the base of wind generators. As you descend in an airliner north of Beijing, you will see a nearly endless "wind farm" that stretches across a range of low dry hills.
Many Chinese cities, including Hangzhou and Shenzhen, have eliminated gas-powered motorcycles. Along with the increase in electric cars, their streets remain crowded but are amazingly quiet. For over two decades, many of these changes have been propelled by public unhappiness with pollution.
If the U.S. manages to cut carbon dioxide emissions in half by 2030, the average American will still produce more per person than the average Chinese. On a per capita basis, Americans will still be the world energy hogs.
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John Richard Schrock has trained biology teachers for more than 30 years in Kansas. He also has lectured at 27 universities in 20 trips to China. He holds the distinction of “Faculty Emeritus” at Emporia State University.